A new rose and it is getting too darn cold

April 5th, 2007 · 5 Comments

Yesterday Eric and I set out on a mission to pick up a Harison’s Yellow rose. We had both been looking for one for some time. I had found a couple of online sources but they were so far away that the shipping costs made the price more than I was willing or able to pay. Eric found a local source at Mary’s Plant Farm. The drive was nice though the temps seemed to dip rapidly as we drove to Hamilton Ohio. When we arrived Mary was wrestling with a piece of plastic trying to get some plants in a small bed covered before the coming hard freeze. Mary is in her mid 80s but you would never know it. She greeted us in between shouting to the back “STAPLES…I NEED SOME STAPLES UP HERE”. Everyone there was very busy trying to get things covered. The recent weather had tricked us all into thinking that spring had come only to send temps into the low 20s to mid 30s for the next couple of days. I definately want to go back to Mary’s. They tend to have plants you don’t find at your corner garden center and the people there were VERY knowlegable about the plants. I hope you got everything covered Mary.

Tags: Flowers · Roses · Weather

5 responses so far ↓

1 barnesandnoble // Apr 6, 2007 at 10:35 am

How cold is too cold for a rose? We are in BHM,AL and it has been absolutely beautiful to the point that we have been in the pool numerous times this year already. However, we are getting a cold snap this weekend and it is going to be well below freezing the next three nights. Our roses are in full steam and i have one that has over 12 buds about to pop. What do i do to protect them?
2 kerry // Apr 6, 2007 at 6:03 pm

I have only started getting into roses last year so I am no expert on them. I do know that it does depend on what kind of roses you have. The older roses tend to be hardier than the newer hybrid teas. I probably didn’t have to cover my Darlow’s Enigma but it is quite small and I wanted to baby it a bit. Some people cover them with sheets, blankets, boxes etc. You might want to check with your local Extension Agent if you have those in AL. Lacking that I would call a local gardening center, gardening club etc and see what they recommend. Hope everything makes it ok.
3 PAT // Apr 22, 2007 at 10:09 am

We had a few days of snow right before Easter in western NC.The Peony’s were covered with buds as it had been warm of a few weeks prior. My grama’s rose bush, some type of red was coming out with new red canes and growth everywhere. I did cover them with sheets held down with shovels, axs, anything heavy enough to keep them from blowing off in the 40 knot gusts. Then I had to leave to return to work in Florida. My husband says the rose bush has alot of dead leaves. The peopnies still have some of the buds that look ok, some are blackened. They are also very old plants, thanks to grama again. A white variety. I know nothing about northern gardening, if anyone has any advice on how to proceed, I sure would appreciate hearing from you. Pat
4 Eric // Apr 24, 2007 at 8:35 am

The rose- Since it is an older established plant, you want to consider trimming it back. Look at each cane carefully to determine were new secondary buds are located and trim the cane to about half it’s length. This will help the plant recover from the cold damage by not having to support all of that older growth. I just did that with my “General Kleber” an old garden moss. It is responding beautifully. I will not have the blooms this year that I would have otherwise, but I did the plant a favor in the long run. It will be fuller and healthier next year. Now for the peonies- they are near and dear to my heart- I’m afraid that the cold did permanent damage to this year’s blooms. Mine too where too far along when the cold arrived. I covered them and had a great deal of success. I chose to use upturned garbage cans and left them on for the duration of the cold snap. I had about 90% saved. For the ones with damage, cut out the blackened flower buds. They will not open. At this point you will not have the flower display you wish for, but the health of the plant is most important. Carefully trim out damaged leaves just to tidy up the plant and don’t worry. Peonies are very hardy and they will be back next year without missing a beat.
5 kerry // Apr 25, 2007 at 7:34 pm

Pat,
Eric is my goto guy for all things ornamental. My experience is along the veggie fruit line so I am still a newbie with regards to flowers and such. Eric’s yard looks like something out of a botanical garden. I keep trying to get him to start a blog but his free time is spent weeding and caring for his babies.

Kerry’s Garden

The trials and tribulations of one Kentucky gardener…

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