I just found this at the American Rose Society.

https://www.rose.org/single-po...

• Concrete Blankets: This is a relatively new technique used in our District with great success. Concrete blankets are actually used in construction, typically for pouring concrete, to keep the ground or newly poured concrete from freezing. They are typically 1.5 inches thick and come in various sizes. The R values relate to insulation ability and the higher the R value, the more protection will be provided and the higher the cost. One member even had them custom made for her garden, but that is not necessary. Concrete blankets are easy to find at home improvement or building stores. An R value of 7.1 - 7.5 is ideal, however, I have used R value of 5 with success. Be sure to anchor with bricks or something similar and include plenty of mice poison under the blanket. You will need to cut down your bushes, so wait until temperatures are cold enough before laying down.

Not cheap but no more expensive than car covers I used and a lot tougher.

RpR said: I just found this at the American Rose Society.

https://www.rose.org/single-po...

• Concrete Blankets: This is a relatively new technique used in our District with great success. Concrete blankets are actually used in construction, typically for pouring concrete, to keep the ground or newly poured concrete from freezing. They are typically 1.5 inches thick and come in various sizes. The R values relate to insulation ability and the higher the R value, the more protection will be provided and the higher the cost. One member even had them custom made for her garden, but that is not necessary. Concrete blankets are easy to find at home improvement or building stores. An R value of 7.1 - 7.5 is ideal, however, I have used R value of 5 with success. Be sure to anchor with bricks or something similar and include plenty of mice poison under the blanket. You will need to cut down your bushes, so wait until temperatures are cold enough before laying down.

Not cheap but no more expensive than car covers I used and a lot tougher.

Too late for me. I bought covers that go over the plant, tie on the bottom and are a sort of canvas material. Interesting, though. I didn't know anything about cement blankets and, as usual, found out in this forum.

LittleAnnie said: Too late for me. I bought covers that go over the plant, tie on the bottom and are a sort of canvas material. Interesting, though. I didn't know anything about cement blankets and, as usual, found out in this forum.

A word of warning, I/we actually had a so called climbing rose for a few years.
Back then she made a gunny sack sock for it and I filled it also with Oak Leaves in the fall.
After years of ending up cuttingit back way down like any other rose, and its slowly petering out I said to heck with it and stop playing games with it.

I did years later, with a seven foot tall , stiff stalked Hybrid Tea rose, dig a trench and burry it ever year but one year did not douse the trench with bio-fungicide, it came up that year with problems and died with in two years.
Que sera, sera.
P.S.: I have also buried Tree Roses with success for others.

RpR said: A word of warning, I/we actually had a so called climbing rose for a few years.
Back then she made a gunny sack sock for it and I filled it also with Oak Leaves in the fall.
After years of ending up cuttingit back way down like any other rose, and its slowly petering out I said to heck with it and stop playing games with it.

I did years later, with a seven foot tall , stiff stalked Hybrid Tea rose, dig a trench and burry it ever year but one year did not douse the trench with bio-fungicide, it came up that year with problems and died with in two years.
Que sera, sera.
P.S.: I have also buried Tree Roses with success for others.

I have no climbing roses, Doc. I really have no place to put one unless I buy a trellis, which, I haven't. I dislike the look of tree roses. I guess maybe because they look too unnatural to me.
I hope your other roses are doing better than your dead climber.
If we are getting especially cold or windy weather in winter I am planning on covering them only until the severe weather is over. Then I will remove the coverings. Somehow I don't think covering a rose for any length of time is good for them. Not sure if I'm right or not.

LittleAnnie said: I have no climbing roses, Doc. I really have no place to put one unless I buy a trellis, which, I haven't. I dislike the look of tree roses. I guess maybe because they look too unnatural to me.
I hope your other roses are doing better than your dead climber.
If we are getting especially cold or windy weather in winter I am planning on covering them only until the severe weather is over. Then I will remove the coverings. Somehow I don't think covering a rose for any length of time is good for them. Not sure if I'm right or not.

Mine are covered or buried from November to till April on average.

RpR said: Mine are covered or buried from November to till April on average.

In your zone I can see why. Our winters are not as hard as yours, but, we still have real winters. I will cover mine in late November and probably be able to uncover in March while watching the weather reports for late freezes...then if one comes, cover them up again. This winter will be there first one so I want to make sure they survive. Oh, I'll also have mulch piled up around the hybrid teas.

