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Keep roses alive through winter & differences in roots/rootstocks

strawchicago z5
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago

Above pic. is Arthur Bell as own-root rose, which I never winter protect, but lived for many years. I killed it since the blooms aren't suitable for the vase. It was healthy in total neglect. When I killed it, roots are very deep.

Lavenderlace asked me questions regarding her zone 8, Texas for the winter, so I moved the answer here for googling purpose:

Hi Lavender: RRD stand for Rose Rosette Disease, and RMV stand for Rose Mosaic Diseases, folks in Rose forum wasted time bickering over that. No point in imposing one's agenda & one's beliefs on someone with totally different soil and climate. So glad that I left when folks want to impose stupid theories on my garden, when I already explained how my one rose got RRD in detail.

You mean fresh horse manure and wood-shavings? That fluffy, alkaline, and dry stuff is great to winterize Dr.Huey-rootstock, which likes anything dry & alkaline.

Own-roots need THICK mulch on top, esp. with sandy soil. It doesn't matter if the root is tiny or gigantic, both will dry out if you have a dry spring. Bluegirl's Halloween rose (own-root) with fantastic scent, died after her winter in Texas.

Doesn't matter if it's zone 5a or zone 8, see below regarding Francis Meilland (shallow but big root, typical of Meilland roses, including Firefighter, Frederic Mistral, Liv Tyler, Peter Mayle).

Frenchrose "This own-root Francis Meilland rose may be tender. I live in piedmont North Carolina, zone 7a, and I ordered this rose for a customer. It grew very well and reached a height of five to six feet its first growing season. Unfortunately it died near the end of its first winter when temperatures dipped near zero in February 2015."

http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.40552.3&tab=32

Andrea Georgia: "My Liv Tyler died after its first winter here in Cambridge, England, hardiness zone 8! The winter was colder than usual, but still within the z 8 parameters

http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.39752&tab=32

My dense clay holds water well, and Winter 2014 I did put 1/2 bag of top-soil for each rose. But it was a dry spring, and when I dug up the dead roots of HUGE Frederic Mistral, Firefigher, my clay was bone dry. Few roses on a raised bed (excellent drainage) also got dried out, despite 3" of soil extra.

If there's no thick blanket of snow melting in early March? I should had watered ALL my roses early spring, when the ground thaws. When the ground thaws, and there's no water, roots will dry out. Thus roses are killed by dry early spring, rather than cold winter.

If those were grafted on Dr.Huey, they would had easily survived that dry spring. What I should had done in fall 2014: I should had piled up leaves up to 6 inch. and put a ring of plastic around it to hold the leaves: using big plastic containers (cut the bottom off). In cold zone, folks use chicken wire around roses, then fill up with leaves.

If your horse manure if alkaline at pH 8, acidic leaves (pH 5) or peatmoss (pH 4) will balance out for own-root roses. Alfalfa hay is great on top: airy, let rain soak in, and lock moisture, pH around 6 compared to more leaves (become even more acidic like Kimchi if soaked in rain water).

Canes are OK being buried in the dirt/horse manure. They root themselves and I get surprise baby roses from the buried stems.

Dying is when the canes turn brown. Dormant is when the leaves are dried out, but the canes are still green. We had a warm winter in 2012 which all roses were green to the tip, with Golden Celebration having 5 feet green canes. That was less blooms for the rest of the year.

Drastic pruning, either by cold-weather or we prune in spring, really helps with branching ... more branching means more blooms for the rest of the year. Only if the canes turn black/brown at bottom, that's dead for good. If I see 1 to 2 feet of green canes at the base, that's ideal.

Lavender: your rain is less acidic than mine, plus you have excellent drainage, so your roots don't stand in acidic rain-water like my heavy clay. I would pile up more leaves to prevent drying out. The best leaves to get are the ones the neighbors run over with a lawn-mower, so I get chopped leaves mixed with grass clippings (more nitrogen). Neighbors put that in brown bags for garbage-pick-up, and I drive my car around to collect those bags.

