It's hard to say for sure, and always depends on the variety and the severity of the winter, but I think they should be fine.

The only one I ever lost a lot on was queen of Sweden and it always seemed to be canker not real death . I think they’ll be fine !! The warm ups and cool downs over and over can do more damage I think if you have stuff around them .

I grow all of those Austins basically unprotected in zone 5 and you should be fine. In my zone, the iffiest of your roses listed would be Don Juan, Sally Holmes and Cl. Crimson Glory. Those I haven't been able to overwinter with protection but even one zone makes a huge difference to z6, and you should be fine in z7 though maybe not cane hardy. Virtually all roses beyond the true wimps can take 20's with dips into the teens, and I don't even start protecting my roses till we get those temperatures.

On the east coast you're likely to do as much damage as protection if you try to fuss too much over the winter. You'd be fine shoveling some snow onto them if you get some for added natural protection but I wouldn't do anything else systematic in your area. Veilchenblau laughs off the cold in my zone and will be a monster in yours.

Cynthia

jc, I'm the county just south of Nashville--so practically your neighbor--and I really don't bother with winter protection. Part of that is I really want to focus on roses that WANT to be here, so I don't cry much if I lose one that doesn't want to play.

The biggest problem I've seen is not so much the brutal cold but the drastic warm/cold/warm/cold cycles we typically get in February and March. And the wet. Whatever you use for protection around here ends up wet, and that wet goes through the warm/cold cycling nested against your canes. I think we end up with more problem bundling canes in all that moistness that results/encourages disease than the effects of cold. I can't seem to grow z7 roses here, but those don't die in the winter they just fail in the temperature cycling when they leaf out, get hit by a hard freeze, then just give up. I may very well be wrong about that and just trying to justify avoiding the work though!

What I did do last year that I will probably do again is treat my canes to a dose of copper sulfide (and this year maybe lime sulfur if I can figure out a way to get it off lable) a couple times if we get some warm Feb/Mar days before they leaf out. This seems to kill the last year's fungal spores laying about and help keep things cleaner during the growing season.

Thanks Jen and subk!

I’m in Rutherford County so I’m sure you’re very close by.

Our winters are so wet that I’ve been debating on dumping all the leaves I’ve raked over the roses. I leaning towards no because like you both said we get such harsh freeze and thaw cycles at the end of winter.

subk, you don’t grow any rated z7? Only z6 or lower? Have you lost a bunch to our weather?

Thank you seil and Cynthia!

i am most worried about the Austin’s because they were the most expensive and because I’ve babied them so much already I’d hate to lose them now!

Jc , why not take those leaves and use a mulcher on a leaf blower and then put it down as compost for the roses ?

I can’t remember ever losing an Austin in 7 years of being there. But I totally understand the worry !

I can definitely do that and frankly it would be easier but I wasn't sure because we get so much rain in winter. I don't want to rot the canes?

if that's not a legitimate concern I'll definitely do it!

jc, when I first started growing roses I was enchanted with the antique teas and chinas--roses that do best in warm climates. A few rated as cold as z6 but most z7a and warmer. I only have 2 of those (of the dozens I bought) left. The tea rose Duchess de Brabant which is snuggled against a house wall deep in a courtyard so very well protected and a china Mutiblis (z8!?) which is against a limestone chimney that absorbs the western sun in the afternoon and radiates heat all night to keep it warm on the cold nights. The rest either refused to thrive, dies over the winter, or came back in the spring with cane damage that caused a sudden death once there were more leaves than the compromised canes could handle.

However, I am in a more rural setting and we tend to get a few degrees colder than the weather channels official temperature for my location. I also have a good bit of wind with open pastures that do nothing to break it on the really cold nights (although even on the back side of the house where it should be more protected didn't help much.)

Technically I'm in z7a now--but until a few years ago was z6b. I stick with z6 roses these days regardless.

Also, I would not waste the leaves. I'd mulch them since you can, and after the first good rain makes them heavy I'd just re-adjust them just enough so they are not touching the base of the canes. I think just and inch or two away from the canes would work. Come Spring just throw your mulch on the top of whatever is left.

Thanks, I will do this, then!