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pj1975_gw

How to care the rose plants for winter? Its still blooming

pj1975
17 years ago

Hello,

I live in Schenectady, NY. This is the first year I kept rose plants in my garden during May.(1 rosa rogasa, 2 - climbing roses and 1 hybrid). My concern is it is still blooming and leaves are also green. I thought the plant will go to dormant condition but to my surprise its growing and blooming like summer. I tried everything to stop it grow. I even stopped watering and removed the roses. The more and more I cut flowers, its blooming more. All my neighbours rose plants went to dormant condition already. Only mine is blooming like this. Will the plants survive the winter if it blooms like this?

When and how should I cover them? Do I need to remove the leaves and cover it with mulch now itself? Pls guide me.

Thanks,

PJ.

Comments (8)

  • breenthumb
    17 years ago

    Hi PJ, My rose leaves are still green too. I just went out to trim mine back but its loaded with buds too so I left it alone. No idea what kind it is but its not unusual for it to bloom this late in the year. Its right under a front window and we often see a rose through the window at Thanksgiving! I never do anything special to it for winter. But I cut it back sometimes simply because when it goes dormant the canes are unsightly. Also so I can wash the window without getting clawed up.

    I really know very little about roses, but luckily our rose bushes(here when we moved in 30 yrs. ago) seem to know how to take care of themselves! Sounds like you have a very happy bush too. Sandy

    PS: Probably better info on the rose forum.

  • oldroser
    17 years ago

    1. stop cutting flowers which encourage it to go on producing buds and new growth. Should have stopped in Sept.
    2. not necessary to do anything with rugosa. It will survive nicely without any special care.
    3. time to winter protect is around Thanksgiving. It's far too early to do much more than enjoy them.
    4. Around November 25th, mound leaves (not maple leaves which pack down and stay wet) or cedar mulch around the base of the plant. Mound should be about 18" high - it will slump during the winter. If they are so tall they'll move around in the wind, tie them into a bundle with soft twine or cut back to about three feet.

  • pj1975
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks to both of you for all the information. I will protect it during Thanksgiving as you mentioned.

    Yes Sandy, you are right my rose bushes seems to be very nice. And the fragrant is also wonderful. I gave those roses to lot of my neighbours and friends. Everybody loved it. I hope it will come next year also successfully.
    Goodluck with your plants too.

  • tuckertdog
    17 years ago

    YIKES! I guess I jumped winter.

    My roses are also trying to bloom but the cold nights have stunted their progress. There's new growth but many canes are now pretty bare. Can't say they're lush, just seems like the last ditch effort.

    It's been going down to the 30's at night with frost. No snow.
    The first time I viewed this house last December, it was on the coldest day they had last winter, some 15 below zero in the sun. Scared me silly seeing my dog unable to walk on the snow, it was so cold. I thought it was salt but just subzero cold snow. He's a Lab and usually lounges comfortably in snow!

    So I guess I'm a bit paranoid! I moved here in April and can't say I know the seasons yet. I'm north of Binghamton, south of Whitney Point and backed by a hay field which lets the wind really roar.

    All my plants are babies, planted this summer. Not exactly established but they all grew and seem to be flourishing. I do want to give them a chance to get through the cold, even if it's a bit over the top this first winter. Plus, a good start as spring and summer seemed a bit slow to muster this year.

    Today, I began mounding soil (12" at the base), tying up, caging and mulching my roses. I have 4 done, 3 are tied and mounded and 2 are still loose with a bit of extra soil dumped on the bases. But if Thanksgiving is the correct time, should I free them until the end of November?

    I plan on treating the roses as described, plus a similar mound, mulch and probably cover the raspberry bushes and strawberry plants due to the wind factor. I just don't know when to do this!

    And while I'm at it, anything special I can do to protect immature Azalea, mountain laurel, rhododendron, butterfly bush, weigela shrub, dark night shrub (caryopteris x clandonensis), 2 rose of sharon (which made buds a week ago, but the cold bit them!), forsythia (cuttings that have gone to town and made a couple of blooms last week!), mini day lilies, oriental lilies, and a dogwood sapling?

    And most important, when????!!!!!

  • breenthumb
    17 years ago

    Welcome to Upstate Tuckertdog. Where did you move from? LOL about your lab trying to walk on the frozen snow. I remember our dogs--one lab, one lab mix-- out there in really deep snow. Sun seems to melt it just enough to make a crust of ice so each step may break through it or not. It really messes them up, poor things.

    Since you have a lot of questions about different types of plantings, I think you'd get some answers if you started a new thread. A lot of them like the raspberries, forsythia, rose of sharon and day lilies are so hardy I doubt there is anything you need to do but not sure about some of the others. Good luck in your new home and yard. Sandy

  • penny1947
    17 years ago

    Y/all are going to just hate me but I have one old rose that I have been trying to get rid of for 3 yrs now and no matter what I do to it, it just keeps coming back. I have dug out half of the bed it is in and pulled out roots until I was blue in the face and just when I think it is finally gone by mid summer there it is again. It was planted many many years ago by a previous owner and is in a very bad location and doesn't get good air circulation and always gets covered in black spot no matter what I have done in the past . It is also taking up space in my salvia bed. I think the roots are actually growing under the garage as the bed is along the side of the garage. Next spring I am going to dig up the entire bed as far down as I can possibly go in one final attempt to get it out of there.

    Penny

  • tuckertdog
    17 years ago

    Gee, I guess I do have a few questions I should ask else where! Thanks for all the input so far!!!
    Penny, what kind of rose are you trying to kill? I should try to find that breed to grow here!
    Breenthumb, thanks for the welcome...Brooklyn rooftop gardening the past 25 yrs or so. Are the plants you mentioned hardy even in their first year of life?
    The scarey thing was that the snow was barely inches that last December that sent my boy into hopping about on 2 and 3 legs!
    Gol-durn cold today...iced puddle on my broken glass container! Fixing storm windows as fast as I can- inside. Guess the outside painting is at a stop! Got a 2 toned house! Front almost done, rest of the house peeling and waiting for next spring!!! Started too late and worked alone so I guess I can't be too surprised it's not done!!!
    Well I'll start a new thread about all the plants in question. I think the rose forum kinda answered my rose question!
    Roof top gardening in Brooklyn was easy...bring 'em in and grow 'em all winter, too!!!

  • penny1947
    17 years ago

    tuckertdog
    The only thing I know about this rose is that it is probably one of the Old Roses. I assume that means an heirloom maybe???? I am not a rose grower so I have no idea about them. We have been in our house now for nearly 9 years and it was here when we bought the house. The previous owner was here for 4 years and not a gardener at all so it was probably planted prior to that. The previous owners were an elderly couple that had lived here since at least the '50's. I am assuming by the size of the roots I keep digging out each year that it was planted in the ealy years after they purchased the home. Like I said the roots probably are growing up under the garage and all the way to China. I will probably never be able to completely get rid of it. I know Rosarians are probably gasping for air by my posts.
    Penny

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