Comments (21)

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    There's University Vermont Extension which stated that plants do better coming into winter ON THE DRY SIDE, rather than soaking wet. What's more bearable for one's feet: icy wet socks, or dry socks in cold winter? Same with plants.

    When plants become dormant, or when the ground is frozen solid, it's more comfy for roots to sit in barely moist & fluffy soil, rather than embedded, cracked, or destroyed by a block of ice.

    That winter of 2014 when many of my roses died of dryness. That was from DRY SPRING, rather than winter. We had decent snow that winter, but when the ground warmed up, and temp. reached 40 to 50 F early March, it was dry .. no rain that early spring, no thick blanket of snow to melt either.

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Wet & acidic leaves work great for own-roots that haven't gotten woody and multiflora-rootstock, but too acidic for Dr.Huey-rootstock.

    In my last house of acidic clay, mulched with acidic pine-bark, plus my dumping tons of wet leaves to winter protect? More than a dozen hybrid teas (grafted-on-Dr.Huey) got black canker & rotted roots in spring, so I gave up on roses for a while.

    If the own-root rose has dark-green leaves, it's very sensitive to acid. Dark-green leaves mean that the own-root becomes woody as it matures, and woody root doesn't like acid.

    Pale & 7-leaflet leaves or cluster-root like Multiflora can take acid well, I dumped used lemons on Comte (grafted on Multiflora) in summer to make its leaves darker green.

    I almost killed Wise Portia (dark-green leaves) in freezing Feb., IN PRESENT ALKALINE CLAY, when I dumped 1/2 cup of left-over grapefruit juice, which I meant for my acid-plants.

    The acid from leaves piling up, plus acidic rain is way more than 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice, and I had seen awful winter-kill on canes of Golden Celebration (prefer alkaline) when I pile up leaves to 1 foot.

    One winter I soaked leaves in red-cabbage juice to measure its pH level, and the leaves became extremely sour after a few weeks, with the color changed to bright pink like vinegar (pH 2.6). Leaves start out with pH 5 to 6, same with veggies, but if soaked for more than a week in water, the pH will drop to vinegar range. Kimchi (pickled veggies) is best-tasting after 2 to 3 days of soaking, with a pH of 4.2 to 4.5, at 20 C or 68 F. See below:

    http://cms.daegu.ac.kr/sgpark/microbiology/김치발효젖산균.pdf

    I induced blackspots on a few roses when I soaked alfalfa pellets in water for more than 3 days, and watered roses with that. The smaller the particle of leaves or green, the faster it breaks down, and the faster it gets sour. Big chunks of kale in my compost bin don't stink up, but I put rinsed bits of kale (from my blender), and that water became sour in a few days, and stank.

    Mom made lots of pickled veggies for us. She told us, never leave the pickled veggies out for more than 1 week, otherwise it's very sour, can't eat. She either freezes the pickles after a week, or refrigerates to slow down the "souring" or fermentation process. The salt in the pickle is to slow-down the "souring" process, thus leaves soaked in acidic rain, without salt, will sour faster.

    The above explains why wet leaves worked so well in killing weeds, plus killing my treasured perennial flowers !!

    That's the weapon I plan to use on dandelions on my lawn. If there's a thawing week above freezing, then I'll pour vinegar on dandelions (tap-root like Dr.Huey) .. hopefully the ground freeze again to kill those deep-root weeds. Acid plus freezing destroy any roots !!

    Lavenderlace: The bag of EarthGro humus & manure that you bought would be perfect to dump on top of leaves for layers to keep soil below moist, in case there's a dry early spring. That bagged manure is alkaline with quick-lime, thus will neutralize the acidic leaves.

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  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Excellent thread, thank you SO MUCH Straw, wow!

    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Thank you, Lavender, for asking thoughtful questions which help me to realize what I did wrong, thus help my roses to survive zone 5a winter. Roses are so expensive, with Heirloom charging $27 for tiny own-root, and David Austin charging $30 for grafted-on-Dr.Huey !!

    Lavenderlace, you have 120+ own-root roses in your Texas garden, versus my current garden of 50+ roses (with 100+ varieties spanning through 3 decades, with constant replacement due to winter-kill). Own-roots cost from $27 to $30 each, versus cheap $4-grafted-on-Dr.Huey from local stores.

