PPal - You have the weather where you can "wait & see". I did that my first year, and lost an entire growing season to a few roses that just never ever came back. But what I do is pull back the mulch all the way (and the dirt) to the bud union. If it's brown/black all the way, I yank it. If it's green, I give it 2 weeks. If no leaves pop out within those 2 weeks, I yank it. I have just a finite time to be putting things in the ground before it's too hot & dry (June/July/August) or too close to a killing frost, so they have to get established before (Sept/Oct/Nov). So, honestly, the safest time for me to plant is only April/May, if I'm lucky.
Zuzu - No, that's my mistake. LOL. These were a grab-bag off of eBay.. I won't be ordering any more plants from anyone there unless I've done business with them in the past AND they've sent me good roses in the past. And, as of yet, I'm battin' almost a 1000 with that. Of course, this was before I knew about Palatine. It's on my list for 2012 (South Africa & Summer Song).
