You didn't mention the whole forecast or which roses you're worried about. How high during the day? How many nights around 16? How many hours that cold? I know from personal experience in my own garden that a dip down to 18 in March with warm days did no harm at all to even the most tender of roses.

You have time to plan if the weather is going to be uncooperative with extended periods of temperatures in the teens and cold days (little above freezing). If your roses are tender and young, you can probably cover them. Some swear by wilt pruf or Cloud Cover. I'm sure they will speak up.

I would not panic too much-roses are tough-esp OGR's and maybe they are wrong-one lousy night of cold temps! and maybe there will be enough snow cover since they think it is going to snow but you can always throw sheets over the young plants. We often get these cold snaps this time of the year and sometimes the buds get nipped but you have a couple more at each node.

patricia

I pull up weeds and toss them around new basal breaks. Weeds with leaves full of water (Chickweed is really good for this) become insulated wraps that will protect new basals.
Check your forecast on weather underground for how many hours you're predicted to be below 28F.

That late easter freeze two years ago that so damaged the southeast was three days of very cold with temps barely above freezing each day for only an hour or two.

Well, the snow didn't stick--so much for a little help there. Most of the roses are albas, damasks, gallicas, and hybrid musks. Some species and species hybrids. Several Paul Barden roses. Some newer floribundas, but those are expendable. Hopefully they'll all be tough enough to take it. I mounded mulch and used coffee grounds (I get them in big bags from the local coffee store) around the babies the best I could without damaging them, so now it's just wait and see. The weatherman changes the forecast every five minutes anyway--it was only supposed to get down in the 30s tonite so I was going to do most of my cover up tomorrow, and now they're predicting the 20s. Several nights in the 20s with highs in the upper 30s/lower-to-mid 40s. Hope the freeze/thaw cycle doesn't get them.

I've got refrozen melted snow ice on my steps and porch -- ack. My house is in a cold microclimate. I'm not worried -- it was plenty warm during the day today. If my Mutabilis made it through December, it will survive this.

-Greta

I wouldn't worry too much. I've seen this kind of weather system move through when there was a lot of new growth on the roses and it does very little, if any, damage. Things like the Teas might get nipped but your OGRs won't even blink. (Unless it gets REALLY cold, like 10F but lets hope that doesn't happen!)

Paul

Oh good. It sounds most of the plants should get through all right. Another reason to stick with mostly OGRs. And this morning I woke up to a couple of inches of snow on the ground, and it's falling like crazy right now, so if it doesn't melt today it will be a nice blanket over everything for the coldest nights. It's absolutely gorgeous right now--one of those sticky snows that outlines every branch on the trees and shrubs. Looking out the window "Distant Drums" looks particularly fine (yeah, I know, not an OGR, but it looks great in the snow.) Those stiffly vertical canes branch out into all those marble-sized hips at the ends, and each hip wearing an inch-tall cap of snow.