    Giving bad advice can cost others money and time. But folks like to tell others what to do. Khalid with 100+ varieties doesn't do that, neither do I. We are experienced enough to know that truth and accuracy come from sharing one's own garden and mistakes, rather imposing one's agenda & beliefs on others.

    Below is an internet pic. of black-canker cane on roses. Roses in poor-drainage clay have such after a harsh-winter. Black canker can also result from pruning in wet & no sun conditions, when the wound can't dry out and heal properly. And no sun (ultraviolet light) to kill the fungus that infect the wound.

    I read through U. of Illinois & U. of Minnesota sites on winter-protection, and I like U. of Vermont sites the most:

    http://pss.uvm.edu/ppp/articles/nov99tip.htm

    "Roses require special care at this time of the year. After a freeze has occurred (usually around mid to late November), mound 10 to 12 inches of soil around the base of tender bush varieties. This is not so much to keep the soil warm, but to prevent it from thawing and heaving during the winter. It also helps moderate temperatures around grafted crowns.

    Some gardeners add 12 to 16 inches of mulching material such as straw, hay, or pine needles. Although this is not a bad idea, keep in mind that mice can live in it and chew on the stems of the roses. Hardy shrub types should not require much, if any, mulch or protection. "

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    I did extensive searching as to the best temp. to water plants in early spring, to prevent roots from drying out when the ground thaws. Looks like 40 F, or 4.4 C early spring is OK to water plants if there's no melting snow. Below link is from northern CA. Spring frost can kill plants easier if the soil is dry.

    http://homeguides.sfgate.com/kill-plants-water-before-freezing-night-68746.html

    "A thorough soaking the day before a freezing night should provide enough moisture to keep most plants from feeling the effects of a frost. Water your plants early in the day, as soon as the temperature reaches 40 F or 4.4 C. This allows the plant enough time to absorb the moisture.

    Plants that are oversaturated with water tend to have shallower root systems that are more susceptible to frost damage. Do not overwater your plants; instead, make sure the soil is evenly moist and damp, but not soaking, to the touch. Plants that are situated in soil with poor drainage need less water than those in well-draining spots."

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    University of Florida gives excellent info. regarding how to handle the drastic changes in temp. through winter in a warmer zone:

    http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg025

    "Watering landscape plants before a freeze can help protect plants. A well-watered soil will absorb more solar radiation than dry soil, re-radiate heat during the night, and slightly elevate minimum night temperatures in plant canopies. However, prolonged saturated soil conditions damage the root systems of most plants. "

    *** From Straw: I read through all the info. whether to water plants before freezing. That became nasty bickering in container-forum. My conclusion: Water plants 24 hrs. before a freeze for loamy/sandy soil, but water plants 2 to 3 days before for clay soil. Clay takes longer to drain completely than loamy soil, and you want it slightly moist, rather than soaking wet .. then turn to freezing ice to destroy roots.

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Excellent info. from Debra Keiser, rosarian from Saint Cloud, MN, zone 3b/4a:

    http://www.rose.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Winter-Rose-Protection.pdf

    "There are many cold hardy varieties of old garden and shrub roses that need NO additional cover. They include albas, centifolias, damasks, gallicas, species roses, rugosas, Explorers, Parkland, some Buck Roses, and most Bailey’s Easy Elegance roses.

    Crown hardy roses need some mulch or other cover such as soil and leaves or marsh hay. Tender rose varieties are fatally damaged in temperatures below 20 degrees F.

    The Minnesota Tip Method starts in mid to late October before temperatures drop below 20 degrees F. Spray the roses with a dormant spray such as Lime Sulfur. Do not prune until spring, as pruning encourages new growth.

    Tie up the rose canes with orange poly twine, leaving a long tail. This makes the roses easier to tip and bury. The orange twine is easier to see when digging up the roses in the spring.

    Using a shovel, dig a trench as long as the rose is high, and wide enough to fit the tied rose. Use a spading fork to pull away the soil from the shank of the rose (below the bud union and above the roots) and loosen the soil around the plant.

