A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 can i store my roses in my unheatted basement?

I know how to keep my roses in dormance, but I don't know the temperature of my unfinished basement during winter month in zone 5. I have stored my periennal hibiscus in my lightly heated basement (of which I don't have a thermostate switch control) and my hibiscus survived, but I am afraid that it would be too hot for my roses even though I find it quite cold like I have to wear a sweater to go in there. I hope somebody can help me for that question. Thank you very much.

Hoa,
May I ask why you'd want to over winter it
inside??
rose's are very hardy plants???

P.S. Welcome to The Garden Helper's Forum
by the way, we're very glad you found us!!!

Hi Weesie,
Last year I planted 9 roses. 8 of my roses survived the winter allrigth but 5 slowed down a lot because of the 2 maples about 10 yards away. I noticed unwanted roots coming back right away after a few weeks that I amended a hole. When I potted the roses they grew well. Now I don't know what to do. I have bought 7 more roses I have dug 5 holes. I have put them in styrofoam as contenants. I find it not very good for my back to bring them into the basement. I am thinking of putting them in a textile and plant them.

I can relate to your situation regarding unwanted roots from your maple trees.
I have the same problem with oak tree roots. I don't think people realize how much trees interfere or influence the growth of surrounding vegetation. I have some oak trees that i am going to cut down this winter because they really cause the soil to be very dry in my flower garden and the roots choke out the beds very quickly. Fortunately i have a lot of land and many other oak trees;so, i can sacrifice a few...

Sorry, i'm not an expert when it comes to roses- can't help you in that area...

Hi Floweraddict,
Yes, I am from VN like your wife.
It must be beautiful where you live. I like very much the look of the oak trees but I have heard their leaves are not very good for mulching your plants, are they not?
Oh! You probably don't have to protect your plants for winter, do you?
This weekend I almost break my back because of gardening (plus my town give away their compost but I have to bag them) but I will continue again today. I hope I will get some help though.

The easiest thing to do for your back would be to purchase the subzero roses. That way you could leave them outside no problem. With their long tap roots digging them up and bringing them inside must be a big chore. Good luck with them whatever you decide to do.

So I just planted all the roses except 4 weakened by the maples roots. Some of them are still in a styrofoam container and some in a textile weed barrier. I will put 2 of them still in a container into the soil that I got from the digging (a lot of them I use to fill a slope in the backyard). The rest I will bring into the garage and I will check the temperature. In the worse case scenario, I will bring them into the basement.
The ones from last year that I did not have much of a problem were Peace, The Generous Gardener (an Austin), Electron and William Baffin (an Explorateur). You are right TK some roses are easier than other.

I used to live in Vermont years ago, not very far from Montreal; so, i know how cold it gets up there!!!
Here in South Carolina (zone 7), we do experience some freezing temperatures (mainly at night) during the months of Dec, Jan, Feb, but the ground never freezes here!
As far as protecting plants for the winter- it really depends upon the plant and it's hardiness. Since the ground never freezes here, there is nothing in my garden that needs protecting. Ninety percent of my plants are perennials.
I work in my garden and plant things even in the winter.

Someone recently gave me 5 dump truck loads of mulch for free. There are 5 huge piles of pine mulch and hardwood mulch. There is lots of oak leaves in there. I've used them in the past with no trouble at all. I'm going to let most of it set for the winter and spread some next spring. The longer it sets the better it is.

Hey Hoa,

i ve got some roses also in my garden here in ste- dorothee,i ve got a grootendorst wich is Vere pretty and never stops flowering all sumer long.got a lucky lady it flowers very well also.my oldest is about 4 or 5 yrs old and it s a floribunda(sorry don t know wich one ) it use to flower well but this spring i transplanted it and it stayed dormant for the whole summer,by the way can someone tell me why please.also have a mini rosier my mom gave me,it s beautifull in a garden and florish easily,i took it in for winter and placed it on a window sill where it continus to grow and give roses.

i ll try the kind you told us about,it should be perfect,thank you very much for the info.

Tammy...where can i find the subzero rose,i m very interrested,i ll keep you posted if i find it.

have a good week-end all.

Is roses a good flower to grow for a really busy and homework buried person? Does it need alot of care?

They need at least 6 hours of sun, a lot of water ( but no water on the leaves), some fertilizer and may be a winter protection depending where you live and what kind you plant.