I need to make do with my own leaves this year as someone else took the ones i usually get from a place across the road from the shool. Hopefully it will be enough. We're supposed to get some nice weather, though, Gil - for a few days, at least.

During recent years this website/link has helped me determine how diligent I should be in winter protecting my roses.

I'm just finishing up today - almost forgot the mouse poison - should have known better from past experience.

As a test, think of some past winter/summer that traumatized you and then look it up on the tables - you may find a correlation. The tables update around the 5th of each month - that's today.

My thoughts northspruce.....don't spare the leaves!

{{gwi:218771}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Last 60 yrs el Nino/la Nina

We had a blizzard less than two weeks ago, and now it's been nice out again. I spent the whole afternoon outside. A lot of weeds are still doing fine, and the Johnny Jump-Ups seem to forget that we had snow. I found two new pea plants about 2 inches high.

I fear for my roses. My George Vancouver has new growth on it, and it and my Emily Carr still have all their leaves, which are still mostly green.

Western Canada is supposed to be cold this year, right?

Don't worry too much about new growth, if it dies it dies and you prune it off. I find some roses have trouble going dormant in our climate. Some of my HTs just will not turn colour or lose their leaves, and I end up covering them like that. The hardiest roses seem to know what they're doing though. I've got a really pretty Blanc Double de Coubert with yellow leaves, and Polstjarnan with red and yellow right now. :0)

Hansa and Henry Kelsey still has all their leaves, but most of the other roses have lost theirs. Hawkeye Belle has some kind of weird leaf growth attached to the stem. I don't know about that, but it seems okay otherwise.

Yes, time now to cover the tender roses, it's been freezing hard the last few nights and frost is beginning to penetrate the ground in shaded area.

Marcia, what kind of "weird" leaf growth is upon your 'Hawkeye Belle'?

Terry, i'll try to remember to take a picture later today. It's like a leaf but attached to the cane on one side, a pink stripe on it and then green. I don't think i've ever seen that before.

We've had beautiful weather here the past week or so, and no hard frosts. That will come on the weekend and i'll be mulching the roses then.

Marcia, you are fortunate for not having received a hard frost to this late date. It was before the third week of September that this part of Alberta had a major killing frost, this had even zapped my perennial mums.

Am looking forward to seeing the photo :)

Well, of course i didn't get one today, but i had a quick look and it's hard to describe. Will definitely try to remember tomorrow!

Marcia, the reason I'm curious about seeing what's going on with your rose is to rule out Rose Rosette Disease, which is very serious ... or, maybe, itâÂÂs just some kind of interesting mutation.

Looks like snow and cold coming for early next week, so I MUST finish up with the winter protecting!

Terry

Just looked that up, Terry, and it's not like that, thank goodness! I'll get pictures tomorrow for sure.

I did my roses yesterday - put boxes around them and filled them with leaves. There's actually two more to do, but i didn't have the boxes for them. Hope to get some this week. The white stuff is falling today.... :-/

Here's the picture of Hawkeye Belle's leaves. My macro didn't seem to be working so the pic is pretty blurry, but you can kind of tell what it is.

The look like fancy stipules to me... and maybe the leaves got eaten by something so you notice them more?

mmmmm, did the entire stem grow without producing leaves? If so, it could be a mutant stem, one that does not now how to make leaves.

They all had leaves, as far as i remember. Here, i found this picture taken a few weeks ago. You can see the leaves, but also the other things:

Just looked it up, and that's what they seem to be - stipules. Well, there you go - learned something today! Thanks, Gil!

Your Hawkeye Belle looks very nice Marcia!

One I've been wanting to get, though seems rather unavailable in Canada is 'Quietness'.

Thanks, Terry! She's a beauty, for sure. That was taken in late October, and i think the deer enjoyed the blooms as well... LOL What does 'Quietness' look like? Is it a Buck rose?

Marcia, thereâÂÂs several threads on GardenWeb regarding 'Quietness' ... people always have very good things to say about it and also that it's been very hardy for zone 4 rose growers, so should also do good or us :) ... though, as I had mentioned, it's not much obtainable in Canada.

Winter has arrived in Alberta, I finished covering over my few tender roses and now await the snow to give them additional protection

I did read up on Quietness, and it looks similar to Hawkeye Belle. Hortico has a lot of roses - did you check with them?

Not winter here quite yet, but probably soon. :)

My uncovered roses, leaves still green, look very sad half covered with snow =:(

Here's hoping everyone's roses survive the winter !

