With frost upon us, the roses are getting ready for a long winter sleep. But don’t be fooled — their process of acclimatizing to winter dormancy is slow and gradual. Dormancy is the most crucial element of winter hardiness, and roses require six to eight weeks of acclimatization before they enter full dormancy, ready to withstand the lowest winter temperatures. It’s not … [Read more...] about Putting roses to bed
Dormancy
How to move roses
There’s no denying it; soon cold winds will be blowing and dormancy creeping into perennial and woody plants. Roses often defy the season, with September’s flush of buds and flowers still hanging on. Should I leave blossoms and buds on the plants, so that a frost will tell these plants to shut down, or should I take the opportunity to cut what’s left for a vase? Usually I do a … [Read more...] about How to move roses