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nutsaboutflowers

Protecting Roses with Leaves for Winter

nutsaboutflowers
13 years ago

In my previous post about uses for shredded leaves, Marcia and Northspruce say they cover their roses with leaves for the winter.

Do I need to do that with my Emily Carr (3 feet tall) and George Vancouver (2 feet tall) roses? They were tiny last year and not planted ( I just put them in their pots in a hole) but this year they're in the ground and have grown quite nicely.

These two roses are hardy enough that they don't need protection, do they? Or do they? They're in a semi protected area.

Comments (5)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    13 years ago

    I don't know if you need to or not, with those roses. I usually protect Hawkeye Belle, Topaz Jewel, JP Connell (those two never bloomed this year, though), Marie Bugnet, Champlain (still a lot of dieback in spite of protection), and my two White Kosters (which are supposedly zone 4). I think the protection is more to help them through freeze/thaw cycles in the spring.

    For the roses that are too tall to slip a cardboard box over, i heap the leaves up around the base, or sometimes cut open one side of the box and put it around the rose before filling with leaves. And you wait until the ground is frozen before you do this.

  • northspruce
    13 years ago

    I protect most of mine too. I don't protect Rugosas or the really hardy ramblers. I make a big pile of leaves around the rose and wrap around it with burlap. One, Mme. Plantier, is 5' tall but has flexible, thornless canes so I lay it on the ground and do the above.

    ITA to wait until the ground freezes. FTR I would protect Emily Carr. It's probably good to the snow line but some years there's not much snow. Also as Marcia says it keeps the rose from thawing out too early and then re-freezing.

  • nutsaboutflowers
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I guess I better save some of my leaves for my roses. Thanks for the replies !

    I don't do any pruning until spring, right? Or, is there any reason I can't trim some of the longest branches? Oh, and right now there's still unopened blooms. I suspect I should cut them off so the plant can use it's energy elsewhere.....

  • northspruce
    13 years ago

    I would just leave pruning until spring. Then you can see what died. If you need to trim a little to get it covered after the plant's dormant and the ground is frozen that's ok. But pruning before dormancy can stimulate weak new growth that won't do any good.

  • rosecavalier
    13 years ago

    Nutsaboutflowers: I winter protect (last 10 yrs) most of my Explorer/Parkland roses with the product below and have had consistently positive results - you could even put it over existing roses that have leaves for winter protection. Shedding moisture over fall, winter, and early spring really helps control canker.

    Bon chance!

    Here is a link that might be useful: foil insulation