i have patio roses in flower pots .what do i do with them over the winter to have them next year ...thanks bob
Answers:
There are two things you can do.
1. Bring the pot in for the winter.
2. Bury the pot and rose bush or it will freeze.
Other answers:
Good news for you, Bob... ya' don't have to bring 'em inside! Roses like being outside and all the seasons of weather are very important to their time clock!
However, because they're in pots... you want to put standard shredded hard-wood mulch on the top of the pot. What I do next, is surround the pot with a mountain of pine straw, up to the lower portion of the bush. If you're unable to obtain pine straw... use those mounds of leaves that will be falling off the trees in the fall! This insulates the pot to protect the roots.
Good news for you, Bob... ya' don't have to bring 'em inside! Roses like being outside and all the seasons of weather are very important to their time clock!
However, because they're in pots... you want to put standard shredded hard-wood mulch on the top of the pot. What I do next, is surround the pot with a mountain of pine straw, up to the lower portion of the bush. If you're unable to obtain pine straw... use those mounds of leaves that will be falling off the trees in the fall! This insulates the pot to protect the roots.
trim them back to about 1/2,if your winters are very cold a garage would be good, other wise I would lift them and put a two inch pad of newspaper under the pots,water once a month through the winter about a 1/4 of what you would water through the summer and keep your fingers crossed....lots of great rose sites out there
If you can plant them in the ground, that would be best. Unless you are colder than Zone 6, you won't have to worry about the tops. Make sure that you use bark mulch on the soil surface to minimize heaving from freezing and thawing. If you need to keep them in pots, I'm pasting the recommendation I had for Japanese Maples on a balcony: This is kind of a pain in the neck, but it will work. Get a container, with drainage holes, that is much larger than the one it's in. You'll need about 6" all around. Put Styrofoam packing peanuts 6" deep at the bottom, and then fill the sides and cover the soil. Then wrap the whole larger pot with opaque (white, that you can't see through) plastic, and secure with duct tape. Do this no earlier than the first of Nov., and no later than Thanksgiving. Leave the top of the tree uncovered, but protect from wind, if necessary with a burlap screen. Good luck! I do my larger bonsai like this with 100% success.