Congratulations on the move and the successes you've had, Melissa! As you've stated, your failures were likely due to the potting soil in the planter remaining too wet, causing them to rot. Perhaps the drainage wasn't sufficient in that planter? From what you've explained, it does seem possible these have remained viable is because of the better drainage from the sand.

I can't advise what the proper winter protection methods should be as "winterizing" roses here (Los Angeles) means watering them so they don't dry out while continuing to grow and flower. Perhaps trimming back overly long growth so the winds don't loosen them in the ground or break off any taller growth. I wouldn't worry about them needing "nutrients" over winter as you don't want to push them to grow. As long as there are green, healthy leaves and they receive enough light, they will make use of any other resources to feed themselves. Providing "nutrients" will encourage them to possibly push some growth which might be more easily damaged by any frosts you receive. Even with everything else they may require being supplied, photosynthesis slows at temperatures lower than about seventy degrees. I don't think it would be feeding you should worry about over winter, but insulation against extreme cold and maintenance of proper moisture levels and drainage.

What have you normally done to carry any potted roses over winter? Yes, more shallow roots in smaller containers, will be more susceptible to freezing than deeper, large soil balls. If it's the appropriate time to transplant things where you are (cooler, damper, perhaps rain, etc.), you should be able to successfully transplant the cuttings in to larger containers where the larger soil mass around their roots will provide greater insulation against harsher cold snaps. If they are to be exposed to any rain, you might want to loosen the potting soil with either sand or perlite. If you're going to over winter them inside a shed or garage, where you will be providing the water, the traditional potting soil you use should be sufficient. Good luck with them! Kim

Thanks for the thoughts and info, Kim. I think you're right that protecting from the cold will be what I need to think about more than growth/feeding. In terms of what I've done in the past, actually, prior to moving to zone 6b (Maryland north of DC), I lived in zone 7b (Alexandria VA), and had a very sheltered yard. Even though the areas are only about 25 miles apart, I know this area definitely gets more snow and seems to have a bit colder winter temperatures as well. Also the other roses I've grown in planters have been in much, much bigger planters--but moving my other cuttings to those bigger planters is what killed them off, which is why I want to be careful.

I do have a garage with somewhat decent natural light, so perhaps I should leave the cuttings undisturbed in the windowbox but move it into the garage when the temperatures are headed below freezing. It might be overkill but it might be worth the effort just for the peace of mind!

Hi Kmarissa! Are those window boxes moveable? I have window boxes too but I have liners inside them so I can remove those and plant and such. Makes it much easier. If they are then you could either put the liners, plants and all, inside an unheated garage or you can sink them into the ground somewhere in your garden for the winter. Make sure there are good drainage holes in your liners either way so they don't rot. If you put them in a shed or garage you have to remember to give them a little water each month. I get plenty of snow here so I always put a shovel full of snow on the pot tops when we shovel. They don't need a lot of water but they will need some. If you sink them in the ground outside they'll be fine with whatever rain or snow they get over the winter.

If they are not removable then I'm afraid your best bet is to transplant them into pots of some kind and then winterize the pots. I don't think there is anyway they'll survive up in the air like that through a freezing winter. With so little soil it will undoubtedly freeze solid and kill the roots.

Here are some hints on potting roses up. Always make sure you use good light weight potting soil that drains very well. Make sure your pots have several good drainage holes. If they only have one in the center drill in two or three extra ones around the outer edge or lowest spot in the pot. Never use the trays that come with the pots. They hold the water in the pot and the roses rot. Put the pots up on wire pot trolleys or blocks so the bottoms are off the ground and the water can drain freely from them. Pots will always dry out quicker than the ground so watch them closely for water, particularly when it's very hot out. Because you have to water pots more frequently you will also have to fertilize them a little more often too. All that good drainage will wash out some nutrients. Any good well balance fertilizer will do. I start out with a slow release in the spring and then again maybe the beginning of August. In between I use fish emulsion and Miracle Grow liquid foliar feeding.

