HI Displaced Clevelander A lot of the questions about winter protection depend on what kinds of roses you have and what kind of weather variation you have, not just how cold it gets over the winter. Most roses, even most hybrid teas, can handle weather down into the 20's just fine, even with night temperatures somewhat lower, and they wouldn't particularly need protection if your weather doesn't get too much beyond that. With February still on the horizon, it's hard to know what's up ahead. You in KS have some of the yoyo weather we have here, so more of your protection revolves around keeping the roses from thinking it's spring too soon when the weather takes an extended turn warmer. Here's what I would do in your situation. Use the mulch you have saved up around the ground near your roses, but don't mound it around the rose itself - canker from moisture can kill roses faster than winter temperatures, and it takes a while to figure out what works for your roses in your yard. Consider the mulch protection for the roots, both to keep them cold a little longer now that the ground is frozen and to protect the spring moisture when it arrives, since you're in drought too like us. Remember that in our zone, as long as you protect the roots (in own root plants) or the graft (in grafted plants), the top part of the rose can die back and the plant will still regrow from the roots. Well, except for fussy-pants roses - you'll get a sense of which roses won't survive in your yard even if you fed them caviar all winter, and you have to firmly resolve that it's not your fault when they die. Then if you want to do something to protect from a spell of zero-ish temperatures for the rest of the winter, go to the hardware store and get some of those big leaf bags (or use collected grocery bags if you want the free option). Put the empty bag over the rose if it fits (or tape it around if it doesn't) and leave the top open for air circulation. That'll protect from the worst of the winter drying winds and give you a few helpful degrees on the colder snaps. It also is a "do no harm" solution that lets you figure out what your roses like and what kinds of materials you can use in your yard that don't contribute to canker and provide some protection. You might not need this protection, but it sounds like you want to do something, and this give you a great excuse for puttering around in the yard in the terrific spells of winter weather like the warm 50's we had yesterday (yes, zone 9-ers, that's warm in these here parts). For my yard, I use 6" high cut circles of filled leaf bags to stack around but not quite touching the roses in my yard, and add oak leaves only (other leaves mat down and hold in moisture) on anything I'd need to touch the rose stems. However, I'm a good 20 degrees colder than you up here and a Durned Fool about roses anyway. I'm sure half of my roses don't need the protection, but with as many roses as I have I'm too lazy to figure that out during winter protection time. Bottom line is that if your roses have made it this far, you're probably fine. Just don't panic when it gets to pruning time and you're left with short stubs of healthy cane. Cynthia

The only problem I know of with Tsuga canadensis doesn't appear to be a problem in Michigan. It's a bug called Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, but seems to be more of a problem in the eastern US. 'Sargentii' is a gorgeous plant. This pic is from Wikipedia: I grew two of them in NE Ohio several years ago, and had no trouble with them. They were in a part shade setting, and thrived.

Thanks for weighing in, everyone! seil--It's a white spotty mold...I think it's in the aspergillus family, which causes nasty respiratory infections, hence the no-go on poultry bedding/danger to me. blocke19--good to know someone else's roses have survived old straw. I'm not sure if I've really noticed mold when unwrapping in the spring--maybe just on the straw mounded directly on the soil. And I agree on avoiding slimy black spoiled hay molds--yuck! There's lots more organic material for bacteria to feed on in hay...Spoiled hay only goes into the compost pile! lavender_lass and bart_2010--I don't wrap until mid- to late- November when daily highs are near freezing, so I think that the cold should keep the mold in check over the winter. I'll be spraying it when it's unwrapped in the spring. This is for a Don Juan, which is not always cane hardy in zone 5 if we have a nasty winter. He's in a semi-sheltered spot, but he also hit about 12' tall this summer, so I'd like to save as much height as possible. I like your idea of reusing packing styrofoam...just not an option with this monster! Got my burlap yesterday, so now I'm just waiting for a break in the damp weather to wrap 'er up! Thanks again!

Go for it. It'll help if it's a bad winter. And just an fyi for your advantage, I believe Abies koreana to be 100% fully hardy in any mid-west zone 4. Be sure you mulch too. Dax