Ok, so no one else has answered. I didn't want to because my zone is so different from yours.

Here, I always pot the babies up into gallon containers for a couple of months before putting in the ground. However, I have put 'grocery store' minis directly in the ground with no ill effect, so I would assume you can go straight into the ground when you're ready. Just make sure you keep them wet enough. Even one missed watering can spell disaster with the tiny pots as they are all most likely pretty root bound.

If you think the soil temps are still pretty cool, you will be better off in black gallon pots for a while. They will get warmer during the day than the ground will and this will help stimulate the root growth faster. I think this accounts for why my bare roots do better here when I 'can' them for a couple of months starting in January (our bare root season, if you can imagine) and then put them in the ground in March.

Suz

Is the ground workable? I would think so. It is not too bad up here in Green Bay. Check out the Milwaukee Rose Society and see what they say. :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Milwaukee Rose Society

I hesitated to answer, too. I'm a newbie and in vastly different climate. BUT, I got my first order in those little grower pots 3/24, and potted them up in 6" pots as Nor'East recommended. Today I could see that new roots were already at the holes in the pots, and the plants have doubled in size. So, it might be wise to give them that head start.

mljan, you are a fast learner. I used to plant mine right into the ground the first year or so when I got hooked on minis but then I discovered that they do much better if they have been growing in a one gallon pot for a couple of months before putting them into the ground. I think that would be a good move.

You have answered my question I was going to ask.I also have a mini thats still in it's little 4inch pot it came in.I guess I should put it in a larger container,as it's getting quite large and has been flowering non stop for a couple of months.I have noticed a few yellow leaves on it the past few days.Would this be because of it being root bound or some other problem?