    Use the spading fork to push the rose into the trench. REMEMBER – only the roots bend. Hold the rose down while you cover it with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Add soil from other areas of the garden, if needed to cover the rose. Water the rose beds well to prevent winter drying of roots and canes. After the ground has frozen, cover the rose beds with 2 to 3 feet of leaves or marsh hay. "

    http://www.rose.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Winter-Rose-Protection.pdf

    *** From Straw: I might have to do the above for Versigny (hardy to zone 6b), which died through my zone 5a winter, and I re-order again spring 2017. It's a tiny bush so tipping it over, then bury is easy. It makes sense to bury a $30 worth !!

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago

    Thanks so much for this Straw.


    I started buying at Heirloom for $37-40 for Austins and have way more than 120 plants now, yikes, will stop at 200 for sure! I can't afford to lose my significant investment in landscaping so you'll never know how much of a lifesaver you have been.


    Once October rolled around, I discovered other nurseries that wouldn't ship in the summer and they were way less expensive, thank goodness. But they quite often don't seem to have the ones that I want!


    I can sleep easier at night with these tips about preparing for the winter, that's for sure, THANK YOU!




    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Lavender: Thanks to you, I realize why cold-zoners lose their roses .. NOT because of cold, but due to dryness in spring. In my zone 5a, roses become dry-sticks less than 1 foot with zero leaves until mid-May, when leaves start sprouting.

    The fallacy is to water roses when leaves spout (mid-May), rather than EARLIER when the temp. reaches 40 F or 4 C (end of Feb). In my zone 5a, the last week of Feb. averages from 39 to 42, thus I will water roses mid-Feb, when the ground thaws (above 35 F, or 1.6 C).

    Definitely bring out my rain-barrels in mid-Feb and attach to rain-spouts. Sometimes we get snow in March, but it won't crack my rain-barrels.

    Minnesota (zone 4) tip-method covers the entire rose with 3" of soil, then 2 feet of leaves. It's impossible to pile up leaves that high, unless bales of straw is used, or circular chicken-wire to hold the leaves.

    Below link shows the minimum frost-depth (based of number of freezing days) to be 0.6 m, or 2 feet deep for the warmest zone in Canada. I'm down below Canada, so my winter-protection should be at least 2 feet.

    http://www.urecon.com/applications/municipal_ambient_below.html

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago

    Glad that my million questions have been somewhat helpful. You've certainly helped all of us tremendously!


    I was planning on watering all winter as needed since our weather can be so erratic. Sometimes we get decent rains and sometimes we don't. Is that OK as long as I don't get it too wet?


    Speaking of erratic, I think my challenge might be the abrupt temperature changes, rather than extended freezing periods. For example, weekend is predicted to have a day with a 50 degree temperature change in hours.


    I haven't had time to plant Evelyn but have to admit I'm very nervous about the thought of throwing her out there with this weekend's nights in the low twenties and the wind chill much lower!


    But a few days ago in the 70's had everything growing again, not sure that's good for them?


    I kind of liked the idea of putting the pots in the garage and just leaving them there for the winter but so far, I haven't been able to stand keeping them out of the sun!

    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Lavenderlace: Thanks for what you wrote: "I was planning on watering all winter as needed since our weather can be so erratic. Sometimes we get decent rains and sometimes we don't. Is that OK as long as I don't get it too wet?"

    I spent an hour yesterday to research on how to water in cold winter. Safe to water at 40 F or 4 C, but water plants in the morning, before it drops to freezing at night. Even Minnesota (zone 4) sites stated to water tender-plants in the winter, if the soil is not frozen solid.

    If your roses are covered with alkaline horse manure or dry bark chips, it won't get soaking wet to foster black canker fungus. Plus you have loamy soil which won't cause water to puddle-up on top like my heavy clay.

    My pots are inside the dark garage for 2 months already: what a nuisance to water: too much, and it leaks out. Too little, then it mildews in the dark.

