Welcome to the NE Gardening forum!

Hello mygypsyrose! I would usually say "welcome to the northeast" but in your case it seems you've checked it all out already!
Welcome. I hope you enjoy it around here as much as I do.
Please remind me, Tony Orlando or Barry Manilow. I'd guess T.O.

Hi. i live in zone 4a or 4b. up in the catskills, basically at the top. Ski resort area. basically snow from october to april. just passed our last frost date. i have been reading for a couple of weeks and it sounds like you guys are way ahead of me as far as years of gardening and experience. i am a florist so I am pretty good at identifying plants and know their growth habits but the soil things and tricks for over wintering plants are new to me. In the last 3 yrs i have puchased at least 20 rose bushes and I only have 2 to show for it. did that stop me???? no it didn't...i bought 6 more the other day. this time i looked up how to plant them though...so cross your fingers.
i'm not very clever with screen names either. ericalynne is just my name. in my defense though.. this is the first time i've ever joined in a chat room.

Ericalynne, hi! What a pretty name.

Dave's is a great place to learn and make gardening buddies. We're so glad you are here! Keep trying with the roses.

Welcome Ericalynne! Glad you've joined us. Don't worry about level of expertise. We are all still learning. Part of what amazes me is how much I've learned and how much I still don't know. Even folks who know a lot don't necessarily know a lot about everything.
About your roses, Do you keep trying hybrid teas? Or have you tried some of the easier roses?
Dave

Welcome Ericalynn - I used to love Windham. I rented in Tannersville during the ski season when I was in my 20's

dave- i have to be honest, i have no idea what kind of roses i'm planting. they look like your regular florist roses on the package. they say they are hardy in my area. and they are not climbing. the 2 bushes that have survived are smaller, like 12 inches tall and the flowers have only 5 or six petals. they die back almost to the ground every year but come right back in the spring. the other ones that don't survive die back and then get new growth from below the root graft(?) which never flowers.
anita- i grew up in tannersville. you should see it now. all the yuppie artists have moved in and painted the houses every color you can imagine- like turqoise, fuscia, orange, etc. it looks like a carnival. there are barely any nightclubs left. all cafes, arts galleries and stores. it's like woodstock. quit an improvement.

el, Well I'm stumped. (which is no great achievement) but I don't know roses that die back to the ground.(Do you mean they are winter-killed to within a few inches of their lives/) Are you mulching/mounding them in for the winter? They sound like they are grafted roses (the root stuck from a hardier, more prolific, less attractive rose is grafted to the weaker bloomer)
If they are that fragile, I would still guess hybid tea roses & suggest you try some shrub roses. Not trying to be preachy just thought you might want an alternative.
Dave

i don't mind advice. yes i'm talking about winterkill. it usually gets down to -20 during the winter for about a month, sometimes lower. we also have terrible wind, windchill can take it down to -40 or worse. i have mulched but doesn't help. i read that in minnesota or one of those godforsaken-even-colder-than-here places, they are pulling the canes down to the gound and covering them with soil and mulch. they say it seems to be working. i'm going to try it.

I could not find much in the way of roses for zone 4.I think covering the whole plant is a good idea. Maybe someone from zone 3 or 4 could help you.

I can't believe the description of Tannersville!!! I used to rent the apartment across from the A&P! Amazing what happens in 20 years!