How many roses did you lose last winter?

My friend, Rita, lost several roses last year, and they were hardy shrub roses!  This is a gardening tip from Rita:

My roses are on the south side of the house.  Therefore, they go through a lot of freeze, thaw, freeze, thaw fluctuations, which is what winter-kills many roses.  I used to use rose cones with a slit in the back so they could "breathe" and wouldn't "cook" inside the rose cones on warmer sunny days.  But rose cones are big and bulky to  store, and break apart easily at the bottom when you secure them to the ground with garden staples.   

 

I found these in the Gardener's Supply Catalog, and thought I'd give them a try.  They look like they will work beautifully.  They have a tomato cage-like frame underneath that you slip the cover over.  The cover is a thick plastic-like fabric, and the top has mesh so that the plants can breathe underneath, but will still protect them from the winter sun.  They have two pockets (one on each side) that you can slip a brick or a rock into to hold them down.  I'm anxious to see how my roses do underneath them.  I lost 4 roses last winter, so am looking forward to a new solution.     

 

We'll check with Rita in the spring and see how they worked for her! 

 

 

 

The website is www.gardeners.com

 

 

If you have a gardening tip you'd like to share with others, please feel free to send me the details and I'll be glad to include it on my blog!  Contact me at  kjgardengate@charter.net
 

 

 



 

 

 

 

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