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barry_1980

record low temps

Barry-1980
10 years ago

I'm curious about roses in northern climates. Is it true that if a rose has basically froze altogether that even colder temps can't harm them? Depending on the type of rose I'm assuming. The temperatures here 2 weeks ago dropped to say -40 or even lower. Is this something I need to worry about?

Please let me know....
Barry

Comments (7)

  • farmerduck NJ Z6b
    10 years ago

    I guess that it depends on the cold hardiness of the roses you grow. I am living in an area where it used to be 6b, and now is zoned for 7a. But it is probably a 6a/5b this winter. I am zone pushing and have a half dozen Teas. A few of them seem to have kicked the dust already....

    The good news is that we have decent snow cover and these are all ownroots, so there is always hope

  • wirosarian_z4b_WI
    10 years ago

    Below is a link to an article on the ARS web site that is an interesting read on this topic

    Here is a link that might be useful: ARS article

  • julia034
    10 years ago

    I am really surprised that more people haven't commented on the coldest winter that i have seen in at least 15 years! I am so worried about my roses and looking at the temps coming up it doesn't look like its getting any better any time soon. :-(

  • mori1
    10 years ago

    I know I've already lost two but the rest still show signs of life. Around here, we have to bury the graft otherwise they will die. Its my other plants I'm worried about. We've had some nasty cold and no snow for weeks. We finally did get a lot of snow to go along with the cold. Got extra seeds to this year because something tells me I'm going to need fillers.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the link, wirosarian! That was a great article about what happens in the roses.

    It's been nasty cold here too, of course, but I'm not fretting yet. We do have a good amount of snow cover and that really helps. And I've learned not to jump to the conclusion that a rose is dead too soon. Many times in the early spring I've thought I'd lost a rose only to find out a few weeks later that it wasn't dead after all. There may be a lot of deeper than usual pruning needed but that doesn't mean the rose is a goner. Just because there is a lot of cane die back doesn't mean the graft/roots have died off. So don't be too quick to dig things out thinking they're dead. Give them a chance to really warm up and get going in the later spring.

  • henryinct
    10 years ago

    If the roses are well established and in good condition (and those are big ifs), my experience is that roses will survive unprotected even the worst winters at least where we lived in Z6b Connecticut. It is not really the severity of the winter that matters. The damage is caused if either the onset of cold is so fast that the rose has not had sufficient time to prepare or if there is a warming spell that tricks the rose into thinking the cold is over and this is followed by a quick return to severe cold. Over the years I had quite a few that were tender like many of the yellows (Oregold, St. Patrick) that were killed to the ground but they almost always survived.

  • susan4952
    10 years ago

    That is good news, henryinct. I am very worried about my 85 in the ground and even more worried about my tree roses in the garage. Even tho heated and attached. Those grafts are in 28 degree weather. Mine are all very healthy but this whole effort is a crap shoot.