My roses appear confused.
It's partially my own fault.
I normally wrap each of them in a winter coat of chicken wire filled with mulch and topped off with hay.
I might not have gotten around to completing this entire process this year, however, the mild temperatures thus far have done little damage.
Naturally, now that I've typed this...kablammo, 12 inches of snow. Watch. It'll happen.
While taking the puppeh out for a game of fetch, I did a quick walk-through of the garden. (Quick, meaning, it was 18 degrees Fahrenheit out and the wind was picking up.) I noticed buds on some roses, my Memorial Day hybrid tea and my Lemons and Oranges shrub rose. I believe the unusually mind temperatures for this winter so far have lulled them into a false sense of warmth.
It is almost the end of January & we have very little snow on the ground. There have been maybe 5 really bitterly cold days so far with daily highs quickly rising back into the 40s and 50s. Not normal for these parts.
The almanac calls for a late winter arrival and for a longer duration. Hardly an ideal forecast for a gardener living in the Northeast. Summer is short enough as it is; can we please refrain from having it shortened by Old Man Winter?
A rule of thumb for shedding roses winter coat is to wait for the forsythia to bloom; usually in April.
Who knows when that will occur this year.
"Winter, which, being full of care, makes summer's welcome thrice more wish'd, more rare."
~William Shakespeare, 1564-1616.
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