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jbb2179

Wintering Roses

jbb2179
9 years ago

I'd like some general advice on pruning my roses and preparing them for winter. I planted them this year from bare roots, if pictures help I can upload some.

Comments (16)

  • seil zone 6b MI
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    First off, do not prune them this fall! In cold zones fall is the worst time to prune. Roses store a lot of energy in the canes themselves. They will need as much of that energy as they can get next spring to wake up. Yes, you will undoubtedly lose some of the cane to winter die back so you don't want to cut any off now. If you have something that is very tall and may whip around in high winds then stake and tie it up for winter but don't cut it off.

    Whether or not you want to add a winter mulch protection is up to you. There are differing points of view on that. I used to mulch all my roses in the ground heavily but no longer do that. I found it promoted fungal diseases and harbored rabbit rose munching nests. If a rose can't survive my winter buried deep in the ground then I don't need it. I do have a very large collection of roses in pots and those do need to be winterized but that's an entirely different kettle of fish. If you've chosen roses appropriate to you climate and planted the grafts 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface and they are healthy and well watered going into dormancy they should survive. Of course, there are always winters like the last one and then it's anyone's guess what will survive and what won't.

  • jbb2179
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not sure if they will survive the winter. I got the wrong roses when I ordered them. This one is supposed to be a "Cherry Parfait" rose, although it clearly is not.

  • jbb2179
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    This is the other rose the bloomed, it was supposed to be a Lagerfeld. And is also clearly not. Any advice on what roses they are and if they will survive the my winter would help. I also have another rose that didn't bloom, but has stayed small enough to completely cover, if that would help.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    wood mulch is good if you live in a warm climate to retain moisture and insulation for soil. In a cold ciimate ,I have found that wood mulch is not as good as leaves and yard waste aged compost. It is important to block the cold drying winds in the winter.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    wood mulch is good if you live in a warm climate to retain moisture and insulation for soil. In a cold ciimate ,I have found that wood mulch is not as good as leaves and yard waste aged compost. It is important to block the cold drying winds in the winter.

  • nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I totally agree with Seil that pruning down the roses before winter is poor advice for cold zones that was only created so the roses would fit under those styrofoam rose cones companies wanted to sell you (also a bad idea in cold zones). As Sam says, roses that are on the tender side want to be protected from cold winds, but they also need air circulation around them or you can get mildew and canker that will kill them faster than the cold. Natural materials are fine if you want to protect, like wood mulch, straw, or leaves that STAY DRY over the winter (usually oak leaves) - others can mat down into a soggy mess. Another is snow, and if you get consistent snow cover in your part of Iowa, that takes care of most of your winter protection issues.

    In my part of Nebraska, we don't have sufficient snow cover, so I like to winter protect new plantings and my fussiest roses. I do this by collecting big bags of leaves from the neighborhood, chopping them in half, then setting them around (but not touching) the roses for their own little "down coat" of protection, leaving the tops open. For me it's maximum ease of protection, since the leaves get spread out in spring for mulch and save effort there. Other folks have different methods - just don't protect them too soon or moisture and critters will get in there and do more damage than the winds. Wait till daytime temperatures are in the 20s - you WANT the rose to experience some cold and go dormant, or it really gets socked by the cold.

    As for which rose this is, I'm a poor judge, but it's at least a hybrid tea or floribunda, and definitely not either of the roses labeled. I'm assuming you got this from a home improvement or department store, which tends to have a high percentage of mislabeled roses, but since you're obviously getting nice leaf growth and some blooms you're doing much better than average with what we call "body bag" roses. It's hard to pick a label for red hybrid tea roses, but common ones in this color scheme sold widely include Oklahoma, Chysler Imperial, or Mr. Lincoln.

    Do whatever is comfortable for you this winter and use it as an experiment to see what works well for you. Some roses don't need any protection even in cold zones, and some won't survive no matter what you do, so don't be too discouraged whatever happens. Just keep checking in here when (not if) you get seriously interested in roses, and we can advise you on some roses that are relatively trouble free in your zone and still look nice. You have plenty of space to work with in your area, which from our perspective means "more roses!" (with some other perennials/annuals in between to fill in some extra color).

    Have fun

    Cynthia

  • jbb2179
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well I'm pretty interested in roses now, the garden you see them in used to be overgrown with all manners of weeds. Took me two days to clean it up. I've gotten some other good advice on weed control, pest control, and ferilizer. Snow cover is hit and miss, 4 (I think) years ago we had three feet of snow on the ground by Thanksgiving, the next year less than an inch the entire winter. I actually bought them from an online retailer pretending to be a nursery. Two of the five I bought died, so I'm lucky I've still got three, albeit the wrong ones. Would it be wise to buy roses that are hardy to zone 6 and protect them or just try and stay with ones that would do well in my zone or colder.

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You are lucky to be from Iowa where Dr Griffith Buck has hybridized some of the nicest roses there are. I have two. They are hardy.

    This post was edited by sam4949 on Tue, Sep 16, 14 at 23:56

  • nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Jbb

    Nice to hear you're already hooked on roses (smile) and congratulations on clearing out a weedy mess to look particularly nice now, as well as tempting for more plantings. One way to tell if your online retailer is a real nursery is to see if they will reimburse you for the dead roses and replace the mislabeled ones. From what you say, you may be dealing with someone who isn't prepared to stand by their roses, but that doesn't apply to the good rose online companies, who usually aren't any more expensive than the frauds but actually send what they've promised or resolve any differences with discussion. Good companies are being discussed now in other threads, and include Palatine or Regan roses (if you like them grafted), Roses Unlimited, Antique Rose Emporium and Chamblees (if you like own roots in gallon sizes, nice starts for newbies to roses), and Rogue Valley, Heirloom, Long Ago Roses, and a host of others (for some of the more uncommon roses, sent in own root "bands" that are a little slower to get started but grow just fine from there).

