Four days ago I unwrapped the 40 plus roses that were winter protected using the experimental system described in the initial post and as shown in the images. The snow is still not completely melted in shaded areas and in fact I had to dig some of the roses out a little in order to get the bags and straw off of them. Today I did a light tip pruning to tidy them up. The outcome of my dry mulch with plastic bag cover winter protection experiment? A very much improved cane survival rate. Almost all of the roses came through with minimal damage to the canes they had when I wrapped them. I even have over a foot of cane on both Evelyn and Jayne Austin, both of whom have died to the crown every winter for the last ten years using my old system. As we all know, this has been one of the harshest winters on record; for my area, the coldest in over 50 years. So I think I would have to say that the experiment was a success. While pruning today, I noticed bud nodes that were beginning to swell even though the temperatures are still below freezing most nights and in the low forties to low fifities in the afternoons. In addition, my yard and garden cleanup has gone much quicker and easier than ever before. I have dry straw and leaves largely stacked in bags, rather than sodden and half frozen waiting to thaw around the roses before I can remove it and haul it away. The beds are cleaned out and the dark soil can warm in the sun and thaw more quickly. I will still have to wait another couple of weeks before I can spray the plants with dormant oil, but I'm at least two weeks ahead of normal with garden cleanup and have large healthy canes on almost all of my roses for the first spring since I moved to this cold climate. End of report. Cheers, Rick

Well, maybe it will eventually get some leaves on it. Now that it's out of my face, it doesn't really bother me. And like yours, Ines, mine had only the little air roots all over it and the (formerly inactive) peduncles. I do cut the long leafless stems off my pubicalyx, after they are mature enough that it's obvious they didn't produce any peduncles. It's already so huge and in-the-way, I can't afford to let it take any more unnecessary space! Jo, I was disgusted with my reverse kerrii this spring because you could hardly see any variegation at ALL in the new leaves, so I whacked it back and took two short cuttings and put them in a "public" pot outside by my GH, figuring if they burnt to a crisp or died, at least I was making an effort to make it go in another direction. The two cuttings rooted quickly and I did lose one leaf on each, but then both are now putting out new growth with obvious variegation. AND the main plant put on a new growth point back towards the soil line that had more obvious variegation. I'll be very excited to bring in the two new cuttings and put them in with the old plant and see how they all look after a winter in the GH. Denise in Omaha

I'm a fan of the Bona Traffic products. Seem nearly bulletproof and look OK. Used their amber sealer underneath to get a more oil-like color and pop the figure on our birdseye maple floor (I think it's a shellac formulated to be waterborne--that's the way it acts, anyway). In my shop I used the Traffic HD and I've been dragging 400 lb machines across it for the last three years without damage. The wood dents sometimes, but the finish doesn't break. It gets lots of wet boots and sand. In our prior house the "Professional" oil based finish wore away to the wood in high traffic areas in three years. The DIY Bona Traffic finish I put down after that still looked like new when we sold 10 years later. It's really hard to beat a high quality catalyzed polyurethane finish for durability. Oil will undoubtedly look better, but not for long unless you observe the no shoes in the house ritual. I'll give up something on looks to be able to walk in my house without thinking about my feet. Wood shop floor done in "mixed domestic hardwoods" finished with Bona Amberseal and Traffic HD

Thanks all! Really wish I remember the paint. I did examine it once and it wasn’t any special off brand kind. It was black paint that was made for exterior applications. They didn’t prime, they had to do several coats and were really exceptional painters though, the kind that don’t use tape and they freehanded everything. It was pretty incredible. Like I said, after a year, some wear showed where leaves or debris had hit the paint and chipped a bit but quick touch ups were easy for me to tackle.