The end of warm weather came suddenly, and the trees are now just fully dropping their leaves so for the next two weeks I will be raking, bagging and searching for pre-bagged leaves.

I will totally bury all the roses this year as that way not as many leaves are needed for covering, espcially if I put some sort of fabric cover over the buried roses.

The garden up North is approx. six feet shorter due to bushes the other half put in but it still will need two new roses next spring.
I bought zip this year due to tight money.

Three down South look like they may be closer to belly-up than showing up next year, although I may move the survivors as none planded in that South part of the bed, really thrived, including a Gooseberry in the same location.
Not sure why as Tulips thrived there for decades.

There is a Locust tree right next to the North rose garden but plants close to it do not suffer, at that, a wild grape vine has climbed twenty feet up the tree, (due to some thing I did twenty years ago) and I will , yet this fall, start cutting it off/down so it does not shade the rose garden as much.
I should have taken the tree down 20 years ago, but my dad and brother planted it and I am very much a person stuck in the past. :shrug:

As I think of it though, I could expand the North end which would make mowing the garden paths less of a pain in the buttocks and that is very good soil.

Returned from the South Garden a few hours ago; I managed to get the roses covered with few problems and not dealing with bagging leaves, for now.

The lawn was covered with leaves so I took a leaf blower and blew them , sloooowly, into a pile right next to the rose garden.
Had I used a rake, it probably would have take two to three hours less.

I deleafed, and cut the roses down, but , I also pulled four of them.
I just no lonerg have the deire to try to baby a rose that is more than half-dead to life any more.
Of course this made burying them a lot easier BUT also, a neighbor dumps his wife potted flower plants in my garden every fall, SO, I thought, I will use a pot, or pots, to cover the bottom six to ten inches of each rose, depending on the size of the pot.
The roses cut down to a mere six or so inches were easy to cover while the taller ones, which will probably have be cut down farther in spring, so the bed is now covered with between two and three feet of loose leaves.
I may have to add more as rain will pack it down, but at this point am not worried.

I have not checked up North is there is are any pre-bagged leaves around, or piles to bag, but for once may haul leaves South to North, as in my home town leaves are piled by the curb for a vacuum truck to suck up.

RpR said: Returned from the South Garden a few hours ago; I managed to get the roses covered with few problems and not dealing with bagging leaves, for now.

The lawn was covered with leaves so I took a leaf blower and blew them , sloooowly, into a pile right next to the rose garden.
Had I used a rake, it probably would have take two to three hours less.

I deleafed, and cut the roses down, but , I also pulled four of them.
I just no lonerg have the deire to try to baby a rose that is more than half-dead to life any more.
Of course this made burying them a lot easier BUT also, a neighbor dumps his wife potted flower plants in my garden every fall, SO, I thought, I will use a pot, or pots, to cover the bottom six to ten inches of each rose, depending on the size of the pot.
The roses cut down to a mere six or so inches were easy to cover while the taller ones, which will probably have be cut down farther in spring, so the bed is now covered with between two and three feet of loose leaves.
I may have to add more as rain with pack it down, but at this point am not worried.

I have not checked up North is there is are any pre-bagged leaves around, or piles to bag, but for once may haul leaves South to North, as in my home town leaves are piled by the curb for a vacuum truck to suck up.

My goodness, that's a lot of work!! The weather people are predicting a milder winter this year, so, I hope all your roses survive, Dr.

I bagged up 14 bags up North , which should be enough as I tip buried all but one rose.
One was cut down so low, I just buried it by piling dirt on top.

As there is an open spot where I pulled a rose, I was going to tip another rose in a direction different from the usual, but I found out, that, that rose had such a large tap root going that way, absolutely no way I could tip that way so it shared a hole with another as it has for years.

I may bag up some more to take home to put around the house to block the wind, as it warm weather now so not bad outside.
While last year, I had a LOT more than I normally get, so, I also put some around Sharon's Box wood bushes but then I would need well over a dozen more.

What's the outside temperature that would require covering during the winter?

