I have grown them! I have some I bought as yearlings. Had them for 3 years now, so I guess they would be 4 year old plants. Just started getting a crop off of them.

They have done well, except the pesky deer like to eat the tender new shoots in the spring and have stunted their growth. They leave the older branches because the older branches have the thorns.

I don't think snow will hurt them at all unless we are talking about the snow forcefully being pilled up against them. But that would apply to pretty much any shrub or tree.