Thank you for the timely reminder, I went out and gave mine all a good watering yesterday. They were definitely ready for it. With respect to the garage temperature question, that will depend on a number of factors. Is the garage attached, or detached, does it have an attic, or insulation of any kind, etc. Mine is attached with 3 uninsulated walls, but an insulated appartment overhead. Outside temperatures have gone as low as -29 C / -20 F so far this season and the lowest tempeature indoors has been -6 C / 21 F. If you have a detached uninsulated garage, then the ambient temperature inside will likely reach nearly the same temperature as the outside during extended cold spells. -20 F is almost certainly cold enough to kill a potted knock out rose. If you're garage is insulated the temperature swings should be less. You might try building an insulated box large enough to put you potted rose in, keep it in the garage and put a small 40 watt incadecent light bulb inside that you could turn on when the temperature is forecast to go below about -5 F. Cheers, Rick

I leave my containerized roses out over winter and have for years and years. Last year was particularly cold with temperatures down almost to zero for many days in a row. That's very unusual for us. The only rose that was severly damaged enough to pitch was in a small (10")container. My best success with overwintering roses comes when I am able to move the pots to a wind protected site on the west or south side of my home. The radiated heat from the house adds just a few degrees of additional heat. The worst site is an eastern location. The roses are frozen overnight, and as the sun rises in the AM it strikes the frozen canes causing the cells to burst from the rapid warm up. Actually my in ground roses with a more northern exposure fared better during this unusual cold snap last year then did the ones facing east. Also, it is best to stop any fertilizing about 7 to 8 weeks before the average first frost date. Earlier then in ground roses. You want your pot roses to not be adding any new growth after late summer...As for sealing the canes, some people will say it's not necessary, but in my yard it certainly is. We've got the cane "driller" wasps, and if I miss a cane, they seem to be able to spot it right away.

Two years ago I decided to experiment and see which potted roses did better - those I buried or those I stuck in the garage. It was a real chore to dig the deep trenches and bury the roses, but I would be willing to do it if it was best. In the spring, I dug up the buried roses and brought out the garage guys. Those that wintered in the garage looked much better right off the bat, budded out quiicker, were much more free of canker and other disease, and performed twice as well that summer. Needless to say, all my potted roses go in the garage now. The only thing I have to be sure to remember is to water them every 6 weeks or so, because although they can take the cold of our unheated garage, dehydration will kill them.

Thanks for the responses all. Susan I would be interested in what roses you successfully over winter? Seil, as always, thanks for sharing your experience with a new rose gardener like me. Mad_gallica, I have quite a variety in pots that I am over wintering. Every thing from Explorer series to HT's. I am doing so for a variety of reasons. First, the plants were on sale late in the season and I came to a conclusion that I would possibly have a lower mortality rate if I had them in a controlled environment. I also didn't have a complete plan of where they were going to be planted. Lastly and especially with the HT's, I was told whether in a pot or ground they wouldn't survive the winter. Who doesn't like a challenge when the roses are only rated a half to full zone warmer, depending on where you look? Thanks for the explantation. I had a feeling I was way overthinking it. I couldn't figure out why people would water frozen pots forgetting that most of the members here live in warmer climates. I, too, kept my pots wet till they froze so the plant isn't dehydrated when it starts to thaw. Thanks again everyone. SCG