Everything is covered with ice today. Another snow storm Saturday night and then a cold week with high temps below freezing. At least we are guaranteed a white Christmas!

Was there any fall in the NE this year?

We have had a consistent snow cover since before Thanksgiving. It has been quite a bit colder than usual for this time of year - usually it doesn't get this cole until January or February. I just hope we can keep our snow cover.

Harry, we had a nice fall with many days in the 50s, until things cooled down around Thanksgiving.

Yes, Karen, the weather here has also been more like Jan/Feb.

We have another big snowstorm coming Sunday. I don't know whether to be appreciative of that or not. On the one hand, if Dec. is this cold and snowy, will Jan. and Feb. be even more cold and snowier?

Today I am going to shovel up some snow onto my client's HTs. Maybe if I build up some big enough mounds, if we have some thaws in Jan. there will be enough reserve snow to keep them covered.

We've got so much snow that we're having trouble figuring out where to put it all! We had to dig out the mailbox a bit so we could get mail, and you can't see around the corners at most intersections because the snow banks are so high. We've completely lost some turn lanes that were never plowed. I don't think that even a week of warm weather would melt it all, and they're predicting more snow this weekend. This is all good for the roses though as I wasn't going to protect them this year and it looks like they won't need it.

Lots of snow here, and waiting for the big storm on Sunday...

Yes, it's been a cold December so far. This is a more typical winter, however.

It's good to see the snow covering the roses, however.

Oh yes, up here too,it's been unseasonably cold. We're also waiting for the 'monster storm' as the weather man said. They're calling for 40+ cms (about 16"), and up to 60 cms (2 feet) in the eastern townships, south of Montreal, near the U.S. border. I guess, Veilchen, that may mean that you will be getting the worst of it. Well, I suppose it is good for the roses, no doubt about that, but the thought of digging out after that makes my back ache just thinking about it. At least we're not getting ice; that scares the heck out of me. Good luck, everyone.
Judith

we've gotten 6" in the last 2 days..we had about 4" before that, but it came in dustings, then melted down. we're expecting a big storm to come through here sunday..depending on which channel we watch, anywhere from 1'-3' more! it's going down to 9 degrees tonight, but the roses are all under a nice blanket of mulch and snow. i guess this is what the la nina winters are..that's what they said..colder and huge dumps of snow at a time! we need the water to refill our lakes and resevoirs, though, so it's not all bad.donna

We've had snow, sleet, ice and rain, in that order. We're supposed to get another big snow fall tomorrow nite and Sunday.

Judith, we are supposed to get whomped by that storm on Sunday, and with the ocean effect some if may turn to freezing rain/rain, then it's supposed to get very cold, in time for the rain to freeze on everything. Not good.

Everyone's complaining around my area, but I'm pleased because I know this snow cover is good for the roses. My only concern is that I hadn't gotten out there to do any winter protection what-so-ever or anything. The roses should be fine, but I'm wondering if this should be the first year I don't wrap some of the younger more tender trees.

A friend of mine planted 5 knockouts in November. A few days later we had a freeze. I'm more worried about her plants than mine right now. I just can't see how those roses were able to get established but you never know. A good ground cover can help with a lot of gardening "sins."

~MH

We got 7" a couple of weeks ago - before the ground had properly frozen (which means I didn't get my roses mulched). Since then have had several 1-3" storms, some ice then another 6" of show on Thursday.

The Nor'Easter hit us about 3 AM (maybe sooner - that is when I let the dogs out and they were covered in white when they came in). We have a bit of time before finding out how much that will dump on us, but they are predicting about 8". Then it looks like we are on a every-other-day track for snow. Hopefully, all the snow will insulate the roses enough that they won't miss the mulch!

Northern Delaware: rain, more rain, and occasional wind with rain.

We got 6 - 8 inches of snow on Saturday. Tonight it's supposed to get down to close to 10 degrees above. I don't have any protection on my roses yet, so I'm hoping the snow hangs in there and helps until the weather moderates.

We got hammered yesterday, it snowed all day. At least 10 inches. Kind of turned to sleet toward the end, although it was only in the low 20s. We didn't get iced over like they were predicting.

Roses are good and covered now.

Winter has been brutal here too, started early, everything is frozen and covered in snow. I have already ordered 27 new roses, don't know what I am gonna do on the nights in Jan and Feb when it is really stormy. LOL

yes, the snow is good cover for the roses, the earth needs the moisture, the ski hills are celebrating as are the snowmobile dealers, so not everyone is upset with this weather.

I do however have a bad case of spring fever, soon to be followed by cabin fever if this weather, snow continues. Oh well.

