Wait. Patience seems to be a very sparse commodity among some rose growers - I think there is too much worrying going on, and not enough enjoyment of the garden! By June they will probably start leafing out again - and then you can cut out any canes that actually died, as opposed to just losing some leaves.

Jackie

I believe Jackie is right, wait. All will be well.

After reading your post on the other thread I went looking for the post you mentioned, Mark. I can't tell you why I didn't see this one sooner but I missed it somehow. My apologies.

To answer your question, I too have had the temps dip below freezing several times now since my roses leafed out, in March, of all things. I have several that have some brown and crunchy leaves on them as a result. But the canes are still green and healthy looking so I've just left them alone. As it starts to warm up those leaves will drop off when the roses push out new healthy leaves again. As long as the canes do not turn black or whither they should be fine. The only other thing you can try to do is cover them if you are able when it's going to frost/freeze. Row cloth is best but it's expensive but you can just use bed sheets too. With over 200 roses it's more than I can cover so I'll have to just take my chances.

But even though I've had some frost damage I also have buds trying to open! I think one of them may open this week some time and that will be the earliest I've ever had a rose bloom here! My earliest date before was May 8, 2010. Usually I get my first blooms the week of Memorial Day.

Where abouts do you live? I'm north east of Detroit on Lake St Clair. I hope the temps start to even out soon for both of us!

Hoping someone with more experience than me sees this. How old are the roses? Can someone say if giving them some seaweed neptunes fertilizer (diluted) once past all danger of another freeze will help? It seems to help mine put out new leaves. Can't recall if it encourages blooms or sacrifices them for leaves.

Mark.......

Like Seil, I read your remarks about your question being dismissed and thought I should respond to you before participating in the other thread.

I live in the mountains of northern California in zone 8, so my "California experience" is different from many others who participate in this forum.

In my climate, we always have a false spring late January or early February and the roses wake up and start leafing out, but winter is not over. I just ignore the roses until it is time to prune and get them going for spring.

The cold damaged leaves are usually on the parts of the rose that get pruned during spring clean-up, so it has never been detrimental to wait.

Another thought comes to mind ... a friend told me that the rose abandons the growth it does not want to keep, so you will know exactly what you need to prune off of the plant. If you just whack them as soon as you see something that doesn't look right, you might be cutting the plant back too hard. Yes, they will look pretty awful during that process, but they are doing what roses do.

Vettin: Feeding roses after all danger of frost has past is part of the process of preparing the plants for their first flush. Altho' the roses do store nutrients in their canes and in their roots, they can always use those extra nutrients as they move into spring it encourages both plant growth (leaves) and blooms.

Smiles,
Lyn

Well I feel terrible, Didn't want to force people to respond. I really appreciate the response tho. I've never had my roses leaf/out this early. I'll watch for blackend canes and be patient.Most seem to be getting threw all this frost well.I live on the north east side of lake st. clair.
on the canadian side.Hoping things will settle down and my spring bulbs are very beautiful this year. Lots to look forward to and thankyou all........

We're probably right across the lake from each other, Mark! You're right, because of this wacky weather the spring bulb displays have been really spectacular. The early warmth made them all open early and at once and then the cool down has kept them fresh and pretty for way longer than usual. I have tulips that opened before Easter that still look good!

Yes its sounds like we are very close. Last fall I cleared a number of spots for tulips and Zinnias. When the tulips finish I'll remove them and plant out my Zinnias.My roses are looking much better than when I 1st posted. I think Graham Thomas will need special attn. it has been hit the hardest.My albas, gallicas and rugosas seemed to have faired better.....I will look for your further posts with special interest....Thnx again

Mark

Things should look good by mid June. Do not despair. Roses will heal and life will go on or roses will not heal and life still goes on.

It is heartbreaking to find a hobby one loves, only to have those big daydreams dashed year in and out. After tens of thousands of dollars, I have reduced the size and work of my garden to minimal and I have time for other things.

Do I miss all the roses? Yes. Do I miss all the work? It was good for my bones and the sunshine was also good for them. I actually weighed more, perhaps because I ate more when I worked so hard. Was it worth all the money that I spent on foods, fertilizers, chemical and manual labor for me, my husband and a full-time gardener, putting off vacations when I could have been traveling to see other gardens Heck, no.

Learn to live with what you can afford to lose or live with, without disturbing your heart rhythm. Make life's chores simple, its pleasures longlasting; it's so short.

Mark, my roses leafed out early as well, in March, and it was really strange to see! Then I had frost damage in early April. I've been watching and waiting.... holding off on pruning frost damaged canes until I'm absolutely sure that the cane is dead. It can take many weeks to fully know what the damage may or may not be. Better to hold off on any pruning until there is certainty about whether the damaged cane is truly dead.

My roses have new growth as well, new in April, so the spring season this month has seen new bud eyes sprouting just like any other April. That's encouraging to see, and I expect to see blooms in June, but don't know if I will have any unusually early blooming.