what zone are you in? i'm in zone 5 and i'm still taking cuttings, putting them in a cold frame type thing in dappled shade, till deep fall,or early winter, when i'll mulch well and walk away!!ashdown's last newsletter, (zone 7,i think), said they'll be taking cuttings right through october...an unheated greenhouse is just a big coldframe, right? as long as they have the humidity somehow, they'll be fine, and if you have a cold winter, mulch well...the little buggers will still grow roots when you're not looking!! good luck, donna

We've always done cuttings in the basement under lights. If you have a relatively cool room or garage, that's what I'd suggest. Just plain cool white fluorescent shop lights work well and are cheap. After they root, they can hang there until spring.

I've always, always, always had lousy luck getting rooted cuttings through their first winter outside. It's the reason for the occassionally massive light setup in the basement. At least fluorescents are cheap to run.

I'm in warm zone 6 or cold zone 7...I'm going to try starting them both ways and wait and see what happens...Thanks for help from both of you...I do appreciate it...Lee

Hi Mad Gallica,
I have three rooted cuttings, still small (10"-12") but growing well, and I was planning to bury them, pot and all, in the garden for the winter. Did you try that and it didn't work? Or do you mean you planted them in the garden and they didn't make it? I do have the fluorescent lights set up in my unheated garage, but would rather keep the cuttings outdoors if possible. Thanks in advance,

Judith

Judith,

I have a friend who does just that down here in London, ON. Another friend bundles all of his rooted cuttings bare-root and hills them in for the winter. I have usually planted them where I plan to grow them and, when finally dormant, pruned them back enough to get a 2 litre pop bottle over them again for winter, cap and all, until spring, when the bottle cap comes off. I'm not sure which method I'll use this autumn, but likely the latter because I have so little time.

Steve.

I've started them in the garden from the beginning, and they didn't make it. Neithere here, nor long ago in western Pennsylvania. Since I've had the lights forever for seed starting, it was easiest to just keep the roses under the lights for the winter. We are subject to serious temperature fluctuations that produce major mud seasons throughout the winter - neither of which are good for marginally hardy roses. I have yet to find a form of winter protection that doesn't get waterlogged.

Amazing the difference in a zone! I recently visited a member of our rose society 60 miles away in Sarnia, a half to full zone warmer, and could not believe how much larger her rose grow than here, so I'm not surprised if what I can accomplish with cuttings here do not work in Montreal nor Maine (Is it Kay?).

Steve.