"bthache" wrote in message
news:AAhnf.93059$ki.59089@pd7tw2no...
Hello,
Hi Tammie and welcome! I "know" you from
the rec.birds group. I mostly lurk there.
I'm new to this group and also new to rose bushes. This past summer, we
planted 4 Morden super winter hardy rose bushes and they did phenomenally
well. Two of them easily tripled in size from July to October and the
other two easily doubled in the same time period. And boy, did they all
bloom!
That's great. Sounds like you're having a
good first experience with roses.
It was a fabulous show. It was finally the cold, snow and heavy frost
that stopped them in late October. I never dreamed roses would bloom that
late into the autumn. The last of the buds are now frozen in place for
the winter.
My roses actually do better in the autumn. I
think most roses prefer more moderate
temperatures than they get around here.
We mulched the roots with cedar bark mulch for the winter but otherwise,
did nothing else to winterize them. I've never had rose bushes before so
really had no idea, aside from the mulch, what to do. I've got my fingers
crossed that they handle our severe winters alright.
Between the mulch, snow, and breeding, your
roses will probably be ok. You might want to
read up on winterizing, though. I can point you
to some articles:
www.ars.org
It's the American Rose Society web site.
If you read down the page you'll see a link
to Articles. That's the place to go. You
don't have to be a member of the ARS to
read the articles.
I notice there is a Canadian Rose Society:
http://www.canadianrosesociety.org/
That might be more useful for you.
Since you have four of the same roses, if
you decide to try additional winterizing
techniques, you might attempt an experiment:
leave two of the roses as you have them
now, and do something else with the other
two roses. See which method works best.
Keep notes.
What I'm wondering is what to do in the spring. Do I prune them? Do I
leave them alone to do their own thing? Have we made a mistake by not
covering them? (They are now buried in snow anyway... nature's own
insulation).
As you note, snow is an excellent insulator.
Pruning is usually done in the spring. Again,
check the web articles for advice. I'm not
familiar with the Mordan roses so you might
check online to see if there are any special
pruning needs for that type of rose.
There are some good beginning books. If
you can find Ortho's All About Roses, it
might be helpful to you. It's a slim book that
can be found in most bookstores and places
like Home Depot and Lowes. I would guess
that comparable stores in Canada might also
carry them. If you go to Amazon.com you
can find a picture and a description of the book.
Here's one of my flowers from the summer.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...06070862IPYFin
Very nice! It looks like a pink with a hint of
lavender or maybe a pale lavender. Lavender
is one of my favorite rose colors.
Thanks for any advice.
--
Tammie - Northern Ontario, Canada
Near Lake Superior's North Shores
http://community.webshots.com/user/thache
49.1304398 -85.8325272
rec.gardens.roses isn't currently a very active
newsgroup but a few hardcore members hang
around.
As usual, take all advice (including
mine!) with a grain of salt, and check with
experts (online or books or local nurseries/
botanical gardens) whenever possible.
Gail
near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8