    To keep the bottom canes from injury with sudden temp. drop: many sites recommend mulching up to 6 inch. with wood-chips, leaves, or straw. Val's input from Northern Florida is very valuable when she talked about roses dying in her zone due to sudden temp. drop in one day. She stated that Northern roses don't have "bark-split" problem, that includes Evelyn.

    http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_problems/hgic2350.html

    "Bark Splitting: This type of damage occurs as a splitting of the stem or bark, typically near the base of the plant due to sudden changes in temperature. If damage occurs at the crown (base) of the plant it may not survive.

    Unseasonably warm weather during winter or early spring can cause plants to come out of dormancy. If a hard frost then occurs, this type of freeze damage is common, especially on azaleas."

    Now I understand why my neighbor stake 4 posts, wrap a burlap around, then piled up bark chips for her azaleas. I witnessed another neighbor piling up bark-chips up to 6 inch. around her dozens of hybrid teas, they all survived zone 5a winter with zero damage to lower canes. But my roses (covered in leaves) got black canker canes. We get sudden-drops in early spring, it goes from 60 F to freezing within a few days.

    Evelyn is much hardier than hybrid teas, thus piling up wood-chips on the lower branches will prevent it from getting "bark-split" in fluctuating temp. Evelyn is very vigorous, new canes can be 4 feet tall in a short time. If there's 6 inch. of healthy canes & intact-crown, that's enough for Evelyn.

    Evelyn is a water-hog & takes constant watering if kept in a pot. Chances of healthier cane and root is better outside, if dry & alkaline mulch like horse manure is used. Also Evelyn as own-root likes it alkaline, and wood-chips decomposes to slightly alkaline pH, except for pine-bark and cedar.

    In your zone 8, I would plant Evelyn outside, rather than keep it in a pot. Evelyn has zillion of petals, and it needs a large surge of water & nutrients in spring to form such big blooms. Planting it outside will provide plenty of rain & plenty of nutrients from horse manure, plus plenty of room below ground for roots to grow big. That will give a better spring flush than keeping in a pot through winter.

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago

    Great pointers, thank you Straw!


    I see mixed reviews on Evelyn. Some saying that it's stingy and not vigorous and others saying that it's their toughest plant. So glad that you've had such good luck with her as your advice is what made me buy her. Can't wait to test out the fragrance next year!

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  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Folks who said Evelyn is stingy most likely have acidic soil. Evelyn needs dense & ALKALINE nutrients like horse manure to be her best. Its roots is aggressive and produces plenty of acid, and tend to blackspot or rust if the pH is below neutral. I had to give it dolomitic lime (magnesium & calcium) during constant acidic rain.

    Winterize roses in pots through a dark garage doesn't guarantee success. Take Perle d'Or, best wafting scent ever. It was gallon-size when I winterized in my garage. Mid-April I took it out to plant outside, at 50 F temp. I watered only once .. a week later the soil dried out, then frost hit and killed it.

    I should had planted it 2 inch. below ground early fall, then piled up soil & hay & leaves more than a foot above ground ... and DON'T REMOVE such until end of May, that's when the danger of frost is gone in zone 5a.

    Roses are more sensitive to frost when the roots are dried out.

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago

    A blanket of snow helps to moisturize and insulate the roots. The best spring display at the rose park was when we had 21 inch of snow mid-Feb in 2011, plus wet spring. The year which I lost the most roses in winter was from zero snow and dry spring. I once bought an $$$ fragrant peony, and the instruction says if you have decent snow, you can increase one-zone, so with snow, a zone 5a can grow zone 6a roses.

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago

    It sounds like I need to water again after our arctic front that brought no precipitation?

    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    lavenderlace: yes, Frank Gatto (rose nursery owner in PNW) suggested 5 gallons of water per week for LARGE roses grafted on Dr. Huey. Own-roots probably need less, since they are smaller. Below is red-cabbage juice result, showing how alkaline (bluish-green) baby Dee-lish rose is (upper left) which has the best winter-survival now: green to the tip, with green leaves as of Dec. 28.


