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seil_gw

Chinas and Teas winter in Zone 6!

seil zone 6b MI
9 years ago

We got 45 of the pots out of their winter storage today, that's roughly two thirds of them, before we collapsed, lol. Some of them look great, even have some leaves on them, others look like they're completely dead. However, the three I was most concerned about were my great zone pushing experiment with chinas and teas. Mutabilis looks great, almost completely green to the tips. The Archduke Charles has some good green down at the base but lost most of the longer cane on top. The Duchesse de Brabant has one large green cane and a couple of smaller ones but lost a few as well. I'm thrilled they made it through this frigid polar winter at all! We'll probably finish taking out the rest tomorrow. I'm a little surprised because quite a few of the minis have no green cane that I can see. They're all own root, of course, and should come back, but they were buried in the leaves more so than the larger roses. I would have thought that would have protected them better. Apparently not!

I haven't pruned anything yet so I'll know more when I can get to that and I'll get pictures of the three tender ones too.

Comments (15)

  • portlandmysteryrose
    9 years ago

    Seil, woo hoo! Celebrating the promising green on your tender teas and Chinas. You're such a bold and determined gardener. You must love teas as much as I do...maybe even more! Carol

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Carol! I think I'd go with a little nuts, lol. But I do love the look of those big soft blooms on the teas.

  • Adrift-in-beauty
    9 years ago

    Seil I was wondering if any of your above mentioneds can be grown own roots in Florida or will they be to susceptible to nematodes ... and good luck on all of those i'd be so scared to grow roses in any climate that snows I'd probably cry the first time I lost one ..

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Adrift, I really don't know anything about the nematode situation so I can't tell you if they'd work or not. I would check with a local rose society. They'll know more about what grows well in your area.

    If you don't push the zone there's nothing to be afraid of. Roses are remarkably tough and resilient. Even though I do zone push all the time I go in knowing that I could lose them and don't get upset when I do. The fun is when they surprise you and survive, lol!

  • melissa_thefarm
    9 years ago

    Congratulations, seil! That's such a satisfaction.
    Snow isn't the same as cold, and the problem is cold. We get a fair amount of snow most winters--I remember one spectacular occasion in which my husband, searching for our car down by the plowed road, found himself walking on its roof--but our low temperatures don't that often go below 20F. The worst thing about snow and Teas is that it can smash the canes, as I found out two winters ago. But they don't mind being buried in drifts; in fact, snow insulates, and the foot of snow on the ground at the time is probably the reason why a number of my more tender plants (among which I don't number the warm climate roses) survived three weeks of temperatures in the teens a few years ago.
    Melissa

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, Melissa! I can't imagine snow deep enough to bury a car! We had record snow fall here this winter but we also had record cold as well. There were times when we never got into double digit temps for a week or more and nights were well below zero. We broke our all time low at -29 degrees one night. So the roses had a tough winter and I'm surprised any of them made it.

    Not on these three in particular, their branches seem to bend well, but on many of the other roses I did notice a lot of broken canes. I was wondering about that but I think you supplied the answer. It must have been the weight of all the snow that snapped the frozen canes.

  • Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
    9 years ago

    Seil I am so glad to hear this! Just goes to show that with determination just about anything is possible for us rose nuts!
    Susan

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Lol, yep, Susan, and I love a good challenge!

  • annesfbay
    9 years ago

    Brava!

    Anne

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here are their pictures after i pruned them yesterday.

    Archduke Charles
    {{gwi:251703}}

    Duchesse de Brabant
    {{gwi:251705}}

    Mutabilis
    {{gwi:251706}}

  • nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
    9 years ago

    Congratulations, Seil! You have some nice healthy canes on those bushes, and to over-winter these in pots adds yet another zone of risk factor to the already iffy zone 6 prospects of these roses. The fact that you have succeeded so very well is a tribute to your insights and skills as a rose grower. As well as, I suspect, some trial and error along the way, but that's the fun of zone pushing. You can't make lemonade without squeezing some lemons, and you can't plant divas (for your zone) without experiencing some deaths. Kudos for persisting and enabling other zone pushers as well!

    Thanks to you, I have a Mutabilis and Archduke Charles on order. Nothing like enabling other zone-pushers, eh? Surprisingly, it looks like all 5 of my teas in the ground have survived, but like everything else they're pruned nearly to the ground. Nothing like the lovely foot or so of surviving cane on yours!

    Cynthia

  • vabyvlue
    9 years ago

    Seil, that is wonderful! Congratulations!

    I followed your advice on a different post and got a bunch of plant caddies to put the pots on. I am too going to experiment with Chinas and Teas here in Indianapolis and overwinter them in the garage.

  • melissa_thefarm
    9 years ago

    They look good, seil. I hope you and your roses both have a great spring and summer!
    Melissa

  • farmerduck NJ Z6b
    9 years ago

    Congratulations, Seil. All of my Teas (6 in total, 2 in pots) made it through as well, although those in the ground died down to ground level. I am "emboldened" by how the ones in the ground did, and have put the 2 in pots in ground as well. I am in Zone 6b.

    Here is a picture of my Duchesse De Barabant I grown in the ground. The picture was taken last summer. It was a band planted directly in the ground and got to about 3' x 3' after two years. I hope that it would rebound nicely this year.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Second-year DDB in Zone 6b

  • seil zone 6b MI
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks everyone! I hope I haven't enabled any of you into disappointment, lol!

    Now if it would just warm up a bit and get sunny for a few days my rose might just leaf out. It's been gray and cool here for so long and all the roses are just sitting there. Out of 132 roses I only have leaves on about 10 plants! The rest have signs of life but the aren't growing. I am so sick of this weather!!!