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sunnysideuphill

Polar WHAT?

sunnysideuphill
10 years ago

All I can say is thank God for the snow cover. Hope the crowns of my mostly own root roses will survive. On the rose beds, except for Therese Bugnet, all are mostly covered.However, my guess is lots of cane damage come spring.
BUT -
I had moved some potted roses into the raised bed veggie garden last fall, joining some that had been there for two years, since "my eyes are bigger than my stomach" when it comes to buying roses, and there just isn't any place for them in flower gardens yet. There is a rugosa Hansa, DA Graham Thomas, DA Glamis Castle, gallica Cardinal de Richelieu, and a few Rogue Valley Roses mystery roses. And looking out over the north side of house, towards those raised beds, I can see all their canes above the snow.
I guess we'll see who likes Zone 5 southern NH!

Comments (25)

  • jacqueline9CA
    10 years ago

    Meanwhile, on the West Coast we are having highs in the mid 70s every day for weeks. All sun, no clouds. I just heard a news report last night that the bears in the Sierra Nevada mountains are not going into hibernation this winter, as it is too warm, so they are ranging all over looking for food.

    Jackie

  • sunnysideuphill
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    ok loose BEARS??? And what will they eat, when this is the season they should be sleeping? Will they be in your back yard?
    Sorry, serious bear phobia on my part. Black bears abound here, and this fall there was a teenager on my street who was clearly on his own, booted out by mom, and looking for a good winter spotâ¦.first time I saw him, I wondered who had gotten a black Newfoundland and was letting him wanderâ¦got closer, and the dog and I bolted for home. And made sure I closed the barn door every night after checking the chickens.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    10 years ago

    I wish I could just hibernate through this winter! I'm sick of it!

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    10 years ago

    I decided to take a risk and not offer any additional protection to my in-the-ground roses this Winter, to see which ones get by fine (I'm possibly zone-pushing with a couple of Teas and 'Jaune Desprez'). This was the second blast of intense cold we've gotten this Winter, with nighttime temperatures dipping down to the single-digits, but it came after a lot of snow.

    I noticed that because 'Jaune Desprez' is trained up into a tree (snug against the trunk and branches), its canes are blanketed with 2-3" of snow their entire length (one cane going 6' into the tree). The same thing happened last time. I noticed only a little tip-damage so far, but nothing but green canes otherwise. I'll see in Spring where the growth buds start swelling, and snip back anything that doesn't wake up. I'm hoping I don't have to Winter-protect this one every year, and wanted to see how it did on its own first.

    In the rest of the yard I have a mix of obviously-sleeping leafless roses, some that look like they got "stopped in their tracks" but are still hanging on to their gold and brown leaves, and a handful of others that leave me baffled and slightly worried. 'Rosa moschata', 'Souvenir du Dr. Jamain' and 'Marie Pavie' are still completely green (including leaves), with little or no leaf loss. There hasn't been any new growth since November, but I'm surprised they not only have their leaves, but those leaves look as green and supple as they did in Summer.

    Weird....

    :-)

    ~Christopher

  • kittymoonbeam
    10 years ago

    I've always thought it would be good for humans to hibernate if we could find a safe way to do it. People needing to lose weight for health could check into a room and be safely watched while they lost weight sleeping. Weight loss is so hard that many people can't do it. I feel sorry for these hungry bears.

    I missed our winter this year. We finally got some cool fog today to beat the 80s temps we have had most every day. That warm wind is supposed to return again. I love this cool moist ocean air! Take care all of you with roses under a thick blanket of snow. I hope they are all having spring dreams.

  • Kippy
    10 years ago

    Paperwhites and Daffodils are blooming here.

  • portlandmysteryrose
    10 years ago

    We had one blast of cold/ice in PDX which dinged my Daphne odora. :-(. My sis in TX has a garden in recovery, though. Thinking of you all in the Vortex Regions as spring unfolds and garden roll call occurs. Christopher, hope Indigo is well. I have more if you need one. Gallicas: I'll also be shoveling up some Officinalis and Versicolor this spring....

    Carol

  • anntn6b
    10 years ago

    This year has , so far, been different in that it hasn't just been cold, but the cold has been more intense. I wish we had the info from history about what classes of roses could withstand (how many) uninterrupted hours of temperatures below freezing. Not just below freezing (teas and chinas can and have withstood temps into the low 20s without damage to their leaves), but below that and for four or five days.

