I was hoping someone could help. My husband built a rose arbor this
spring and we have two climbing roses growing well up both sides.
Trouble is we live in the Chicago area and it's situated in a wicked
W--E wind tunnel behind our house (zone 5). How can we secure the
roses for winter? I'm best with plants that like to be ignored! Any
help would be appreciated.

Karen wrote:

)... How can we secure the
roses for winter? ...

Well, if the roses are a variety that don't require winter
protection in your area, I have had good luck using plastic cable
ties to secure the main canes to the arbor. Although the best
time to prune roses is early spring, I do some trimming on large
plants after they are dormant in the fall to prevent excessive
wind whiplash over winter. I mainly trim the long laterals and
shorten some canes that can't be secured to the arbor and would
be cut off in the spring anyway. If your climbers require winter
protection, your best bet is to find somebody local who has been
sucessful and do what they do.

Regards,

Charles

--
Charles Perry
Reply to:

** A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand **

Karen wrote:

)... How can we secure the
roses for winter? ...

Well, if the roses are a variety that don't require winter
protection in your area, I have had good luck using plastic cable
ties to secure the main canes to the arbor. Although the best
time to prune roses is early spring, I do some trimming on large
plants after they are dormant in the fall to prevent excessive
wind whiplash over winter. I mainly trim the long laterals and
shorten some canes that can't be secured to the arbor and would
be cut off in the spring anyway. If your climbers require winter
protection, your best bet is to find somebody local who has been
sucessful and do what they do.

Regards,

Charles

--
Charles Perry
Reply to:

** A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand **