Best advice I could give is to grow HTs that are vigorous, disease free, and winter hardy without any protection needed in 6a, NW New Jersey. You will save yourself a lot of headaches and work. Growing roses will be much more enjoyable!

Take a look at these HTs: Wedding Bells, South Africa, Pinkerbelle, Bliss, and Apricot Candy. They should be very winter hardy for you.

Moses

Techniques that work in drier zones might not work for you in NJ. We've got some folks from the east coast including NY that say protecting with anything that retains moisture is more likely to cause disease pressure and hurt roses compared to not protecting them at all. For zone 6, you're close to the point where a majority of well-established roses will survive if they're suited for your zone (as Moses says), so winter protection isn't as critical as for colder climates.

If you choose to winter protect, use something that won't hold moisture next to the rose. For me, oak leaves or pine needles don't tend to hold moisture, and large wood chunks are less likely to hold moisture (with air pockets in between) than shredded mulch. I place large filled leaf bags around the edges of a bed to block wind but don't put them directly next to the roses as they can get soggy depending on the types of leaves by the end of winter.

Bottom line is that tips for drier zones might not apply to you. Ask around in local rose groups or see what other east coast folks have done successfully.

Cynthia