Valerie

Weather has been great here. We have a couple feet of frost in the ground and haven't had any subzero temperatures. Most of the snow had melted by Friday. Got all the roses mounded and ready for winter. It was a spectacular weekend weatherwise. Couldn't have asked for better to have while out in the yard this time of year. The wind even took a break and gave me one :)
It is nice when Mother Nature gives us weather that fits my schedule. I think it happened once before.....

Well, I didn't get all of my work done before Grandpa Frost visited us. (I seldom do.) I am still happy for the snow cover and the moderate temperatures.

Although I still have some daffodils to be planted (bought them cheap 90% off) I hope we keep our snow cover. Like I have any control over that! I was glad to see the moisture come that the trees need.

Here is a link that might be useful: January thaw

We had at least a foot of snow yesterday, but with the gusty winds (blowing it all to my house) it seemed like a lot more. School is cancelled again today, so no work for me (of course, shoveling certainly counts as work.....back-breaking work). I am very grateful, though, that we didn't get any freezing rain, like some people did.
Here are a few shots I took this morning....

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Judith, that's exactly what it looks like here! I'd take a photo to match yours, but my daughter broke the USB thingy so I can't download pics.

We got 3 snowstorms in one week, the last being the NorEaster yesterday which dumped another 10 inches onto what was already there. I live at a high elevation and my yard always measures an inch or two more snow than just down the mountain. We have had high winds here all day yesterday and into today but for once didn't lose power.

"The roses are nestled,
all snug in their beds...
While visions of alfalfa tea
danced in their heads".

Mine are slumbering underneath a couple feet of snow and
are dreaming of summer. At least in the Spring I won't have so much winterkill as this past year. All that unseasonably warm weather and little snowfall was terrible
for the roses, with most of them having to be cut back severely.

Happy Holidays to all!
Celeste

I can barely see my house....

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Yup, there's roses under there...somewhere

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Climbers, well-protected....

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In another northern part of the world, in Sweden, the weather is strange. No snow, temperature today is 27F and in Abisko, 68.2 degrees north, 250 kilometers north of the Polar Circle, it's 37F as I write. We are hoping for a white Christmas but forecasts are not promising. I am getting nervous for my uncovered roses. I usually mulch only the most tender of them because most years I can be pretty sure of sufficient snow cover for the rest.

Celeste, I like the way you protected your climber. What materials did you use, and how did you secure it all, etc.? I never grew climbers when I lived in the north because I was always told they had to come off the supports and be laid flat on the ground, with lots of leaves etc. piled on top.

All of your pictures brought back vivid memories of winters in Upstate N.Y. I don't miss months of digging out from under tons of lake effect snow to go to work, but sometimes I miss the winter beauty of it all. I'm actually looking forward to going up for Christmas.

Sandy

Hi Sandy,
This arch of climbers were the only ones I protected this way. I have 5 other arches/trellis structures that I just didn't have the time to protect this way. Those I took the canes down (carefully and with gloves!) and laid them down on the ground, putting pine straw over them. I don't have to worry about them this winter, since there is so much snow to blanket them. They are somewhere lost in the snow. Last year there wasn't enough snow cover and many of the climbers had to be cut right to the ground. I am always amazed at how fast they rebound, and how much growth they can make up in one short summer. I do have some winter-hardy ramblers like Violette and Baltimore Belle, and climbers like Quadra and William Baffin that just laugh at the cold....but I also
have a fondness for marginally hardy climbers that I am obligated to protect every winter.

The arch in question is covered with a double thickness of burlap, and secured with twine. That arch is in an area that gets a lot of very cold wind but the climbers on it (New Dawn & Rosarium Uetersen) always come through with little damage.
Celeste

We've more than a foot of snow on the ground now and it has warmed up to 19 degrees (it was 4 below yesterday morning). The mulch I was going to use for rose protection froze before I ever got it on the bushes. Current plan is to buy some pine shavings and use that to pile on the crowns since our snow cover usually disappears in January just before our coldest temperatures hit.

oldroser, I use a concrete blanket to cover my mulch pile. It is basically 2 tarps with insulation between them. Concrete contractors use them to keep newly poured concrete from freezing. I got mine for free from a friend but they aren't very expensive. The one I have is 15 x 15. It has metal eyelets and I pin it down. It keeps the mulch dry and unfrozen until I am ready mound the roses. It works out much better than bringing a backhoe home and breaking up the frozen mulch pile.
The neighborhood children don't like it as much. They can always talk me into showing them how to run the hoe as long as their parents are there to observe. I think the parents get a bit jealous. Little diggers in the making :)