"Allegra" wrote in message
news:gZ6da.131952$S_4.75481@rwcrnsc53...

"JimS." wrote in message
news:gj6da.108280$3D1.3795@sccrnsc01...
Is it bad to use cedar chips for groundcover on rosebeds? Does the wood
chip leach nitrogen when it's on the ground surface? And, is the
cedar-water runoff bad for roses?

Hello Jim,

if it is bad my roses in the East bed have never said
a word about it...;) As far as I can tell, there would be
very little to be concerned about it. Cedar contributes
to the acidity of the soil and once it has been reduced
to mulch there has to be very little leaching out with
watering that could make any significant difference.

And it keeps the weeding down, and the moisture
in so I guess that is why the divas haven't complained
yet. How is the weather up in Seattle? We still have
more gray than blue, but we are way up there into
the high fifties, and the roses are beginning to wake
up even in the upstairs patio.

Allegra

Hi Allegra,
Well, I guess that is what I figured about the cedar chips.....I've had my
beds covered with chips for a few years, and always assumed it was OK. But
I got a bit worried when Bob in SLC noted not to plant the wood shavings
that come with bareroots. Better safe than sorry... might as well ask. I
the cedar chips are OK...

Seattle weather has been mirroring yours down in Portland....temps are
consistently around 50 these days, a few degrees cooler than Portland, but
not much sun here either. I saw quite a contrast this weekend, I went over
to Wenatchee, WA area (the apple capitol of the world, in case anyone's
amused by such!) with a couple of friends to go skiing. Wenatchee is just
on the other side of the Cascades Mountains, from Seattle. All the apple
trees are still totally without leaves, an eerie knarled moonscape...it
looked like a nice sunny day was in-store. Everything is still brown from
winter over there. We came over Snoqualmie Pass to the Seattle side, into
the rain, and everything is green. Still not much sun around here, but like
Portland not much winter either. All my roses are well on their way to
awake. A few have totally leafed out already. Two never went dormant this
winter at all-- one even bloomed in January. Even the ones I orphaned to
the city parking strip are doing great. I suspect it's going to be a sunny
and hot (for here!) summer....At least I hope so!

JimS.
Seattle