    I pour red-cabbage test result on a white-napkin to read the color. Baby Dee-lish rose soil is upper-left, bluish-green (pH near 8). The leftmost lower blotches are slightly alkaline. The other blotches are neutral in pH.

    Below are the green branches with HEALTHY LEAVES on Dec. 26, cut from baby Dee-lish rose, it's green to the tip despite -10 to -13 F below zero last week.

    I put VERY ALKALINE clay (yellowish) on baby Dee-lish rose as winter-protection. I have 2 Dee-lish roses bought as own-roots: a big one bought early May, and a baby one bought end of June.

    Below pic. is taken Dec. 26 to show that alkaline clay on top helps with winter-survival: green to the tip & leaves are not dried out by below freezing temp.

    Both upper pic, and lower picture are green healthy leaves cut from baby Dee-lish on December 26, 2016 .. it's green to the tip despite last week of -10 to -13 F below zero, thanks to topping with pH 8 alkaline clay. But the 2nd bigger Dee-lish has black canes & dead leaves in clay made acidic with leaves on top. I made 2 soil mediums below to test if the canes will become black in acidic potting soil.

  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Below is baby Dee-lish (bought from RU end of June). Picture taken on Dec. 27 to show green to the tip & green leaves despite last week -10 to -13 F below freezing. I put a thick layer of ALKALINE CLAY, before putting leaves on top.

    Below 2nd big Dee-lish rose has dead leaves & winter damage, I tested the soil pH, and it's acidic with tons of leaves on top. This shows that ACIDIC soil can contribute to black canker and poor-winter survival for roses in the ground.

    Below is Pink-Peace (grafted on Dr.Huey), showing dead-canes from poor drainage & acidic organic matter on top. Dr. Huey likes it dry and alkaline. Pic. taken Dec. 27 in my zone 5a.

    I will have to fix that tomorrow. Same with rooting roses, cuttings that like it alkaline turn black & dead if soil medium is wet & acidic.

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago

    VERY interesting photos, thanks so much Straw!

    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
  • strawchicago z5
    Original Author
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Rooting roses teach me what cause black canker on canes:

    1) Acidic & too wet soil

    2) Pockets of wetness, either a clump of wet clay, or wet sand

    Perlite helps to create "air pockets" and fast drainage of water so canes don't rot in rooting roses. In OUTSIDE garden, can't use perlite (it decompose & flatten out), but pine-bark-mulch in planting hole is FANTASTIC for fast-drainage, and help tremendously with winter-survival: prevents feeder-roots from being frozen & destroyed.

    Digging roses up from Dec. 26 to Jan 1, at 40 to 37 F, here's what I notice:

    1. Dee-lish bought end of June is green to the tip, with green leaves, the soil below is made fluffy with pine-bark mulch, drains very fast, upper soil is alkaline clay to retain moisture. Same with W.S. 2000 with green & healthy leaves this Jan: excellent drainage dug down to 3 feet.
    2. While digging up Comte (grafted-on-multiflora), I notice where I mixed sand with clay: it's frozen into solid-ice. But where I have gypsum and pine-bark mixed it .. that PREVENTED SOIL FROM BEING FROZEN.
    3. I once spent 1 hour researching on whether potassium fertilizer helps with winter-survival: some site said it helps, other studies showed it did not. With my own eyes, my verdict is "No". Where I put high-potassium cocoa mulch: it's frozen solid at 40 F, same with soil below high-potassium red-lava-rock.
    4. But high calcium, esp. gypsum helps to keep soil fluffy, thus prevent roots from being frozen solid. I used gritty lime to de-ice my front-walkway, and it worked great in the winter. There are studies that backed this.

    CONCLUSION: Digging deep for drainage, plus make soil fluffy with gypsum & pine-bark-mulch helps with winter survival: leaves are still green & lush as OWN-ROOTS despite previous weeks of -10 to -13 below zero. Below are green & lush leaves of Dee-lish rose, picked on December 26, in my zone 5a:

  • lavenderlacezone8
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Fascinating data Straw, thank you! Those leaves look amazing in your cold temperatures!

    strawchicago z5 thanked lavenderlacezone8
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