No snow here. Just a cold rain. I'm learning to watch certain roses to let me know when the rose season is over. Especially Rosa Rugosa. When it's foliage turns orange, then bright yellow then drops off, that's a pretty good hint. I do my winter garden different then most folks. Several yrs ago I visited Germany in Jan & Feb. Almost every lot and space had roses. I talked with a BUNCH off folks about their winter care of their roses. I liked what they did. Come early Dec, they take off the last blooms down to the first set of foliage. Then they strip all the foliage off each bush. If they have long wind whipped canes they put a long stake by that bush and tie them to the stake. I tried that method a couple of years ago and really like the overall effect. A little bit of work?? yeah, but come spring worth it. Even in a mild winter (last year), everything shut down for at least 90 days or more. No fungal problems at all come spring. No foliage for winter carry over at all. Plus, another good reason to keep my garden under 100 bushs. My garden is a place of enjoyment. NOT problems that tend to bother me.

It froze here too. Down in the twenties. I am grieving for the passing of the seasons , and my plants. But, at least we know it will be back eventually.

Oh, and here I thought you were so excited to see me that you just had to post two more times! LOL The best days for me next week are Tuesday or Wednesday. Job interview on Monday and leaving town on Friday to celebrate our 40th anniversary with members of our wedding party in Northern California. Jodi-

I have three of my own big maple trees and I'm surround with neighbors with big old maples. I get TONS of free maple leaves! That is what I use to pack under, around and over the pots inside the burlap, which holds it all in. I don't try to cover the canes all the way up. I just want a good foot or so on the pot tops to protect the grafts. Most of the leaves are packed in between the pots to insulate them. Also, the fact that they are lined up against the south wall of my house helps. That gets whatever sun there is all day and warms the brick which radiates it back after dark. I would say it pumps my zone level up to at least 7. And when ever it snows I snow blow the snow from the patio up unto them. More insulation and needed moisture! The water is shut off outside for the winter so I need a way to keep them watered and the snow melting down into the pots has seemed to work very well. We are down to just 19 pots now so we used 11 bags of leaves. But when I had 70 pots they went across the entire back wall and around the east side and we used about 30 bags. I would often steal bags from my neighbors across the street on trash days, lol. This will be winter 15 of doing this and it has worked well most years. I usually have much fewer losses in the pots than I do in the ground. The Polar winter was the only year I lost a significant number in the pots but then I lost 60 in the ground too that year.