Our order of several rugosas arrived last night as bare root plants (we're in southeastern PA) and they already seem to be growing - there is a little bit of green growth from the buds.

Is this okay? The roots are soaking as we speak and I plan to plant them later this afternoon. Maybe it's already too late to plant? Not like I could do anything about it anyway, but my understanding was that bare root plants need to be planted before breaking dormancy�

Thanks for any advice or tips..

I can say that I received a "Joseph's Coat" bare-root climber from Jackson Perkins that was already putting off a whole new cane. I worried about this, as I thought I heard that this is considered to be "bad".

I put the rose in the ground anyway and, as fate would have it, the temps immediately plummeted to 28 degrees for a few days. However, the cane still developed.

A few days ago, the temps plummeted again and the rose got snowed on and frozen for a little bit. But, this growth has stayed strong and is still going.

So I honestly don't know the real answer to your question. I can just say that I have received bare-root roses in the past, not just this year, that were breaking dormancy and have never experienced an issue with this.

Your forecast looks decent for getting the plants established. If dry, sunny weather shows up in the next few weeks, the roses should be covered with mulch or soil to conserve moisture while they are growing roots. After 4 to 6 weeks, the covering can be washed off with a hose.

I think they'll be fine.

Also I asked for the shipment earlier than the vendors preferred but that way I could control when to plant.