Anyway, the same thing is happening this year that happened last year when the climbing roses died over the winter. They grew fine, but now we have had a couple of freezes, and they appear to be not going dormant as most of my other plants are. It appears to me the climbing roses are still trying to grow into winter and not loosing the leaves as they should be at this time. Can anyone help explain this?

I planted bud unions even with ground, and I see on forums that I should have gone deeper, but I went by rose package instructions when I planted them. As far as I know, these canes will not survive here exposed in zone 5 winter. I want to put sawdust as a mulch around the base 10" deep to protect bud union and roots, but I dont want to go through the hassle of trying to bury the canes.

I have read that this method will likely protect the bushes from winter coldness, but most people talk about cutting away dead canes in the spring, down to where they are not dead. I think it may be better to cut canes down to 10" now to prevent damage to the canes which may possibly shock and kill the bud union and roots also. Does anyone have any insight on this? Mostly I have read to spring prune them, but I think if I prune them heavily now, they may be stronger in the spring. If roots are not damaged, all I will need is a few good buds in the spring, and they should grow up at least 6' tall next season.

Whether sawdust is going to do anything constructive as a cover depends a lot on the type of winter that shows up. Warm and wet - any covering is going to cause canker. Cold and wet - any covering is redundant with the snow covering. Cold and dry - covering may actually help, but those winters are very, very rare around here.

If they survive, expect them to get no taller than 4 ft. They won't have the stored energy from the canes, and won't get the Midwestern summer heat to help them grow.

Occasionally, William Baffin will show up locally. I've even seen it in small pots for $15, which is quite reasonable. Aside from that, you are looking at mail order. Specifically, look at roses from Pickering in Ontario.

It sounds like you know what you have to do. It's just a matter of biting the bullet and doing it.

The tip of a rose cane should freeze first because the tip is more exposed to wind and also because the tip has a a smaller diameter and therefore cools faster. Once frozen, the ice within the tip should act as a desiccant, tending to remove water and dry out the lower part of the cane, which would make the lower part more resistant to cold damage.

If the above is true, then the prediction is that removing the tips in the Fall will result in canes frozen closer to the ground.

IMO, trying to grow climbers that are not cane-hardy in one's climate is best left to fanatics who have a vast expanse of yard room to work with. The best bloom on any climber comes in the May-June season and depends on lots of healthy cane surviving the winter. So if you want a big show of flowers, you'll probably want to replace some of the tender varieties with hardy Canadian Explorer climbers and once-bloomers. Seek mad_gallica's advice--she knows a ton about roses in upstate NY.

We have a hawthorne bush rose and a knockout in other gardens, and my wife prunes them down to about 1' tall in the fall, and they both grow like crazy and flower great during summer. Should we be leaving canes on these also to try to give the plant more energy the following growing season? The deer and rabbits may trim these down over winter anyway, as they are not fenced in.

This will be my second winter in zone 5 (Utica, N of you). We do get snow cover all winter, Dec-March, I understand, so that is a help.

I had these climbers last year, and all survived
Cl. Ophelia, probably not a good idea for this climate, but she is growing, slowly, did survive the winter under straw and I am a sucker for historic roses.

Cl. Rosemarie survived the winter, and is growing large and long; canes are about 6' long and growing and producing laterals. I shall probably cover the canes with burlap.

White Cocade survived, also New Dawn without protection, also Lawinia and the Japanese climber from Suzuki, Shin-setsu, I think is the name, is turning out to be a spendid rose. That latter did get canker on some canes, but it is so vigorous that new canes grew right back. This year I plan to use lime-sulfer spray in the spring when I unwrap.

Ash Wednesday, the once blooming climber from Kordes appears to be cane hardy, or nearly so. I also had canker on some canes, but that did not stop the rose from putting on a wonderful display.

I also do use copper-sulfate, which is half of Bordeaux mix, in fall only as a soil drench, to help stave off canker and other fungal diseases.

I also have five Ayreshire ramblers, Venusta Pendula, Duc de Constantine, Dundee Rambler, Queen of the Belgians and Maria Liesa. They grow and grow and then grow some more, and hardly loose any length to winter. If you don't mind once bloomers, you might want to consider some ramblers. Mind, I don't know how hardy are the wicherana ramblers. I have one, Jersey Beauty, planted this summer in a sheltered spot. I do plan to cover it with compost and straw; we shall see if it survives.

I planted potatoes in the site of last year's compost pile. I harvested the taters,leaving a mound of black, friable compost/soil mix. That is what I am using to mound over the roots of my roses. I figure it will make good fertilizer to help them get started come spring. That leaves a hole where I intend to bury some potted Portland roses I have.

I will be mounding the compost, putting straw over that, and wrapping the larger climbers in burlap stuffed with straw. We shall see come spring how it all works out.

This year I planted two of the wonderful Kordes climbers, Karlsruhe and Rosarium Uetersen, and two older climbers, Dream Girl and Autumn Beauty. I intend to cover very well, and I might tip the two Jacobus climbers. I understand the Kordes nurseries are located in an area which would be like our zone 6, so one ought to be able to go a zone colder with care and protection.

From what I understand, mulch should be romoved when local forsythia blooms.

Is there any trick or sign of the correct time to mulch the base these climbing roses?

I know a lot of people think the forsytha thing is an old wives tale but I think it has some value. The forsytha will not bloom until the soil temperature has reached a certain warmth. That's a good indication that the roses are ready to start growing too. For me that's usually around the first of April but not always.