You are only seeing two choices: plant it in the garden in its permanent location or keep it in the house. Both of those choices are poor. You need to consider overwintering it in an unheated shed/garage or planting the whole pot against the foundation of your house on the south or east side.

BTW that's a nice looking tea. Where did you purchase it?

Just to add to Cecily's comments, roses don't like to be indoors for long periods, particularly over the winter when it's dry and overheated (to them) inside. Her ideas sound like the best. I've overwintered pots using the piles of leaves heaped over the whole plant against the south side of my house even in zone 5. Just make sure the piles of leaves (or burlap, or other breathable material) stay dry in the rain/snow/ice of winter as much as possible (snow by itself is fine if you get it, and it's a good insulator).

Cynthia

I have two of these roses that I purchased from Antique Rose Emporium.

Ordinarily in our zone (7) I would plant the tea rose in the early spring, and it would live through the winter because it has been planted so early.

The suggestions you received are good. If it were my rose, and if I were forced to keep it outside, I would be prepared to replace it. I am surprised that a vendor would sell it to you in zone 7 this time of year.

Good luck. It is a pretty rose.

Sammy

Hi. Get as large of a plastic pot as you can find. Put your small pot in the large pot and fill in with mulch. Get a roll of burlap and wrap it loosely around the canes---like swaddle it---and secure it with flex wire. Put it in the warmest most sheltered nook you can find----southern exposure best and then cocoon it with pine straw.
If you have an unheated garage that would be great too.
Susan

Thank you all so much! I got the rose at the Heritage Rose Foundation Conference in New Orleans last week. I just got back yesterday. And, of course, it is 19 degrees outside tonight. Last year, I had two roses in my house through the winter. I have an unfinished basement with a window that gets morning light and it is cooler down there. Would having a UV lamp help? Since it got so cold so quickly, putting them outside makes me very nervous. Can you tell I have a lot to learn?

What type of bulb is in the UV light? I routinely keep seedlings under lights over the winter (mostly daylillies, a current obsession). Dabbing the foliage with a solution of milk & water (50/50 is fine) will protect against powdery mildew from dry indoor air. Your basement sounds fine. If the weather warms up by the weekend, you could move it back outdoors for a couple more weeks.

Regular fluorescent lights are cheap, easy to come by, and work very well. The biggest issue is that larger roses want bigger light setups. So you end up either hanging two, two-bulb fixtures together, or buying a 4 bulb fixture.

Right now, I don't have a UV set-up, so I could do anything. How long do you think it needs to be above freezing to plant a rose? There is a warm spell coming up, and it's not supposed to get below freezing for about a week. Too risky?

Please wait until March or you'll worry yourself to death all winter over that rose. If it were bareroot (dormant) you could certainly plant it now but its awfully late in the season to plant a potted rose. The best solution IMHO is to schlep it outside during warm spells and keep it in the basement during Jan, Feb and especially cold spells in Dec & March. Mad Gallica is a very experienced cold zone gardener (she over winters all sorts of things in her basement including heirloom peppers) so take her advice regarding light set ups. I've been buying special fluorescent tubes for years and apparently I don't really need them LOL.