Your roses look great & very vigorous. Here in my zone 5a Chicagoland, we went through the worst winter/spring in 20 years. First it was -20 F in Feb. (with wind chill factor near -30 F), then 20 F in mid-April with tons of freezing rain. Then freezing temp. first week of May. My trees look awful after that, and I lost a few own-root roses (planted last year).

Biggest comfort is husband will chop down a 6th tree this weekend, so I'll get more sun in my garden. God does answer prayers, I have been praying for more sun in my too shady garden, and I'm actually happy with such a bad winter.

So far our 5 trees have been chopped down (by a tree company), and I'm excited for this 6th tree to be chopped down. The 5 trees that were chopped down were 20 years old, and they can't handle tons of freezing rain either. I lost a few own-root roses planted last year, but I gain full-sun and more space from the 6 trees being chopped down.

I love my miracle gro

definitely get the sprayer. it's 15 dollars and worth every penny. I had a few I thought would die and they are happier now that I gave them miracle gro. I do it almost twice a week, it never burns and they just get bigger, and the soil gets darker and more healthy.

We are thrilled to bits with how well they are doing. It is very unexpected.

GardeningTeenager, thank you for saying it doesn't burn. I was a bit worried about that. We have a few warm sunny days before the expected rain and they are probably very thirsty. We did put them through one drip cycle a few days ago so there is some moisture in there but I have to think they are pretty dry.

StrawChicago, we appear to have some dead aspen's also. They have taken a back burner to getting rid of weeds and getting the sprinkler system going. We are going to try and get some fertilizer down before the rain/snow to help the lawn. Do you have any pictures of your garden/yard? You seem to have so many roses that I think it must be quite large.

Strawchicago,

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Are those blooming now or are they last years pics?

That pine tree looks huge! Will probably be a pain (and expensive) to get out. But if it should go then it should go. Our rock rose bed was a mess of huge bushes (some thick and woody and some suckering all over) and a tree before we cleared it to be a rose bed. It was so thick with thicket that even the dogs couldn't walk in there easily.

mmmm: they are previous years' pics. I got an estimate for that 20-year old Norway Spruce: only $380 to remove it. I spent 1 month putting DOUBLE-LAYERED cement blocks down to 1.5 feet to block that tree's roots, and if that fails, hopefully I'll get husband's OK to get the tree chopped down.

Will post this year's winter-survival later. Below pic. is Blue Mist winter-survival taken early this April. The black pots are air-pots for fast drainage in heavy rain, I took out the saucer below after I put roses in.

Wow! That is a great price to remove such a big tree.

After I saw the garden phlox in one of the pictures I realized I asked a stupid question. You are in Chicago so probably don't have any blooms yet, like us. I will be interested to see your winter survival post.

mmmmm - your roses look really, really great!! Well done!

Straw - that's great that your yard is getting more sun! I'm really happy for you! :) And hopefully your giant spruce tree will be gone soon. :) :) You've done a beautiful job with your gardens :) :)

Miracle gro is the best, but I would say definitely mulch, it fertilizes everything, even the weeds. I never put it directly onto the plants, I always dig a fertilizer hole uphill about 8 inches from the plant and water into it.

Gardening Teenager, we have our roses in a rock bed. It was an experiment we tried in 2017. We also put some in mulch. Much to our, and probably everyone else's, surprise they thrive in a hot rock bed. Then I noticed alot of people in our area grow roses in rock beds.

This is our star - Winnipeg Parks. First to flower in the spring, loads of flowers all season long, is frozen in the fall with buds, great bush form, and no winter die back.

Strawchicago,

The middle garden is beautiful and looks perfect for planting roses. I'm really surprised they don't do well there.

Those are gorgeous! They look so happy!!

mmmm12COzone5 Per your request to post pics of my zone 5a winter survival. I took these pics. today May 19, 2022 at 80 F:

Below is 7th-year own root Dee-lish, it had 3 feet of green canes mid-April, then freezing rain and 20 F cold temp. made it die back to 1 foot.

Below 10th-year own-root Comte de Chambord, on a raised bed has decent winter-survival in 5 hrs. of sun:

6th-year own root Cornelia is in only 3 hours of morning sun, and has better winter survival than Marie Pavie.

9th-year own-root Duchess de Rohan is always green to the tip, 3 feet of green canes:

Below 8th-year own-root Poseidon bad winter-kill: 1/2 of the bush is down to 1 foot of canes, it's right next to the rainspout and took the brunt of tons of freezing rain in mid-April

Below 10th-year own-root Carding Mill is in a fast-drainage spot so it has decent 2 feet of green canes in this year worst zone 5a winter:

Crown Princess Mag has 2 feet of green cane: Note thin leaves from too much rain, I need to put biochar on this bush.

6th-year own-root La Reine has 1.5 foot of green cane, thanks to being close to the house in my zone 5a:

Below 7th-year own root Gene Boerner always have a foot of green cane:

7th-year own-root James Galway is always green to the tip in my zone 5a:

2nd-year own-root Moonlight Romantica has excellent winter-survival:

Below 11th-year own-root Pat Austin died to 4 inch. this winter, but came back OK:

Good to hear Moonlight Romantica did so well. That is the one wanted to put in if something died.

11th-year own-root Radio Times is green to the tip this winter. I will buy ONLY AUSTIN or old garden roses after this worst zone 5a winter in a decade:

Below roses are mostly 8th-year or 11th-year own-roots, winter survival is decent thanks to being next to the house (south side).

Below is winter-survival on roses being watered with rain-spout (never need to water this bed). I choose low-thorn roses for this wet bed. Winter survival is good since they are covered with 1 foot of mulch to protect the crown from freezing rain.

Below is winter-survial on roses on the east side, with only 4 hrs. of morning sun:

Below is 8th-year own-root Zepherine Drouhin, with the best winter survival (green to the tip) among my 150 own-root fragrant roses:

Below roses are 11th-year own-root Austins, they are protected from freezing rain by a roof-hang that blocks 80% of rain:

Below roses on the north side suffer with the worst winter damage, less than 4 hours of sun. They are 11th-year own root Austin Christopher Marlowe & Pat Austin & other hybrid teas.

Below roses on the west side (4 hrs. of sun) has better zone 5a winter survival: Lady of Shalott, Aloha, Climbing America, Crown Princess Mag, Prairie Harvest. The one with poor winter-survival I enclose in a bucket (bottom cut-off) to protect rabbits from eating. All pics. are taken May 19, 2022 (worst winter in a decade with many trees killed):

mmmmm - I'm always really surprised when I see your roses growing SO WELL in compacted soil (from the rocks). It certainly works for you...your roses are really healthy. :) :)

Straw - your roses have come through some tough times really really well!! Gosh, they're pretty!! Good job!

Rosecanadian,

I don't think the soil is compacted. My husband seems to have an easy time digging in it. It was probably very well prepared by the previous owners. All our beds grow plants very well. He does mix in some potting soil or gardening soil when he plants a new rose.

I don't think I could do that, but I appreciate the offer. I'm really busy right now. When I stated darker I mean that the soil got a lot darker. The soil was light brown, and when I add miracle gro and mix in organic matter, and then turn the soil for ventilation, even when the soil is dry it's darker and more retentive of water. It's pretty crazy. Just 4 weeks of work and the soil gets visibly better!

Strawchicago, too much rain? And you have rain barrels too? Would you mind shipping a few of them out to California?? We are precipitation-challenged …😭

Just reading your posts made me feel cooler.

mmmmm - I was just thinking that the rocks could compact the soil. But, obviously, I'm wrong. LOL Your roses are superb!! :) :)