Last spring and fall I got several own root roses, from a couple of iternet nurseries. I potted them up and then late in the fall I sunk the pots into the ground in the vegetable garden to overwinter. This spring, once the ground thawed (early to mid April), I pulled the potted roses up and set them on the deck until I was ready to plant them.
Many of them did well, although a couple were unimpressive. Here is a list and how they fared thru the winter
- Portlandia - a climber, rated good
- Westerland - a climber, rated good
- Robert Clements - rated acceptable
- Louise Clements - rated good
- Distant Drums - rated great (and is newly planted by the porch)
- Fragrant Masterpiece - poor, there has been no sign of life even at this point (5/26/09)
- Star of the Nile - rated great. This one was good to zone 6, or zone 5 with protection. Obviously it liked the straw I used to buffer it from the elements.
- Dupuy Jamain - a thornless rose, rated good
- Barn Dance - which has sparse thorns, rated acceptable, turned crispy and seems to be dying at this point (5/26/09)
- Blush Hip - an Alba, rated as excellent (newly planted)
- Excellenz Von Shubert - a climber, rated at great (newly planted)
- Mary Rose - An Austin rose that is shade tolerant, rated as excellant (newly planted)
- Yolanda d'Aragon - Old Garden Rose (OGR) rated as excellant (newly planted)
- Lady of the Mist - rated as great
- Foolish Pleasure - a large mini, rated as acceptable but has since put on an energetic burst of growth that is truly amazing and makes me think more highly of it.
- Pearlie Mae - rated as great (newly planted)
- The Impressionist - a climber, rated at great
- Jeri Jennings - named after a highly regarded rosarian, is shade tolerant and rated as excellant (newly planted)
- Autumn Sunset - rated as acceptable,
- Oshun - rated as poor and there is no sign of life at this point (5/26/09). The website did say zone 6 or 5 with protection. I figured being covered with straw would protect it enough - guess not.
Keep in mind that I bought all on the information that they were at least good for zone 5 and were considered very hardy. The rating system is completely subjective and the ratings given when I pulled the pots from the ground. Any that have since seemed to change (either for the good or the bad), have been noted. Here are the rating definitions:
- Poor - No sign of growth or leaves at all
- Acceptable - some signs of growth, with only a couple of leaves
- Good - a good candidate for survival, will need a couple more weeks in the pot before transplanting
- Great - Very strong growth; lots of new leaves and would have no hesitation in transplanting at that time.
- Excellant - Very strong growth; lots of new leaves, new shoots and tip growth. Probably could have been transplanted weeks ago.
It seems that I may have 2-3 casualties but it could be worse, almost all grafted roses that I have planted or kept potted have given up the ghost (silly me, tried to beat the odds).
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