Hi Joan,

The white webby stuff might be mold. I would just wash it off with a little bit of H2O and water and see what happens. I get this sometimes on my seedlings. If it is spider mites, the leaves will turn yellow and brown. I would wash the leaves off with a some soap and water.

No, it's not mold. There are tiny white things moving in the web. They seem to suck the life out of the leaves. I've tried washing the leaves off, but it keeps coming back. I tried putting it in a covered dome for more humidity, but this does not help either.

What do think of letting them go dormant?

Hi Joan,
It does take several washing to get the spider mites off. You not only have to clean the plant but you need to wash the area all around the plant, your shelves and the floor, wipe them down real good with soap and water.
I would not just put it in the cold from temps the rose is comfortable at now. Outside a rose will go dormant by being exposed to cold temps gradully so it does not go into shock. What are your temps outside now? If they are not freezing and perhaps near the 40's and 50's, I would dig a hole big enough for the container, put it in the hole just even with the rim and put a dome over it. Put it somewhere where it would be protected from the wind.
This is what I would do.

Thanks for the advise. Our temps have been quite mild here the last 3 days with light drizzle, in the 45 - 55 F range, but expected to get colder this week. I already put one of the cuttings pot and all in the ground a couple weeks ago, near the basement wall for a little protection. Once the leaves fall off, and the ground starts to freeze, I'll mound it up with leaves and mulch for the winter. I do have an unheated greenhouse, but I'm afraid if we have a nice spell during winter that it comes out of dormancy and starts growing just to get zapped back . Since I have two cuttings of the same rose, maybe I'll try the one I have in the greenhouse and see how it fares. I've never tried to overwinter anything in the greenhouse yet.