Liz - Plant them as soon as you can dig a hole in the ground, then, as Paul said, mound soil or a mixture on them. What I've done in the past (and did again this year) is plant the plants, then put a bottomless bucket (I get big plant buckets, like the 2-3 gal black pots that plants come in, and chop off the bottom, so it's just a sturdy tube looking thing) around the plant, then fill the bucket full of mulch. Then, after I *know* there's no more cold snaps (4th of July
), take off the bucket & let it go. I'll see about getting pictures tomorrow or so. I do this with smaller roses, weaker roses, or ones that I feel just need a little extra protection. There in Elizabeth, you have far worse winds than I do (I'm a bit more protected than out your way) and you have a LOT more sand than I do (unless you've put in topsoil), so that's something else you have to watch for. Horse leavings work great I've heard, so if you have access to that (which should be pretty easy to find there.. everyone's always trying to get rid of horse compost), I'd use some of that too (cow can be too acidic & burn.. I found that out the hard way, but horse isn't bad at all and doesn't smell as bad).
