WOW, now that's a nasty amputated root when that bag could have easily accommodated so much more of a root system.

I have three roses that were bodybagged and all three of them spent their first winter lying on the ground in their bags covered with snow. My son's then girlfriend had gotten them and never planted them. In the spring, he was doing some clean-up and brought the bags to me because he thought it looked like they were still alive. That was about 10 years ago and all three are still alive (though that's debatable with JP Connell). The other two are White Kosters, supposedly zone 4, but have lived through every winter with varying degrees of die-back. However much they die back, they grow wonderfully during the summer, usually over 5 feet high.

That's my experience with them. I don't remember what the roots looked like at the time.

Marcia, that is incredible to know that your White Kosters are doing great, it sounds like quite the vigorous rose! I'm beginning to think that might be one of the many secrets to the roses that do well in our cold zones, they are vigorous enough to grow back and recoup from winter die-back. I'm going to keep that in mind for selecting any new roses in the future.

Therese is doing much better today in a pot, she is leafing out nicely.

Tworsz, I agree, they roots were indeed generously hacked off. When buying plants, the first thing I like to do is to look at it's roots, I learned this the hard way after getting an orchid with rotting roots. Which is why I was so curious to see what was inside the bag of this rose, it appeared packed so well! For the low price, I was willing to pay to solve my curiosity.

By the way, Walmart last week had small potted roses for about $10. I picked up several varieties on my wishlist - Bill Reid, Morden Sunrise, Winnipeg Parks, Champlain, the Hunter, Frontenac and Modern Centennial. But again, small root systems. I checked out their roots at home - they look like they were dug up and potted no more than a few weeks ago. The tag said they were distributed by Pan-Am roses.

The lesson I've learned is the cheaper($10 or less) roses lack the roots compared to
the more expensive($20 or more) potted roses.

When purchasing inexpensive potted roses, I give one of the canes a good bit of a shake and this usually gives indication of how much root system remains ... if it flops all over the place it's been badly hacked and hasn't yet had the chance to re-root. This works better on potted roses, though give those bags a shake also :)

Thank you for the great tip tworsz, I will be sure to give those stems a shake in the future!

It's funny, a few of the roses I bought were just starting to leaf out. They are doing much better today than the fully leafed out ones. Perhaps they are less shocked as they look like they were dormant or just starting to get going when planted.

Therese is looking good today, she's definitely growing.

I find the bagged and potted roses from places like Walmart are priced well but they are often mislabeled varieties. I have bought several roses from Walmart that were not the correct variety. They are also from the Southern United States and do not seem to adjust to my area as well as others I've bought at local nurseries.

Here is the same plant this year, it's almost four feet high! I think I may have lucked out because of the mild winter.

I agree, it is a remarkable plant! I read somewhere once Therese is the type of rose which should be in every garden, and I certainly see why, it is very special. I appreciate how it was bred in Alberta. I still find it ironic this body bag rose stated it came from Texas. We are going to try to shape Therese like a pillar.