    A decade or go we got down to -10F, but we had a lovely ten+ inches of protecting snow.

    This time, no snow, and even worse, sharp winds.

    At least I have a good camera to record the damage once I go out and soak up the misery.

    So far, two extended cold days, and it sounds like another one next week.

    I feel sorry for the cells of the above ground rose growth.

  • nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
    10 years ago

    Enough already, you California people. Paperwhites and Daffodils--who needs 'em? Me. So I'm not so grumpy. Diane

  • portlandmysteryrose
    10 years ago

    I keep thinking of my old garden(s) in Minneapolis. I'm assuming my precious and laboriously collected albas, rugosas and gallicas weathered the arctic blast. Perhaps it's best that I'll never know.... Does anyone else ever worry about their former gardens like a mom with grown kids off in the world?

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    10 years ago

    PortlandMysteryRose -- I think 'Indigo' is going to be fine, but thanks so much for the offer. Like their Gallica and Damask cousins in the garden, my Portlands all "had enough sense" to go fully dormant back in November. I guess I'll see how they all held out in a couple months....

    :-/

    ~Christopher

    This post was edited by AquaEyes on Thu, Jan 23, 14 at 17:40

  • thorngrower sw. ont. z5
    10 years ago

    This is the 1st real Z5 winter that we've had since I put in my climbers. We will see if they are truly Z5 hardy. I very anxious to see......

  • Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
    10 years ago

    Honestly I am in emotional distress. We have no snow. I have a rather large ghetto. There is truly no relief in sight. I've prepared myself for sadness. I guess it would be better if I had gotten a chance to see some bloom and perform. I have learned my lesson about winter. Last year my small teas never went dormant. I ordered 2G HMs in August and they are dead, dead, dead.
    The one gallons are living in my 30 degree garage with some filtered light....
    The forecast calls for this type of cold for the next 10 days! Ann I guess we can commiserate this spring.
    Susan, who tries to remain hopeful but assumes only my Geschwind's will make it.

  • portlandmysteryrose
    10 years ago

    Susan
    Have you tried bubble wrapping? I think of bubble wrap as extra insurance. Sending gardener's sympathy!

    Christopher
    Fingers crossed for all your roses!

    Carol

  • nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
    10 years ago

    Ann

    In response to your question about what classes of roses can withstand extended periods of below zero temperatures, we have a fair bit of history to claim this distinction for some classes of roses - most rugosas and Hybrid Perpetuals, some bourbons, many Austins, and many modern shrubs - then of course there are the cold weather champs like Albas, Centrifolias, and Gallicas that need the winter cold, and Explorers that laugh off the cold. I agree that it would be nice to see studies that could document exactly how many hours under zero (or other benchmarks) particular roses could take, but at least in my yard, I can't really generalize this by class, and it would have to be tested rose by rose for most classes.

    What I interpret from your question, at least in my zone 5 cold, is which roses within those classes CAN'T survive extended freezing or below zero, and which roses in the classes that aren't supposed to survive extended cold CAN. Many many hybrid teas, floribundas, and hybrid musks survive zone 5 without protection as rated zone 7, and others rated equally cold are total wimps at the slightest breath of cold. Most of us in cold zones have been too cautious to plant the truly warm weather roses like teas, chinas, and noisettes because they're not supposed to survive below 20F, but I have a few roses in all three classes that are just fine with a little winter protection. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason in which roses are actually hardier than their zone, so the main sources of that info are here at GW and in HMF comments.

    For folks in warmer zones who are getting a taste of zone 5 (or colder) weather, hopefully it helps to hear from the rest of us in colder zones that this can be survivable, but it's hard to predict in advance for any given rose. Thorn Grower, I agree that this is our first zone 5 winter in some time, except for three years ago with massive amounts of snow. That winter the roses survived absolutely like champs - better than in warmer winters - but this winter may be harder, since we've had only a dusting of snow here and there this winter. It keeps dipping and staying below zero every couple of days, however, so it'll be a real test of the real survival of roses in my yard since I decided to minimize the protection I usually do, except for the teas.

    At least I won't run out of space yet to plant new roses! Think spring!