I also got on the rose.org link "Roses in pots will not survive in the pot outdoors during winter". I think it's a bit too much, I wonder for what conditions they are talking about.... I have several roses in (big) pots and I think they can stand -5° o -10° winters without problems. But any recommendation is welcome.

What kind of rose?

RpR said: What kind of rose?

Hi, I don't know if you meant to reply to my post... the roses I have in pots are all modern ones (hybrid teas or floribundas). I had already 2 of them in pots last winter (although the pots are placed near the house's wall) and I had no problems at all during the winter. The other 4 in pots are not so repaired because they are placed nearby the fence, so they should suffer a bit more the low temperature... so maybe I will have to cover them (?)

rickycr said: Hi, I don't know if you meant to reply to my post... the roses I have in pots are all modern ones (hybrid teas or floribundas). I had already 2 of them in pots last winter (although the pots are placed near the house's wall) and I had no problems at all during the winter. The other 4 in pots are not so repaired because they are placed nearby the fence, so they should suffer a bit more the low temperature... so maybe I will have to cover them (?)

It depends on your garden zone and the zone your roses are bred to survive. People in warmer zones with warm winters don't have to cover their roses or protect them. We would need to know this info to help you.

LittleAnnie said: It depends on your garden zone and the zone your roses are bred to survive. People in warmer zones with warm winters don't have to cover their roses or protect them. We would need to know this info to help you.

According to a USDA method map, where I live is to be considered 8b zone. I live in a plain, humid region. Temperature through the year may vary from -10° to +40°

rickycr said: Hi, I don't know if you meant to reply to my post... the roses I have in pots are all modern ones (hybrid teas or floribundas). I had already 2 of them in pots last winter (although the pots are placed near the house's wall) and I had no problems at all during the winter. The other 4 in pots are not so repaired because they are placed nearby the fence, so they should suffer a bit more the low temperature... so maybe I will have to cover them (?)

If you have hybrid teas surviving -10 F, you were extremely fortunate.
If ground never freezes in the pot due to only brief cold snaps, with the pots next to the house, you are still pushing how good your fortune will be.
If the pot freezes, dead roses.

I have not covered my roses often after hard freeze low 20 degree weather in the fall, but they were covered with in a few weeks.
They did just fine.
At the same time in the past, I uncovered my HT early in the year due to very warm weather very early but then low 20 weather came for days.
I lost a lot of roses due to uncovering them too early in the Spring.

RpR said: If you have hybrid teas surviving -10 F, you were extremely fortunate.
If ground never freezes in the pot due to only brief cold snaps, with the pots next to the house, you are still pushing how good your fortune will be.
If the pot freezes, dead roses.

I have not covered my roses often after hard freeze low 20 degree weather in the fall, but they were covered with in a few weeks.
They did just fine.
At the same time in the past, I uncovered my HT early in the year due to very warm weather very early but then low 20 weather came for days.
I lost a lot of roses due to uncovering them too early in the Spring.

I apologize, when I talked about temperature I forgot to convert... I'm speaking in Celsius degrees... so for me -10° C is 14° F. Definitely not so hard maybe as you should expect ;)
I also have to say that winters here are no longer so cold as they used when I was young(er)

I'm intrigued by the use of a concrete blanket here in the mid-west. For me, the expense would be worth the saved hassle of caging/mulching each of dozens of plants. Any sources of custom orders would be appreciated. Most blankets I found a super long strips as opposed to smaller (10x10) pieces I would prefer.

rickycr said: I apologize, when I talked about temperature I forgot to convert... I'm speaking in Celsius degrees... so for me -10° C is 14° F. Definitely not so hard maybe as you should expect ;)
I also have to say that winters here are no longer so cold as they used when I was young(er)

Rickyer, I don't have potted roses, all mine are in the ground, but, I've seen others in here who do and say potted roses need to be put in a shelter, like a garage or shed during freezing weather. Water them lightly so the soil doesn't dry out and that's all the advice I can give you on this.

Well -- it is that time of year again, a bit ahead of recent norms, to pull the leaves off of the roses.
I may wait a bit longer so can plant potatoes and then put leaves directly on the potato plot but that depends on weather.
Rain is supposed to come next week and ground is a lot cooler than the air temp. so I may wait for the soil to warm.

I have uncovered the roses as late as last weeks in May without harm.