Well I don't have roses that I protect (except from rabbits), but I do mulch other things. For the least water retention, straw or hay is best as excess water will be wicked downward. But if you chop up oak leaves first in a shredder, lawnmower or leaf blower/vacuum, they work well. Unshredded leaves DO pack and can cause problems. Your Kentucky wisteria will probably be hardy enough on its own, but being the first season, I would mulch it too. Remember not to do your mulching until the ground has frozen-late Nov. That is, unless you are tipping and burying your rose in the soil.

Rick

I have one tea rose that grows in a pot. Last fall, I buried the whole thing in the middle of the veggie garden and that worked very well, so I'll probably repeat this year.

I put in a rose garden this year, about 15-16 rose bushes, but I bought all Z3 or below (read very winter hardy for southern Minnesota) and I don't intend to baby them at all. Some of them do have 'rabbit' rings of chicken wire around them and I may pile a few leaves (shredded, thank you Rick :-) or 3-4 extra inches of mulch in there once the ground freezes up, but I don't think it's at all necessary.

I think the way that the city of Duluth winterizes their beautiful rose garden is interesting. They have people from all over town bringing in garbage bags full of leaves, and then they pile the bags around the rose bushes, or so I've been told anyway.

Thanks guys. Both my rose bush and my wisteria have only been in the ground since late summer, so I wanted to give them a little extra protection this winter. Both are(supposedly anyhow) hardy here, I just wanted a little extra oomph. I think the shredded leaves should work fine, thanks much for the advice!

Karen :)

Karen,

I raise roses here, several kinds :) Might I recommend what I do? For the wisteria too for this year...

I make a ring of chicken wire (or any such thing) that is a bit larger than the plant and stake it in well. Then for the rose cover up past the graft with garden compost - most of yours probably aren't if they are that hardy, but the tea rose is and don't stress it by digging it up this year,you'll mess up it's roots - after the compost FILL the entire wire cage with leaves and pack them down a bit.

When spring comes and it starts to thaw, simply pull the ring off the stakes (they'll probably still be frozen in) and as they thaw pull the leaves away, then the compost. Works like a dream for me!

The others, the hardy ones, just dump a couple inches of leaves on and around them. :)

-Marie

Thanks Marie! I just bought my house this summer, and was only able to put in 1 rose- Reine Des Violette, which to my understanding is hardy here in MN. There weren't any others in the landscaping, so she's the only one I have to watch out for (this year.... but just WAIT until next spring mwhahahahah). I planning on crunching up my oak leaves and putting some around the crown, and since it is OR, I don't have to worry about protecting a graft, phew!

I am going to try your chicken wire idea for the wisteria, I'm sure it'll enjoy the extra protection! do you think using an old tomato cage would work instead of chicken wire? The previous owner left a whole bunch of them (partially buried in my beds... grrr!)

I'd use two, one inside the other turned 90deg - so the leaves can't fall out :)

-Marie