On 2013-12-28 20:53:55 +0000, David Hill said:

On 28/12/2013 19:38, Frank Booth wrote:
"sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2013-12-28 12:57:11 +0000, Frank Booth said:

Even if they get frosted, they may well have another go at setting buds
later, depending on which variety they are and where you're located.
It has been an extraordinary autumn, just as it was an extraordinarily
cold spring. It's taken a longer time than usual for things to lose
their leaves and be ready to be lifted and sold as bare root and now
with 'warm' soil and warmer weather in some places, they're starting to
think it's spring. You might not get a good show next year if the roses
don't get a good spell of cold-weather dormancy but the plants
themselves are unlikely to suffer long-term.

Yes.The roses are hybrid teas and floribundas It's the potential die-back
that concerns me. After planting I pruned hard beginning of December. There
were only 3 -4 visible buds below each cut after pruning and they are now
all breaking or about to. If all these buds/shoots get frosted and die,
where are new buds going to come from? I don't think new buds will replace
the old ones in the same place if they get replaced at all..


This shows why you shouldn't prune till the worst of the winter is over.
In most woody plants you get more than one bud in each leaf joint for
just such an occurrence, you have the primary bud which is the one that
usually grows, then there is also a secondary bud which will develop if
something happens to the primary bud.
Look at the illustration in the following.
http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/grape/p...njurybuds.html
David @ a wind free side of Swansea Bay

I do remember an old gardener telling me, years ago, never to deadhead
Hydrangeas until all danger of frost is past. The theory was that the
heads helped to protecting the new emerging leaf buds. This wasn't much
of a problem where I was gardening at that time but he came from
Yorkshire, iirc.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon