Newly planted double knockout rose

[zynski]

I just registered as a user and this is my first post.

I salvaged - saved - a couple of sad looking double knockout rose bushes from a local "big box store" for two dollars. (I'm always looking for bargains at this time of year at the local plant purveyors)

They were sad looking and very much past their "prime". I trimmed away all of the dead and dying growth, and cut back the stalks to within two to three inches of the crown. All the trimming indicated that there was much green live tissue that I was trimming.

Well within days of setting into the ground, the new growth just took off. All the branches sprouted with new growth. The plants are robust and very actively growing.

This may not be the best time for this to be happening, right? We are approaching fall and winter and these plants should probably be going into sleep mode, right?

How yould you ensure a safe journey and survival through the coming seasons? I live in coastal New Hampshire, zone 5. We do have some mighty cold days ahead.

 

[vfem]

I wish I could help, but I am NOT good with roses... I think Bid, and Hattie ( 2 users that frequent here) know quite a bit about roses and should be able to come in here and lay down some great advice!!!

Good luck!

 

[Catalina]

I make a wire wall all the way around each of my roses.
Then I fill it with dry leaves.

This insulates them from the cold and the wire protects the roses from voles that would like to nibble on them through the winter.

The wire walls are about 4 feet high.

 

[beefy]

i would think they would be fine. they have a month or so to get ready dont they? mine sometimes sprout newgrowth in the winter but it doesnt get very cold here.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

zynski

It sounds as if you had a good buy there! Unfortunately cutting them back so much & therefore pushing them into new growth has made them very vunerable to the cold as these new shoots will be too young & soft. I live in the South of England so my normal winter climate is very mild compared to yours but I used to garden a bit in Yorkshire years ago & as that is much colder I had to treat the roses in a very similar way as Catalina suggested. I used straw instead of leaves as there were very few of them around up there on the moors. Even so there a a very good chance you will loose all this new growth so be prepared for the shock when you uncover in the spring & give them a really good feed then. Don't do it now as you will only get more soft growth. Give them as much mulch as you can & as much shelter, windbreaks etc.

Good Luck with them & let us know how they are in the Spring

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[HiDelight]

welcome to you and I love knock out roses ..they are very hardy I think you will be fine if you follow the above advice

good luck!

 

[Greensage45]

You can always container grow them over the winter instead. This will allow you pull them out of the cold and move them into warmer spots like the garage or covered patio. Then come spring pop them into the ground where you want them to go.

You could also build a temporary coldframe around them. Just a simple box frame with the north side plywood and the southern sides with fiberglass or heavy ply plastic. (all very temporary and staked down for easy removal).

When I moved into this house I had so many replantings to do there was no time for that sort of advanced planning. So I built a temporary coldframe directly to the backdoor of the house so that I could fill it with all my frost tender stuff. I had over 20 roses that were put into pots over the winter months, actually starting in September all the way through until April. They did well and no one was lost.

I cannot believe my house looked like that before

All will be well. Even if you have to use blankets.

Ron

Double Knockout sure are bright and Red!

 

[Reinbeau]

I just registered as a user and this is my first post.

I salvaged - saved - a couple of sad looking double knockout rose bushes from a local "big box store" for two dollars. (I'm always looking for bargains at this time of year at the local plant purveyors)

They were sad looking and very much past their "prime". I trimmed away all of the dead and dying growth, and cut back the stalks to within two to three inches of the crown. All the trimming indicated that there was much green live tissue that I was trimming.

Well within days of setting into the ground, the new growth just took off. All the branches sprouted with new growth. The plants are robust and very actively growing.

This may not be the best time for this to be happening, right? We are approaching fall and winter and these plants should probably be going into sleep mode, right?

How yould you ensure a safe journey and survival through the coming seasons? I live in coastal New Hampshire, zone 5. We do have some mighty cold days ahead.

I'm just a bit south of you, but we get pretty much the same types of winter. That soft growth isn't going to winter well, but given our variable seasons here, who knows how long we've got to harden it off? If we have a long autumn you may be ok. If you've planted them in the ground, make sure to mound them well with soil (I use well-rotted cow manure or compost, it feeds the soil in the spring when I pull it away from the crown and spread it out), and if you can, put up a burlap barrier around the plant to protect it from the wind. I think they'll do well over the winter, those Knockout roses are pretty tough from what I've heard. I don't have them, because they don't have any scent, they're Four Door Roses

Good luck with them and let us know how they are next spring!

 

[zynski]

Thanks All!

I understand and been told they are pretty hardy. Since I get all my compost free from the city recycling center, I'll mulch them heavily with compost, maybe spray them with an anti-dessicant like Wilt-Pruf and wrap with burlap.

They're located in a VERY sunny spot. I'd be concerned with the freeze / thaw cycle that this spot is prone to, so mulching at the right time is important.

Thanks Again!