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Olga: A question about Lady Hillingdon and cold

cincy_city_garden

15 years ago

Hello,

This is my first winter with Lady Hillingdon, and they are forecasting single digits (1 degree) as a low for Thursday night. Now according to the zone temperature limits, 6b can get as cold as -5. I'm just curious the about coldest it's gotten where you live and how your glorious LH came through it. Died to the ground ever?

Thanks,

Eric

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Comments (7)

olga_6b
15 years ago
Eric, my LH is in somewhat sheltered position near the South wall of my house. It is older then 8 year old (probebley older then 10), so now it basically gets zero dieback even in coldest winters. When it was yong band I had some dieback, but not much. Don't remember now how bad or good in terms of temps was its first winter. Local lowest was -12, but it was in 1988, so my LH never experienced this kind of temp. I believe the main thing is not how low, but for how long. If there is a stretch of days with low digits, it is much worse then just one night but at much lower temperature. I judge by my other teas that get some dieback. The other thing that is really bad is temps fluctuations. If there are days around 50-60 and then 10 deg next day, that is what really kills roses here, I think.
Olga
cincy_city_garden
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Olga, thanks a lot for replying with your experience. It looks like it'll only be couple of days in the single digits, then back to the mid to upper teens, which is what it's been running as lows so far this winter. My LH is against a west-facing stone wall. It's north of my house, but north enough not to be shaded by the house. I've already noticed some blackened tips on the canes; hoping for the best and no big temperature fluctuations.

Eric
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Molineux
15 years ago
Just a reminder that Olga and I both live in USDA Zone 6b. A rose located against the house, facing South, is likely to be in a zone 7 microclimate.

BTW, Olga's Lady Hillingdon is INCREDIBLE. I've seen her specimen (in winter) and the rose is H-U-G-E!
sherryocala
15 years ago
Hi, Eric, just some Florida curiosity here. Please don't think I'm REAL dumb. Is your ground frozen at this point? Obviously, our ground doesn't freeze so when watered well it still holds some heat even when the temps go into the 20s. At those times I cover tender plants with a sheet and then a plastic tarp down to the ground (the plastic can't touch the plant because it conducts the cold), weighted down so the cold doesn't get in (sometimes with a support underneath to hold the cover off the plant.) The theory being that the temp under the tarp doesn't get colder than the ground. If your ground is 32 degrees, wouldn't a cover mitigate the extreme temps outside the cover? We also sometimes put an incandescent lamp under the cover to heat it up just a tad - kinda like a primitive mini-greenhouse. With my roses I don't need to do this, since they can handle low 20s which are predicted later in the week. Of course, the flowers and buds don't like it. I was just curious about this since I have no experience with single digits and plants. But I would think any help you could give them would be a plus, especially for young plants.

Sherry
cincy_city_garden
Original Author
15 years ago
Well, it was gamble to begin with. In a zone 7a microclimate, the mininum temp is 0 degrees. Forecast low for Thursday is now 0...ack. I've been toying with the idea of doing my own long term temperature tracking with a high/low thermometer. Even at 2 feet tall she was a joy for me, if she dies down to ground and just stays short, I'd still keep her.

Hi Sherry...your're not dumb...I know nothing about gardening in Florida. I don't think the ground is frozen completely, we've been having highs that have been getting above freezing, with only a handful with highs in the 20s. I've been there done that with protection part..nothing against people who do, my garden is on the sink or swim plan :)

Eric
cincy_city_garden
Original Author
15 years ago
I forgot the visual aid...boo :)

{{gwi:220516}}

Eric
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
15 years ago
About ten years ago, or so, my 'neighbors' put in about six Lady Hillingdons. Five of them didn't make it through the first winter, which was a mild one with a low of around zero. The sixth was too shocked by the experience to grow much, and died the next winter.

The zone ranges are averages, so a given winter can be quite a bit warmer or colder than that. So IMHO, the relevant cold tolerance question is 'what is the lowest temperature that particular rose has ever seen'.

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