    Cynthia

  • Kippy
    10 years ago

    Susan

    I hope that your roses in pots surprise you with just how hardy they can be. I am so sorry, because you have collected some wonderful plants, lets hope they come back in the spring

  • AquaEyes 7a NJ
    10 years ago

    The cold I'm experiencing isn't below the cold hardiness zone, but it's hovering at the low point -- and came earlier and is hanging around longer than usual. Most years, we get one cold blast or two hitting single-digit temperatures for a few nights around the midpoint of Winter, with most of the daytime temperatures going above freezing. I haven't seen any negative nighttime temperatures here (yet), so we haven't gone below the 7a minimums. It's just that those minimums don't usually hang around as long here as they have been this year. It's ironic that I left Buffalo after three years to come back down in time to get blasted with the type of cold I was happy to leave behind.

    :-/

    ~Christopher

  • pat_bamaz7
    10 years ago

    Susan, IâÂÂm about 150 miles south of you, so not quite as frigid, but still bad here. During the first cold spell, I left my young potted bourbons, hybrid musks & perpetuals out under a pile of mulch, but brought my teas & chinas in the garage. I didnâÂÂt bring anything in for this weekâÂÂs cold snap and donâÂÂt plan to bring them in for next weekâÂÂs, either. They are all snuggled together with a thick cover of mulch. It went above freezing here today, so I got to check on them. They all seem to have green canes and many still have green leaves, so donâÂÂt lose hope yet! Hoping February brings better weather for everyone!!!

  • Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
    10 years ago

    Thanks for the info! Pat, which would be best, leaving the teas and chinas in the garage or setting them out snuggled with mulch? I have too many to keep bringing in and out during this seesaw winter. It is driving me nuts and I've pretty much just given up....
    Susan

  • wren_garden
    10 years ago

    Most of the 32 roses in my garden are zone 5 or lower with just a few zone 6. This is in Western NY along the Niagara river near Niagara Falls. The temps have been frigid single digit with high winds. Some days it it 25-30 miles an hours sustained for hours. The garden is 11 years old and this is the harshest winter yet. All the roses are own root. It will be interesting as to how they all do. Every time I shovel snow I heap it on the roses. What canes poke out are black. There will be heavy pruning this spring when ever it gets here. I usually do some pruning the start of April. This year I may wait till I see fat leaf buds ready to sprout. The snow is a great blessing as I keep telling myself as I clear another 2ft drift,lol We will all have to add an extra load of TLC this spring.

  • lori_elf z6b MD
    10 years ago

    My area was reclassified as zone 7a in the 2012 USDA zone map update, but luckily I did not go out and plant marginally hardy plants as a result. We're having one of the coldest winters and prolonged cold spells I can remember! Single digits repeatedly and we had windchills that were negative.

    I am hoping there will be a silver lining to this record cold and maybe some of the nuisance insects will be diminished (how about mosquitoes?), or some fungal diseases lessoned? Anyone have insight on that?

  • sc_gardener
    10 years ago

    We got down to -18F here so far. We had -27 here many years ago and the only canes that survived were of the rugosas. Unfortunately most get chlorotic here in our alkaline soil and do not rebloom so I have mostly given up on them with the exception of a few varieties.
    I am hoping this year goes OK:( at least we have snow cover. I have found that ice is much harder on the roses than snow.

  • melissa_thefarm
    10 years ago

    A few years ago we had a couple of weeks of the coldest weather I've seen since I moved to Italy, lows in the teens and highs in the twenties, gray, with a foot of snow on the ground. The Teas and Chinas kept their foliage and suffered no particular damage. I don't remember a lot of wind. Plants in pots are a totally different affair, of course. Ours did fine because of the snow cover, as did a number of somewhat tender herbaceous plants that died back to the ground as usual but whose roots were protected by snow. We also did some mulching of pots with hay before the cold arrived.
    Melissa

  • sc_gardener
    10 years ago

    Just checked today, am seeing a lot of very black canes, this is not looking good. We will know in a couple months though...

  • mariannese
    10 years ago

    Not much Polar climate here on the 59th parallel so far this winter. Temps between 28 and 36F and hardly any snow, only between 3 and 5 inches. My street has been plowed twice in the last two months.

    Still I'm not happy. This weather can't possibly last so I'm afraid that we'll have another March like last year, the coldest since the 1880'ies. If we don't get snow soon it will be a worse catastrophe for my roses than last March. We had much more snow then but so many large roses froze to the snow level and didn't flower at all.
    Marianne in Sweden