Do you have a friend who would provide you a corner in an attached garage? You'd only need to toss some snow on top of the soil every month or so. If you only have the shed, a box large enough to be over-turned so it covers the pot(s) would trap geothermal heat rising through the shed floor, but it would,'d be nearly as much heat as what conducts through a cement slab ...... unless the shed IS on a slab or the floor is earth/gravel/sand .....

Sorry I couldn't help more, R.

Al

Thank you both for your advice.

Austingarden: I'm concerned about the timing on pruning. Temps are supposed to go down to 30 tonight, but we almost always have 2-4 weeks of "Indian summer" from mid-October to Thanksgiving with highs up to 80. If I prune now, isn't there a risk that the plant will put out new growth that will be killed when true winter arrives?

Al: It's always a delight to hear from you. I don't really know anyone with an attached garage. But I do believe my shed is on the same slab that is under the part of my house it is attached to. I accidentally left my amaryllis bulbs on a shelf in there for a couple weeks of below freezing weather and they were fine even though the pots were small.

There is a risk that new growth will die, when the rose starts to lose it's leaves its time to prune.

Sounds like you should be good then, R.

Hey - good luck!

Al

I just potted up a miniture yellow rose bush from the floerbed where it's been for 3 or 4 years to a pot and wanted to overwinter it in our unheated garage and come Spring, sit it out on the patio/breezeway. Do I prune it all the way down when it goes into the garage? What if I wrapped the pot in several layers of newspaper and then in some type of blanket or old quilt that is washable? Do I need to lift it up off the concrete slab floor for the winter?

Pippi: I've been researching the question about pruning roses on the Roses forum. You might want to ask your question there. I get the impression that most rose growers do the bulk of their pruning in the spring. Considering that you transplanted your rose in the fall, when it should be going dormant, I'd be nervous about extensive pruning now. Here's a link to a discussion about overwintering roses in containers that doesn't mention pruning but does have a lot of good info.

Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering roses in containers

i remember reading about straw bales - they should be available right now, before halloween. nestle them tightly around the pots; add mulch to the top of the pot, if possible. this should be good thru indian summer. you could sort of set up a fall decoration around it with pumpkins and all. but bales/leaf bags could be used in the shed too.also you could put some hi stakes in the ground around the pot, wrap with plastic/burlap and fill inside with dried leaves, but that will need to be secured with smth on top - not to blow away. if it's not too wet - you could pile up leaves over the crown for warmth.

I have two new holly bushes (both Blue Princess)in containers on a New York City balcony. I'd like them to have berries and think I should purchase Blue Prince. Guess it will have to be mail order. Any suggestions for reliable mail order nursery? Is it more reliable not to get bareroot plant? Is this the right time of year to get the male plant if I want berries next year? How large should the blue prince be?

i have potted mini roses which sit out on the balcony and have been since around Mother's Day. I got them on sale at Whole Foods. I'm in zone 6/NYC area. The balcony is on the 8th floor and it can get windy. They're potted in Root Pouch containers. Should I be concerned about the root ball freezing? If so, what so I do to keep them protected while out on the balcony?