Nice, but I wish, if I could make any suggestion to him on video ideas, he would make a video about "Preparing a rose for winter". That is I believe the one video he hasn't done yet lol.
He is wonderful in these video's, a natural! And they are invaluable video's to us all.
Keep up the great work Paul!

I, too, soooo appreciate Paul for all his wonderful videos to help us out with our rose growing.

And you, too, Rosesnpots, for letting us know about his latest. :)

Well, last week, I've transplant 'Mayor of Casterbridge' into the ground. Yesterday, I've noticed lots of leaves (mainly the bottom/inner leaves) are turning yellow and falling off. Originally is was lush green in the container.

I used compost to top it up and I'm not sure whether that was the mistake because I've just read that compost is "heavy" and cause "drainage problems."

What should I do? Should I leave the plant alone or should I transplant it back in the container?

I went to his website again to look for the listing of videos, but I can't find them from paulzimmermanroses.com. Maybe I'm just going blind. Anyone know where on his new web page are the videos? I know I can find them I suppose from utube, but I am used to going to ashdownroses.com and linking to them from there.
Thanks!

jumbojimmy. How much water is the plant getting? Did the rootball break up when you transplanted it?

A winter care video is a great idea but having not lived in a cold climate I don't know much about it. I'll do some research and asking and see what I can do.

Links to the videos are now on our new website.

Here is a link that might be useful: Paul Zimmerman Roses

Paul,
There are as many winter care methods as there are rose types. For those in cold winter areas, planting hardy roses is best.
I know people who cut their roses off even with the ground each fall. The bud unions are planted deep from the start. Others use collars filled with leaves, mulch, soil, or compost, rose cones, piled up mulch or soil at the base, Styrofoam boxes built over beds, or oak leaves or pine straw piled in the beds. Some cut their roses back severely each fall while others cut to 3-4 feet and some don't cut at all choosing to prune everything in the spring. Some tie and wrap their roses or cover them with sheets of the newer attic insulations.
I've tried them all and all work to some extent, some better than others.
My Power Point program shows most of the methods but most people want to plant and forget. They want the tender hybrid teas with their high centered flowers as hardy bushes, and are disappointed when it doesn't happen.
My point is to create a video on "Preparing a rose for winter," you almost have to be here in late fall/early winter to record it. You'd have to choose the best method or offer various methods. Because winterizing begins when you plant and with choosing hardy varieties you'll have to start there.
Your video could turn into a full length feature film.
It would be a doozy though.
Good luck.

The whole idea behind 'roses are plants' is that the fussy, tender ones aren't part of the equation. So winter protection is buying hardy roses, and ignoring them.

The depressing part is the number of people who buy something like William Baffin, and still think they have to do significant winter protection. Like spraying, it has become part of the rose-growing mystique, and like spraying, it doesn't help simplify the process.

BTW, winter protection methods vary widely in how well they work in different climates, so that adds another entire layer of complexity.

Just as methods for any rose vary depending on climate. But there are still scores of them out there, not only on tender roses but also on winter protection. Better not to make it that complex then :)

My approach to this project has been to make this a way to introduce people into growing roses in their general garden setting. Then taking care of them pretty much like they would the other ornamental plants in their garden instead of a completely separate care program for roses. If after a while they want to put more into their roses then that's fine, but the whole point is they don't have to.

So, my approach to a winter protection video would be exactly like my approach to growing garden roses in general. It starts with the right rose for your climate and that means a winter hardy one.

Starting with burying the bud union on grafted roses is a great starting point. My question to all of you is what then? Do you do anything short of collars etc. Like piling leaves in the beds to insulate a bit, do you cut back in fall then again in spring? Any tricks you've picked up over the years that could be put forth in a video.

Towards the end I would get a little into what Karl talks about based on if you want to grow a more tender rose here a few tips.

Thoughts?