    It sounds like you've gotten some good advice about weeds and mulch from other sources from the look of your patch. Just a heads-up from whatever else you may have heard elsewhere about pest control with roses - whatever you do, don't get talked into any "2 in 1" or "3 in 1" products, that are almost always overkill and can actually harm your rose in some circumstances. By far, the best tools for disease or pest control with roses are three things: a hard spray of water, patience, and picking the right roses for your zone. The water will knock off the immediate creepy crawlies (e.g. aphids, spider mites), the patience will let you hold off with any sprays or anything till the good bugs come to polish off the creepy crawlies, and picking the right rose for your zone takes care of most of the disease as well as hardiness issues.

    Some of the answer to your final question about if it's better to buy roses for your zone or protect those hardy to zone 6 and hope depends on your expectations and how much work and anguish you want to put into your roses. When you're first reworking your yard, it's often most rewarding to get some reliable color in the area that doesn't take a lot of work, and by all means this is totally reasonable in zone 5 roses. Sam gave the recommendation of roses bred by Buck, and Kordes is another breeder that is usually pretty winter hardy and resistant to the blackspot that we're prone to in this area. Easy Elegance roses (by Ping Lim) are pretty bullet proof for me, and fairly widely available in my local garden centers. Earl May has a few (I think you have those in Iowa), and if you're close to Omaha, Mulhall's has a great selection.

    Sometimes when people think of roses, they think of the perfectly spiraled Hybrid Tea (HT) roses like the ones in your pictures, and those can be hit and miss for ones that both survive our zone and do well. Just because a HT rose isn't rated for our zone doesn't make it impossible, but just because its ratings include our zone doesn't mean it will necessarily bloom well or often. Some of the winter hardy roses can also have this hybrid tea shape - including many Kordes and some of the Buck roses - but the hardier the rose, the more likely it is to have more of an open shape or a peony-like form that many of the old garden roses have (and most of the David Austin roses have too - they mostly do quite well in our zone too). That isn't necessarily bad, and you may be getting a much more fragrant rose if you move outside the classic rose shape, but it depends on what you're looking for.

    Bottom line - you get to suit yourself. If you want a reliable rose that will give you nice color without sweating too much, pick a rose that's good in zone 5. There are hundreds, nay thousands, of these and we can give you some help in picking something (but a new thread would be best if you want a lot of responses on that). If you really want that hybrid tea form, you have to either pick a lot more carefully among the zone 5 roses (still quite possible) or be willing to fuss a bit and lose roses periodically to bad winters. Of course, you can do some of both, as I do, since growing roses isn't an either-or of anything.

    BTW, I have both of the roses you had intended to buy (Cherry Parfait and Lagerfeld) and they both survive for me without too much fussing. Cherry Parfait is actually quite a nice bloomer for me, but Poseidon (from Kordes) is better in the lavender shades than Lagerfeld. As always, things may be different in your yard, YMMV, and you'll want to check out the website helpmefind.com for more information about roses you're considering, as well as checking in with the fine folks here. Don't get discouraged - growing roses doesn't have to be hard and it can be very rewarding!

    Cynthia

  • susan4952
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Regardless of the zone of the chosen rose, Mother Nature is ultimately in charge. And if everything is intact, weather and zone wise, the best thing you can do is get them as healthy as possible during the growing season so they tolerate winter. A healthy rose is far better equipped to deal with variations in the environment.

  • jbb2179
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was actually supposed to get the Bonanza rose by Kordes, but that is the one that is still alive but never bloomed this year. They are going to replace the dead ones but no refunds, and they are willing to send me the right roses, but with all the hassle I had to go through to get the dead ones replaced, I'm just gonna have some really pretty red roses. Next time I order, I'll go through some place more reputable. Any thoughts on Heirloom roses?

    This post was edited by jbb2179 on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 0:44

  • Melissa Mc (6b)
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Those of you in Zone 6---you do not mulch? I have found that mulching does help my roses in the winter. Should I use straw instead?

  • Samuel Adirondack NY 4b5a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    There are bulletins from Iowa state u and Ohio State University Agricultural about the use of wood mulch.

  • anteakfreak
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jbb2179 :

    I am still 'green' in the garden as well. I adore roses, and I purchased several roses from Heirloom. I will not lie, and will say that I was awfully disappointed with how small the plants were. I was certain none of them would survive the bi-polar spring Chicago had this year, based on how tiny the plants were. And, because I have not a single clue, I was very wrong :) These plants really grew! Some in leaps and bounds, and others much slower. I had some that are still giving me fabulous blooms. And one plant in particular has about 4 or 5 blooms about ready to open. My main goal this year was not to kill them, which I am very proud to admit, I did not. In the end, they are all great plants. And I was and am very pleased. I do recommend them, and I love that their website has the option to hold a wish list. :)

    I attached a picture of the actual plants I started this year.

    ...also, right now, many of the roses are out of stock, but I was told that after January, they will start taking orders again! Good luck, and do let me know if you go with Heirloom and what you think!

  • growlove
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Have been growing roses for 30 years and gradually seem to be losing some every winter. Most of my hybrid teas are gone so am wondering if someone knows of a nursery that sells own root roses which are supposed to be hardier or am I mistaken? Love hybrid teas for picking, but will be happy to just see a garden of roses that don't die in our cold winters often without snow cover. I have always mulched them with dried leaves after it freezes hard. Rose slugs are also a big problem, but will try the merit as suggested in this thread.Thanks for any help. Mary