Question
I have about 20 simplicity rose buses in a berm. I usually put rose cones over them but wonder if soil/leaves around them then a plastic sheet over the entire berm would do the job.
area code 13413 Utica, N.Y. ?zone 5
Thanks

Answer
Be careful of plastic as this tends to make a greenhouse effect and will encourage the roses to grow when you don't want them to. Zone 5 is a boarderline zone as some zone 5  roses don't need to be protected. You are on the boarder for these roses as they don't do too well after zone 5 so they obviously need protection. Soil from another part of the garden mounded up to about 12 inches would save them from the cold of the winter. Your idea of the soil and leaves is good it is the plastic that I would worry about. They should be okay mounded up with any material. Then even if you do have a nasty winter, they will bounce back from 12 inches with no trouble.