Roses stored for Winter?

Q: Can I keep roses & roses of Sharon in their containers in the garage and plant them in the ground in the spring? I live in Ohio.

A: I would install the plants this fall and let them spend the winter outside as they are meant to.

If you keep them inside the garage, the conditions are not the same as outside, and the conditions outside are what the plants are meant to be in, not the conditions inside your garage.

Therefore, I would dig a hole at least 1 1/2 to 2 times the diameter of the root balls, and slightly shallower, and install the plants this fall.

This way their roots will begin to regenerate right away, which will aid their establishment in the landscape come spring.