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Old 12-02-2003, 09:25 AM
rosy
 
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Default Holding new roses in pots until the weather cooperates

It depends on the variety of rose---some are smarter than others--

The big rose sellers store their bare-roots in warehouses with controlled
temps of 32-34 degrees all winter. Cold enough to maintain dormancy.

Should your roses get fooled by a warm spell and leaf out, only to be zapped
by a hard freeze, prune back to a healthy outward facing bud-eye. If you
don't prune, you'll end up with wasting the prime spring season growing a
stupid "blind shoot".......and that cane will not produce a bloom until
mid-summer. If you're not sure if they got nipped, try pruning half the
canes, leaving the others as is---that way you'll definintely have at least
some blooms...
(of course, if you can see the damage, prune all of the canes.) I would not
be moving the pots unless the low was below 27......


"Tim B" wrote in message
. ..
My better local garden stores have their best selection of potted-up roses
in late March/Early April (zone 6a). But our last frost date is not until
May 15. So every year I play this game where I dig the holes, put new

roses
in, pot and all, and watch the weather like a hawk, ready to move all the
new ones into the garage attached to our house (unheated) at night, then
being made somewhat late for work by waiting until the temps are above 30

or
so to put them back out again, sometimes having to leave them in the

garage,
just for one day (seems not to have any negative effect).

Questions:

(1) I've read that anything below 28 degrees F will do damage. So I bring
the plants into the garage whenever the forecast is for 34 or lower,
figuring that will cover any local microclimate issues. Am I being too
conservative?

(2) Is there some better solution I'm missing? It's tiring to move a

dozen
pots back and forth on a daily basis.