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Charlee Curtis, November 1, 2005 When you winterize roses by planting them in a large pot & storing them in an unheated garage in Maine, do you water them in the winter, or leave the soil dry after the pot has frozen? |
| 11/1/05 Charlee, I don't know who else stores their container-grown roses in a garage like my dad does, but I know he waters them really really well before moving them into the garage. He doesn't water them again until spring when he starts bringing them out on mild days. I think he feels its better if they have even frozen moisture on their roots than letting them dry out.
Deborah Rumery |
| 11/20/05 To add to Deborah's answer for question 225, You definirtely do not want roses to go into the winter dry. If the roots dry out, the chances of the rose surviving the winter are slim. Do keep an eye on the roses to make sure the dry, winter air is not drawing mositure out of the frozen soil.
Wendy White |
| 11/21/05 Not all areas of Maine are created equal. (Ask Sari) What works in one backyard may not work in someone else's. Some people prefer to keep their roses in containers for a variety of reasons: so they can keep them on a deck or porch closer to the house to enjoy them more; no good place or space in the ground; too much work to prepare a hole and then have to protect them from all kinds of critters; etc. Some roses require little or no winter protection and some were not meant to survive a zone 5 winter. There are people that dig holes in the ground to bury the potted plants - pot and all. laying on their side - and then cover them with the soil, straw, leaves, even styrafoam. (I'll keep looking for roses that require no winter protection AND do not need to be sprayed for disease. I'll let you know when I find some. Right now I highly recommend Pierrette Pavement - and what a fragrance!)
Wendy White |
