Oh no! I would do my best to pot them up so they will survive, but that's just my take all roses I can get philosophy. I hope you get a response from the vendor so they can right the wrong. Other than that, it sounds like you have everything covered. Maybe contact BBB if you still do not get a response within a few days. Good luck, I hope it was an honest mistake and they correct it for you.

Can you even buy pots and potting soil in Chicago? The local stores in my neighborhood are not carrying those supplies yet.

If you can pot them up, do you have a garage where you can store them? Yikes. I have no experience with tree roses but imagine that it will have to be wrapped to protect the graft.

Good luck in contacting the vendor. Please keep us posted.

If you have a spare refrigerator, putting them in there is what I'd recommend. Set the temperature for low 30's and put a thermometer in to double check. The roses should arrive in a plastic bag, and the inside of the bag should have moisture on it. If it doesn't, spray some water in there.

I've kept bareroot roses this way for six weeks or so.

I purchased some bareroots in late winter before I could work the ground and get them planted. I put them into pots with potting soil and put them in my kitchen with southern-facing big French doors. They broke dormancy and grew well until the ground unfroze and I could transplant them outdoors. Spider mites were not a problem; and 6 years later they are alive and doing well. I just had to be careful when transplanting them from the pot into the ground not to disturb the little feeder roots that had developed so the rose didn't go into transplant shock. Good luck especially with your tree rose!

Hopefully they don't arrive frozen. That doesn't necessarily mean they are going to be no good but if they thaw out and turn black you'll know. When they arrive you should bring them in and if they are cold and moist and look OK I would put them in a plastic garbage bag with some wet newspaper, seal the bag to keep the humidity in and put it in a cold place like your garage where it will be cold but not freezing. Or, you could put them in a refrigerator. They should be fine until you can plant them.

I got an order prematurely last year. I potted them up and kept them in the house until it was warm enough to set outside. I did not set them out until they had started growing. I think they did freeze on the delivery truck because it was quite cold the day they got here. I just kept them watered and mounded with dirt until they started. It took abnormally long for them to start. One took two months to get going, but I figured as long as it was green, there might be hope. Ultimately they all made it. I'm uneasy thinking about your situation, but it will probably depend on how much cold the plants were exposed to and for how long.

Not that I know anything about this, but is there any reason not to plant them outside assuming that you can dig a decent enough hole? The bareroots are probably dormant now, and I would guess planting a few of them is at least worth a try. If you mound the plants up after putting in the ground, the soil would protect the bareroots from the elements.

Have anyone on this forum done this? What are your results?Again, assuming that one can actually dig up a hole...

When it is ten degrees and the ground is frozen and there may even be snow it is difficult to plant roses. The general advice that used to be given when the ground is at least loose enough to dig a hole is to bury the whole thing and dig it up in the spring and plant the rose properly.

I used to buy roses from S&W, who clearly tell you they only ship in February and aren't suited for colder climates. Being a zone pusher, I went ahead and tried it, using the technique that Mad Gallica talked about with putting the roses in a bag that stays slightly moist in the refrigerator. They all survived that method long enough to plant them out, but don't do this in a fridge that contains apples, because apples can interfere with some kinds of germination in seeds and I wouldn't risk it with roses.

The two things I found I had to watch for with this method was: a) mold/mildew in the bag before they're ready to be planted out - if this happens, you need to reduce the moisture and clear away the mold, and perhaps move them outside earlier, and b) a clear tendency to canker or otherwise fail to thrive in their first summer. They might leaf out fine and start growing, but gradually have the canes die back from canker or verticullum wilt, and they wouldn't last the summer. A possible way to avoid this is a fungicide spray when planted, and/or my new method I'm trying to see if I can avoid wilt in bareroots - plant them with gypsum or epsom salts.

