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Rose Propagation & Exchange

Overwinter rose cuttings -- dormancy necessary?

Aufbrezeln Eschaton

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hi, this is my first year propagating roses. I've had quite a few cuttings strike, and more on the way, and I'm wondering if I can keep them growing under lights at ~70F this winter to plant out next spring, or if they need a period of dormancy, like their parents. Other plants with dormancy requirements that have grown from seed or cutting have done just fine skipping their first winter to hang out on my light shelves, but I'm curious as to whether this strategy will affect next year's potential blooms.

If they *do* need a cold-but-not-freezing dormancy, I have an unheated attached garage where I stash lantana and rosemary on the floor under the fluorescent ceiling light, and that seems to be perfect for their winter nap -- if I do this with rose cuttings, do they need the full bright light of actively growing plants, or will this low light level combined with cold temperatures suffice?

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Comments (2)

noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque)
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
in my experience, keeping newly rooted cuttings growing through the winter is possible if what you are growing are roses that don’t need dormancy and if you have enough light. I’ve never grown gallicas or species roses that need dormancy, so I can’t comment on those. I tried growing my cuttings through the winter with the orchids and it was not nearly enough light. The plants became very etiolated. I moved them to the cool garage so that the plants would go dormant, in a partly sunny windowsill. That worked much better for most of them, as the cuttings went into stasis for several months, and then burst forth with growth when brought out in the spring. One rose didn’t do well, with leaves dropping. On subsequent trials, this rose did better leaving it out in the cold over winter (I’m in zone 7).
strawchicago z5
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
https://www.purdue.edu/hla/sites/yardandgarden/extpub/new-plants-from-cuttings-text-only/

Above link explains that rootings grow leaves when the air is warm, but zero roots. In contrast, rootings don't grow leaves in cold air, but grow roots if a heating pad is used below. Growing leaves through winter IS A DISADVANTAGE SINCE: water loss is through leaves, above link talked about trimming off leaves to converse water to make roots. Growing leaves in winter also invite spider mite due to warm & dry indoor air.

Agree with Noseometer that keeping rootings DORMANT in cold garage is best. I'm in zone 5a, and tiny rootings (with few hairy roots) survived through winter if kept DORMANT in dark & unheated garage. One winter I stored them down the cool basement, but the gas-heating system kept kicking on and DRIED OUT the soil. it was a nuisance to water them daily, then they died since the leaves got dried out & dropped with dry basement air.
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All of the above, it's good advice. Leave them outside. Besides the fact that roses hate indoor conditions you want them to go dormant and stay dormant until temps are consistently above freezing every night. Bringing them in and out just mimics the freeze and thaw yo-yoing temperatures of spring that often saps all the stored energy and kills a lot of roses in cold climates. Make sure they're well watered put them in a protected area and like Michael said, insulate the pots with some mulch. If you can still sink them in the ground that would be even better! If you protect the canes in anyway do not use any thing plastic. Crop cloth (row cover) is best but sheeting and even newspaper will work for frost protection. Yes, clear nights are colder than cloudy ones. Heat rises. If there is no cloud cover to hold the ground heat from the daytime down it just keeps rising and the temps keep dropping.
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It's not necessarily the cold but the wind and freeze thaw cycles that kill the roses. Overwintering your potted roses in a dard unheated garage or shed will protect them. Tender roses will still experience dieback and the soil ball will freeze solid but your roses should survive OK. Did you mean tea roses or hybrid tea roses? There is an important difference. To avoid confusing us, please use the proper term so we don't have to clairify which you're talking about. If you like floribundas, by all means use them. Choose a variety that doesn't get too big or you'll require a very large pot that'll be really heavy to move into the garage. Smaller shrub roses, polyanthas, minifloras, and miniatures all make good potted plants. Water is important as many overwintered potted roses are lost to drying out. A shovel full of snow occasionally will suffice. Just don't let the soil dry out completely. I use potting soil. I like Miracle Grow or WalMart's Expert Gardener brand. The Expert Gardener has a lot of large pieces of organic material and small wood chips in it while the Miracle Grow potting soil is lighter with lots of peat moss. Both contain a slow release fertilizer so additional fertilizers are not required although I will, on occasion, mix aged horse manure with them. I add nothing for drainage as the bottom pot holes allow plenty of drainage. I water until it drains from the holes, then I know the soil is saturated. Don't use bagged garden soil as it's too heavy and will compact. I don't cut mine back until spring although really tall bushes will be shortened a little to make them easier to handle. I do all my pruning in the spring.
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Carol, I like the idea of the little roses all huddled together in a garage for warmth, wrapped in a blanket. I want to toast them marshmallows. I'm being silly, of course. Honestly, I'm still unsure about what I'm going to do but I have a strong feeling that the roses will come through the winter okay outside. I'm only concerned about the two I will be putting into pots and sinking into the ground. But in a protected location outside, I think they will be okay. In the future I think I won't take this risk again, unless my roses come thru winter with flying colors. We will see. Farmer duck (I like that name), thanks for bringing up the point about keeping the dormant, garaged plants out of the sun. That's an important point. Kim, I don't think moisture will be a problem for the pots outdoors. We get a pretty good amount of rain in the fall, some in winter (during mild winters, often quite a bit) and some snow. In the spring when removing leaves from the perimeter of the yard, everything beneath is moist and possibly rotty. I don't think I will worry about the moisture level in the outdoor pots. Thanks all for your help. :)
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Yep, yep, yep to everything Bill said. When I first tried growing plumies I attempted to keep them going over the winter in a heated greenhouse. They still dropped their leaves. It was a response to the shorter days as well as temps. The following year I tried to keep a few going in the greenhouse by adding supplimental lighting. They kept growing but didn't look great and didn't do as well the following spring as the plants that did have a dormancy period. There are some evergreen varieties that retain their folige year round. Unless you have one of those varieties I think they do better when given a rest. We are in a severe drought with temps around 100 for the past month. I never water my plumies twice, or even once a day and they are in a very well draining mix. I soak them well every week or two and let them dry out between watering. I feed them every two weeks during the growing season and stop fertilizing about a month before they go dormant. I do water young seedlings more often. Karyn
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