They might look sad, but they're appreciating the snow cover. It would be a lot worse if they didn't have it. My roses survived last winter, but several had significant dieback because of the lack of snow cover and the cold temps without snow. Not that it was a particularly cold winter, but without snow cover, they were more exposed.

This is the first year I've had roses and they've done very well. However, I have no idea if they will survive the winter. I was amazed that only Terese Bugnet formed hips and lost her leaves early. The others kept their leaves and formed only a few hips very late. Winter has been slow coming (which is nice) but not sure whether the roses will be ready for the cold that's coming this week. I used peat moss to cover them as don't have many leaves and didn't collect OP's this year.

Guess it's just another gardening experiment altho might be a more costly one than most.

Luckygal

This was the first year (technically) that I had roses, too. I don't count that I bought them the year before, didn't get around to planting them, dug a couple holes, and threw them in the holes, pots and all for the winter. Since they survived I planted them this spring and they did really well. Except for the yellow one that died over the winter. It was iffy to being with. I still have Emily Carr and George Vancouver. I haven't mulched or anything, so since fellow GWers have said they'll be fine, then they will be =:)

Don't judge anything by the hips. Some roses set hips and others don't or very rarely. One of my new HTs, Rio Samba, surprised me this year by producing a very large orange hip from every bloom. Winnipeg Parks set a lot this year too.

I do think losing the leaves is a good sign though. Now hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will all be enjoying our roses again next year.

My newly planted Morden Belle is still green as it can be. It's snowing like mad now. Weird.

All the other roses went recently dormant.

Rosecavalier, that's a good protection method and placement of your roses. Roses planted along a sidewalk or driveway, these receive the benefit of the additional snow that gets piled upon them. Today, I removed the four inches of accumulation which was mostly used to cover the roses. The majority of my hybrid teas are planted along the south side of the house, the snow sifts off the roof and really piles up making for a particularly good rose growing location.

Luckygal, do you have names for the other roses of yours, it would be interesting to know what you have planted.

Twrosz, I finally got smart and now keep all plant tags in a binder so at least I know all the plants I bot this year. I've twice lost info in computer crashes so it's hard copy for me from now on.

Besides the Terese Bugnet which grew like a weed, I got a Morden Sunrise, and 3 Country Dancer. The latter are Buck roses and may only be hardy to zone 4 so I'm pushing it a bit but will shovel some snow over the peat moss eventually. They are all on the east side of the house so somewhat protected. If they don't make it I'll make better choices next year. I bot them at the end of June on sale so there wasn't as much choice as I would have liked.

Luckygal, Morden Sunrise was developed in Manitoba, it is rated to zone 3, though IâÂÂd say really does need good protection and people have often claimed of losing it to a harsh winter. I do not have Country Dancer, though know of many who are successfully growing it on the prairies. I think youâÂÂll have no problem if youâÂÂve planted the graft down several inches and covering with peat moss was the correct thing to do ... and, yes, later pile on the snow. YouâÂÂre on the right track with your roses :)

Terry

Thanks Terry, good to know as I feel like a new gardener when it comes to roses. Lost a lovely old one to inattention many years ago so avoided them for years!

I had a Morden Sunrise for several years, but it didn't take well to being moved and was gone the next summer. I really want another one though, because she was the most beautiful rose that i ever had!

Marcia, yes, Morden Sunrise is a great rose and thankfully readily available at a low price at such places as Walmart, just gotta get there early when their spring shipments arrive and while plants are healthy or before they've been snapped up.

What you mean your FB photo is DEAD? Isn't that a little like those people who use a photo from 10 years ago when they looked good? (LOL just bugging you)

Why do you think i have a pic of Darius up for my av? LOL I'm going to need a nice snow picture of her now. :)

Oh I saw, she's so adorable!

Further to covering roses, I'm pleased to report that we already have a ton of snow, I can barely even tell where my roses are. :0) And it didn't get really cold at all before it fell. Now if it stays there until spring, maybe it'll be a good year for the roses...

HI all welcome to winter. Iwas late covering this year so... I've been told by a rose "person" that you should water lote in the late fall to ensure that there is plenty of h2o around the roots. The h2o will freeze and stay at the same temp. all winter and protect the root and plant as there won't be any temp changes going on at the roots til spring and there will be h2o for the rose then ?
Any ideas about this? I've had to put my roses into lg. pots and bury them this year due to moving.
Lois

Well, if that's the case, then my roses should be tip top when spring comes. I water all my trees in late fall, and the roses would have been in the line of fire from the sprinkler.

I'm curious. How many roses and what size did you dig up and bring with you? A person always feels bad when they see new owners ripping up beautiful landscaping, so it's nice that you brought your roses with you.