That's way too late for here (November), but I planted my second Rouge Royale in early September last year after it grew and bloomed constantly in its 5 gallon nursery pot on the patio. This year, I'm doing the same with Angel Face, currently looking great in its 5 gallon pot in our 100sF looong heat wave. Lots of water is the key. Diane

Currently doing fine.

Last summer, RR doing fine in pot.

Diane, you are talking about potted roses, correct?

Potted and straight from the nursery. i didn't pot them. They all have their tags from Meilland and Weeks. They both had a few buds and a bloom when I brought them home in early May, reserved for me and put in a special greenhouse for prepaid roses. Angel Face first bloomed a flush, then grew and thickened up, and is finishing a second flush right now. In November, we are practically in winter here, granted a mild winter almost always. Diane

In my limited experience, if the roses are planted too early, or you get an unseasonably warm spell, and they break dormancy in January or February, you are in big trouble when winter returns. It's a larger scale version of the Easter Freeze issue.

My roses never break dormancy in January or February. I usually plant my potted roses in May and my bare root roses in March. It just depends. My potted Ashley was planted in May and is doing fine with, again, lots of water. Diane

In zone 6, I wouldn't plant bare roots in the fall even if they're available for warmer climates. It's usually best to defer shipping till spring and all of the places like Regan's or Palatine or Edmunds allows this. I plan to receive mine in late March and plant through early April. We're not necessarily done with frosts then, but the bare roots aren't mostly bothered by some frosts if they're not leafing out before you plant them. Mine seem to read the climate and leaf out with the rest of my roses in the ground which makes them all on equal footing as far as late cold snaps go. In general, new bare roots settle in so much better if it's not blazing hot outside and they have time to build a root system before winter.

Large potted roses - grafted or not - can be planted any time because they've already acclimated to your climate, assuming you have bought them locally. Other own root gallons or bands I also prioritize for spring delivery as they need even more time to build root systems.

Cynthia

Why do you want Fall delivery?

Well, at least you'll have a hole dug when in spring, you replace the fall planted bare roots that konked out. 😵!

It's so risky to do what you have proposed. Where do you get bare root roses to plant in November? Question the source of your roses about your fall planting plans. That source knows roses quite well, if they are legit, and can advise you to do the safest thing....which if it's safe to plant bare root roses in zone 6b in November, that's new to me.

Moses

“Where do you get bare root roses to plant in November?”

Until recently: Palatine

I'm quite busy, so fall planting fits well with my schedule. If given the choice, I would prefer planting during October, not November. In Eastern Europe, planting roses just before frost is a common practice, and I've been considering this approach. I'm interested in hearing from others who have experience with this timing—what are the pros and cons they've encountered? How does it impact the roses' health and growth, and are there any specific tips or considerations to keep in mind? Looks like its no-no here.

We used to routinely plant bareroot roses in the fall. We would drive to Mike Lowe's in New Hampshire around the end of October, and come home with a few of his 'extras'. However, those were all once-blooming Old European roses, who knew when to go to bed in the fall, and when to wake up in the spring. The one time I tried it with stupid modern roses, they broke dormancy in January.

Rose books from the 40's and 50's talk about fall planting right after the bareroots are dug. The theory is that the roses are dug, made to go dormant, then wake up at the right time to settle into their new home. My guess is that there is something about current storage practices that cause problems, particularly since most modern roses have trouble with the entire dormancy concept.