You definitely want to get them outside as soon as the temperatures are back up into the 20's and not likely to go below zero any more. For me, this is the beginning of March, even before the ground fully thaws. My best strategy was to pull the bareroots out of the fridge after 2-3 weeks and plonk them in a large garden tub full of water, with the canes open above the water. Even when the water would freeze, it only did so in the first inch or so, and the remaining "pond" would stay liquid below the surface. This would provide some level of protection for those roots (and grafts) below the water, like the kind of protection the frozen ground provides below the frozen parts. Then you plant them out as soon as you can dig the hole - don't wait for your normal rose planting season. If you can't get the hole dug and the bareroots are starting to sprout, build yourself a temporary mound or pot somewhere outside with potting soil, so they can acclimate to the temperature and wake up when it's normal to wake up with the rest of your roses. Obviously, record cold temperatures and below zero is not the time to start outside acclimation, but 20's have worked fine for me.

The other obvious point is that you need a full refund and replacement from this rose company. They goofed big time and they owe you full credit, even if the roses survive. Be firm and insist in every way you can, including denying the credit charges from your card if you have to go that route.

Sympathies - but this can be survivable for the roses.

Cynthia

If Chicago is anything like Detroit right now, and I'm pretty sure it is, there is NO WAY you could dig to plant them in the ground. Besides the freezing temperatures you'd have to endure to do it the ground itself is rock hard and you'd never get a shovel into it. It would be like trying to dig in concrete!

Don't panic! If they're packaged and dormant when you get them find a nice cold, dark place to put them until later in the season when you can dig the ground. A cold cellar or garage will do. If all else fails a basement but that will be warmer so they'll probably break dormancy soon there. Make sure what ever "soil" is in the package is moist but not soggy and keep them damp. Henry's idea about the black plastic trash bag is excellent! The longer you can keep them dormant the better their chances are to make it to planting time.

I don't recommend potting them up and keeping them in the house because once they break dormancy and start to grow, which they'll do quickly in the warmth of the house, they'll be very unhappy with conditions inside. Spider mites aside, they won't get enough light or humidity to be healthy for the good eight to ten weeks until we can get outside and plant again.

Just brainstorming: would a modified Minnnesota method help? If you can find a few bags of garden soil, you might be able to put the bareroots in a VERY large barrel and then cover them up with the soil. That way, you can store them outside. Alternatively, you can put them in a lowlying area and then cover them with the soil.

The question is then where to find those few bags of garden soils. I haven't bought soil this time of the year, and but it is likely your local nurseries would have some leftover from last season.

Do people think this might work? I would really like to know the answer for selfish resons: I bought roses from S&W Greenhouse out of impulse, and have been thinking about how to deal with those bareroots when they arrive.... :) I won't fret all if the weather has not been so darn cold this winter so far.

Thank you all so much. I am going to keep them in the garage in the plastic bags with wet newspaper. If I can stand mucking around I will try to put them in pots. Ace has small expensive potting soils and orchid mixes , etc. as do the big box places.The temp. Is about 30 in there. I overwinter many roses but never tried a bare root. Wish I could at least get a response from the nursery! I think that upsets me the most.
My ground won't be workable til late march. Thank u all again!
Susan

You better go for trusted vendors and learn a lesson from your experience.

I think that nurseries in the midst of shipping season are less likely to take time and speedily respond to emails or phone messages. If I were you, I would send them a registered letter, return receipt requested (which they will have to sign for) through the USPS, demanding a refund or replacements shipped at the appropriate time. Much harder for them to ignore!
And the cold storage in your garage is the best idea of them all. Having kept potted roses indoors by choice as an experiment, I can say that it is do-able, but takes tremendous effort to keep them truly healthy and happy.
Please let us know how it all turns out.

I don't think you have to return them. I once dug a garden when the ground was frozen solid. It was difficult but not impossible. The ground is hard, but not like concrete and it was only frozen really hard in top few inches. I took a pick ax and it came up in frozen clumps. One trick is to get some warm water to loosen the soil. You just need to dig enough to bury the graft and you should be OK. Just plant it now and then move it to a permanent spot in a month,