How much troube am I in? Roses are here, already!!!

Greetings Wise Ones!

I'm in the Baltimore area. We've had a mild winter, until the past couple of weeks, but that's fairly normal.

I ordered roses, 7 knockouts and a couple of bonicas. The knockouts are in pots in soil, and the the bonicas are bare root.

And they arrived today. I certainly wasn't expecting them for a while. Now what? The gound is still hard-- That just happened. (Figures, doesn't it??)

Do I try to put them in the ground? What kind of care? If not, how do I hold them?

When are you supposed to plant roses around here? I can't figure out why they sent them now!

Blessings,
Elf

They'll be fine if you pot them up until you can plant them. Where did you order them? Might want to call them and ask why they sent plants so early.

Aren't you actually in zone 8 in Baltimore now? You should be able to plant them shortly.

Here's some info on when to plant roses. Ignore the months mentioned - this was from a North Dakota site. LOL Last frost for you should be by sometime in April. I looked it up. Average last frost for you is April 11.

When to plant roses may depend upon whether you buy bareroot dormant bushes or potted plants that are already growing and sometimes even in bloom. Plant dormant bushes early, before trees and shrubs leaf out in the spring or at least by early May. Do not plant growing potted roses that were started in a greenhouse until danger of severe frost is past, that is, late May or early June.

(Looks like you could plant the bareroot ones in a couple of weeks or so and the potted ones in April.)

I think it may be a tiny bit early but usually they say around here that St. Patricks Day is a good time to plant bare root roses..(also to cut back your old ones). With the weather we had yesterday, you should be fine planting them and I would go ahead and do it. If they are bare root..keep the roots wet until you plant them.

Greetings Wise Ones!

Gads. I have six in pots.

Har, I think tht I'm still 7a as I live out on one of the pennisulas. The Chesepeake Bay wreaks havoc with the weather dates, but twenty years ago, I used my sister's May 11 birthday as my absolutely safe day. A whole month seems like a lot.

So what do I do with the potted ones to keep them going? They are leafed out. Do I take them outside on sunny days? Water? I'm very lost with this. They look like really nice plants. April seems like forever!

Levilyla, St. Patty's day sounds really good for the bare roots! At least that's soon. I don't have a greenhouse. What do I do with these?

Thak you folks!
Elf

Elf, do you have a protected area right up next to the house? Someplace where they wouldn't get a lot of wind and would have the advantage of the extra warmth from the house? You could put them there, bury the pots in mulch or leaves if you have some.

If we get another cold snap, they might lose a few leaves but that won't hurt them. If it's going to be very cold, you can toss some burlap over them for the night to keep the frost off their leaves.

They'll need less water outside, especially if their bottoms are in mulch. They'll need more water if inside because they'll be more actively growing but you don't want to keep them soaked or you could rot their roots. I wouldn't worry about carting them in and out but if you keep them inside, make sure you harden them before planting them out.

Did they come from a very southern area? If so, you might want to harden them a bit now before taking them outside, especially if they have a lot of tender new growth.

Where did you get them? Hart is right...if they are leafed out and in pots you don't want to plant now...we could easily have another freeze.

Greetings Wise Ones!

They came from South Carolina. I guess the weather is just wonderful down there.

Yes, they are leafed out. I have three large old bushes in my yard. I've been practicing pruning on them in the hope taht I won't need to dig them out. All three of them have tiny little leaf buds on them. I checked today jsut to see what they were up to.

I think that I'll ingor that. :) It seems to cold yet to plant, but today! Oh my! What a beautiful day! I'm longing for spring!

I have a very sunny ledge in my classroom. Would that be a place to keep them until planting time? How long does it take to harden them off if they've been in that kind of environment?

Thank you both for your help!

Blessings,
Elf

I think I would do what Hart suggested...cover them if a freeze warning but don't bring them inside. Spring will be here soon! Yes..in South Carolina you could plant them outside!

Remember to uncover them during the day, especially when warm and sunny. If you use burlap it won't be as critical. I accidentally fried a plant by throwing a plastic garbage over it one frosty night and forgetting to remove it next (very sunny) morning.