Question
Hello, I live in northern VA Z7, can I plant my Tahitian Sunset HT in the garden now?  It has been in a large clay pot all summer and I'm wondering if I should plant it now to get it established before our terrible winter hits or should I leave it in the pot and put it in the garage to over winter it and then plant it in the Spring. Which would be better?  Thank you.

Answer
Fall planted roses transplant with ease and have the entire fall winter and early spring to establish small feeder roots. Growth during the next spring and summer will be much better. Because it is in a pot it will be very easy to plant and will not disturb the roots as they should be in the shape of the pot. The beauty of fall planting over spring planting is that the rose will continue to grow even when the soil is around 40'. Most gardeners think they shut down when they drop their leaves but the roots keep growing until 34'. However after saying all those good things about fall planting, as the rose is in a pot, you could also do it in the spring. The only difference would be the rose bush would just take a little longer to bloom. Mound the rose up about 12 inches of soil from a different part of the garden in case you get a very nasty winter which of course would never happen where you live! Hope this helps.