I've kept this rose, on its own root (a piece from Linda's Longago Roses), in my special area in my zone 5 garden alive for 2 winters now. I use a combination of lawn clippings, weeds, and fallen leaves and just pile them up, sometimes I use a few branches if it's windy to weight down the mulch. It will usually have about 6" of mulch piled up. Enough crown and stem survives to live and produce a few beautiful salmon pink-fade-yellow flowers that smell like peach iced tea when it's cooler out (the 70's). I also have Duchesse de Brabant in the same conditions that has made it through 4 rough winters so far.