Paul, just wanted to say how wonderful it is to see you here and with your new video! You have such a sunshiny personality and make everything so fun for newbies! Karl has been a longtime mentor for me as well, since I am in borderline zone 5/6 but LOL! in my first year of rose-growin' lazy me is not doing anything yet! since we are getting 70 degree weather in November LOL! So I'm sure by the time we get cold, cold, cold in Kansas City, you'll be on the way to making another new viddy for us. Anyway, we are always looking forward to your fantastic viddies!

It is really, really dependent on climate how well any form of winter protection works. Around here, it can be a very bad idea to put anything near the crown of the rose because a warm, wet winter can turn the entire thing into a cankered mass of lost canes.

Thank you Paul for another very good video. Keep up the great work.

Valerie

Paul, my approach to winter protection is simple. I garden in central Illinois, Zone 5. Winters here vary...some years it can be mild; last year we saw -22F temps in January for a week, but that is rare. It usually only gets to maybe -10F on a rare occasion.

I have upwards of 250 roses; mostly what most folks term 'tender'...hybrid teas...some Delbards....with a mix of Bucks, Austins, OGRs, minis, rugosas, and climbers...and they are either grafted on multiflora or Dr. Huey, or are own-root.

Karl is correct that winter protection begins upon planting. I plant grafted bareroots 6" deep, and all my beds have hardwood mulch about 4" deep in them year-around...helps with weed-suppression and holds in moisture. Come winter, the only protection they get is the oak leaves that blow in and cover their base...and the wood mulch in their beds. I also do not prune in the fall.

Also key is to ensure they are healthy and well-fed going into fall; sick roses are just not going to show up ready to bloom in the spring.

Last year I only lost 2 bands....and those were Bucks. Go figure!

One caveat,however, there is not very much live cane left using this method, so if it's a harsh and cold winter, I have to prune severely in the spring, but the roses grow rapidly and are blooming vigorously by the end of May.
-terry

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've been tempted to make this video for a while but as you all point out the situation is so different for everyone. But if I do go ahead can I start with a few general rules of thumb like.

1) It begins, as mad gallica points out, with selecting a hardy rose for your area. While the guidelines from nurseries and sites like HMF are a good place to begin there is nothing like local knowledge via forums, rose societies, garden clubs etc.

2) If you buy a grafted rose bury the bud union deep like 4"-6".

3) Use a hardwood mulch for insulation and anyway this should always be part of your regular gardening routine.

4) Piling up leaves and/or mulch depends on the kind of winters you get. Wet winters with periods of warm temps can lead to problems like canker etc when you pile up mulch so it's best not to. If you live in an area with dry winters it's okay to do so.

5) Keep your roses healthy throughout the year. A healthier rose can better survive a winter. Now to me a healthy rose to survive winter means a rose that is NOT pampered all year but instead is left to, as I talk about in my other videos, fend for itself so it pushes out deep roots and builds up immunity to the local pathogens.

6) Here is my question to all of you. I realize where you live it's best to purchase an older plant and that usually means grafted. However when you purchase an own root band and it's delivery to you in say spring or summer what do you do? Plant right away, grow it on in a larger pot and plant in fall, keep it in the pot for a year overwintering it in the garage. I'll need to address this. Keep in mind nothing complicated - this is meant to be simple.

Anything else I need to cover?

Dealing with bands here, is by definition, not simple. There are a lot of judgment calls based on variables like *exactly* how big is the band when it arrives, is it expected to be cane hardy, what has the weather been like, how busy is the buyer, etc.

The method I developed with hardy roses from Sequoia was to ask for delivery early. I'd ask for them around April 1st, which is only about two months before our last frost date. After a few days of adjusting, they would be potted up into 1 gallon pots. They would stay there until the end of May, and then be planted in the garden. This gives them a very long growing season, and plenty of time to get established in the garden.

I ask for band delivery around the end of April, keeping in mind our last frost day is around Mother's Day. I never plant into pots...I always plant directly into the ground so the rose can establish itself before winter.

Direct-planting works brillantly for me; I rarely lose a rose and they establish quickly and grow rapidly.