For rooting cuttings I use 16 oz. clear plastic cups with a hole in the bottom. With the clear cups you can actually see when the cutting has rooted without having to disturb the soil. I use Seed Starter soil instead of potting soil because it's much lighter weight. I leave them in the cups until the bottoms of the cups are full of roots before moving them up to a 1 gallon size pot. The one gallon pots then get sunk into the soil in the garden and buried in leaves for winter. Make sure you put up markers where you've buried them. The first year I didn't do this and come spring I had a heck of a time finding where they were and then not breaking them when I dug them out.

Thanks Seil! The window box is absolutely moveable, it's really just a long narrow planter right now. It's one of those "self-watering" types where you fill a reservoir and the water wicks up from that. The only reason that I used it was that it was a handy planter I had lying around when I needed a place for the cuttings. The irony is that one reason that I moved nearly all the cuttings from the window box to a large planter with soil, one by one as they put forth new growth, was that the reservoir feature was keeping the sand very wet and I was afraid the cuttings would rot. So weird that the ones I left in the window box did just fine and ALL the other cuttings rotted!

But it sounds like using the unheated garage is the best plan. It has some nice southfacing windows which should keep the cuttings fairly happy. It might also help protect the cuttings from the rabbits which seem to be a problem in our backyard.

Eek! I'm amazed that the self waterer was OK. Like I said earlier, you don't want to put any kind of trays on the bottoms of the pots that hold water. If the bottoms on yours are removable I'd take them off.

You don't need to put them in a window. They'll be dormant and you want to keep them that way as long as possible. Do not put them away until they have been hit with several hard frosts and you're sure they are completely dormant. Then put them in the garage, away from the door if possible so they don't get huge drafts when you open and close it, and leave them in the cold and dark until you are sure there will be no further killing frosts in the spring. The problem with that south facing window is the sun will repeatedly warm them through it and they will try to break dormancy too soon. The repeated freeze and thaw will kill them quickly. They only have so much stored energy in the canes to come back a couple of times from those freezes. You want to keep them dormant as long as you can so they save that energy for when it really is spring and they can begin to grow properly. They may actually be better off outside, sunk in the ground, where they'll know best when it's really spring.

Hah, I know, right? (regarding being amazed they didn't rot.) Actually it's not a removable tray, it's a reservoir built into the body of the box.

Thanks for setting me straight regarding dormancy--I hadn't even thought of the trouble that could be caused by the dormancy breaks. Hm. I do have a garden shed that's literally completely empty right now. It does have a small window but much less natural light than the garage and it would be easy to put the box where no direct sunlight hits. And I have no reason to go in there--maybe that's a better fit for the cuttings. They'd be more or less left alone as we otherwise aren't using the shed.

I would consider sinking them in the ground outside, but since the current window box can't be made to have proper drainage, I'd feel the need to re-pot the cuttings and I don't know that their roots are developed enough for that to be a good idea.

Too warm. Probably much too warm. There is probably going to be only a few weeks that are cold enough for the box to need shelter all winter.

It has been a while since I've lived in that part of the world, but my guess at a sample timeline is that it won't be cold enough to do anything with the cuttings until around Christmas. It is possible for it to get below the danger temperature (approx. 28) for a night or two earlier, but that isn't the time to put them away. What you are waiting for is a five-day forecast with all the nightly lows near or below freezing. Then when you get a five-day forecast with highs above 45, they go back out.

What I'd do is start feeding the cuttings lightly. See if I can get some growth on them between now and November. Depending on how that works, maybe transplant them into larger pots with a light potting mix.

You don't get anywhere by planting own-root roses deep. They very much grow where they want to grow.

Kmarissa, thanks for your post. I also have a few cuttings that are leafing out and wasn't sure what to do to protect them for the winter either!

Everyone else, thanks for the great discussion!

I'd never tried to root cutting before either and I didn't really expect them to take. It looks like they did though so the trick now is to get them through the winter. I normally move bands into 1 gallon pots as soon as I get them and then move them into two gallon pots before finally moving them into the ground. It's too late in the season for that now but I think I'll move them into the 1 gallon pots and then follow Seil's suggestion to plant the entire pot in the ground.

I normally leave about an inch of the pot above the soil line to make it easier to water them. Am I following you correctly Seil when you say to bury the entire pot in the soil. In my case that would mean that I would fill that extra inch with soil so I can get the entire pot (rim and all) below ground level. And then I would mulch the area with either leaves/mulch. Sound like a plan?

Thanks in advance,
Kerry