They should stay outside unless the forecast low is below 30. If it warms up again, with lows near 40, they should go back out.

They come in for good when the highs are in the 30's. Here, that is usually a bit before Christmas.

In an ideal world, they would stay at around 30 until spring. Until then, they should stay where the temperature is closer to that - whether inside or out.

Thank you also, madgallica. Those are the clearest instructions regarding temps I've read yet. We're getting a couple nights with lows in the 20s!!!! which is well below the average. Most of mine are in 5 gal pots and are heavy to move around. What is the issue with leaving them out? Do I risk killing them? I'm bring in the small ones, of course.

Thank you SO much madgallica!!!

that helps a ton! The roses in containers that I have are in their first years. They were body bag roses but have been doing fairly well, but still spindly so i want to baby them :)

vaporvac, from what I’ve read, when plants are in containers, rather than the ground they lose about 2 zones of hardiness. So a plant that would be hardy to zone 6 will only be hardy to zone 8 if in a container. This is because the dirt gets colder since there’s less of it, whereas if it were in the ground it would take much more to make it that cold. Plus i would think root systems in containers are much smaller than in the ground.

Vaporvac, are you talking about high 20's or low 20's?

The issue is that if the roots get to the low 20's, they may die.

5 gallon pots aren't that big. If you can't move them by hand, I'd invest in some sort of dolly.

Hopefully Carol will see this and answer as she is the queen of overwintering potted roses. I used to move my potted roses (most in 15-20 gallon pots) in the garage when nighttime temps were just below freezing but then they really never went dormant. Last winter I waited until we had a couple of hard frosts and then took them in. They did go dormant and all made it through winter. One exception is I have two bands and one tender rose I have already moved into the garage.

Well, I'm feeling like Miss Smarty Pants this year. I found a better spot to overwinter my houseplants which left their old spot in the anteroom by the front door free! I put all the smaller pots on the two tables and the 5gal buckets on the floor. They'll be fine there most of the winter until they go in the coal cellar. I'm feeling so smug because I used 5 gal. paint buckets (with holes drilled) with handles. It made moving them a breeze as I also positioned the handles where there weren't any canes. When did I get so clever? Unfortunately, it's not the most attractive solution, but I don't think anyone will notice.

I still have 6 in much larger pots that have octopus canes that won't fit. Hopefully, they'll make it outside until I can make space in the garage tomorrow. Tonight is going to be in the low 20s. Brrrr!

I have several minis in pots plus from time to time small own root potted up bands that I over winter in my z4 area. What I do is dig a trench a few inches wider & deeper that the widest diameter of the pots, i.e. 14-16" deep & wide trench for a 12" wide pot. When the low temps outside are 25-28F, I lay the pots on their sides in the trench & cover. Never lost any this way, I did try burying pots stand up but lost a couple of roses so I stick with laying on their side. I use plastic pots but if you have clay or ceramic, you will need to remove them or the pots will likely crack from freezing.

Interesting WIR. I've read that's what some people do for their standard roses or climbers in cold zones. What we do for our roses.

Thank you Carol!!

A few members of the Connecticut Rose Society have had problems with voles stripping the canes bare. This can be an issue if the roses are stored in a place that predators of the voles can't get into. Voles will also gnaw holes in plastic garbage cans and make holes in grass seed bags to get at the grass seed--I've since moved my grass seed into the room where I feed the cats.

Zack - so true!! I had unknowingly made a cozy nest for a mouse with blankets that I didn't use on my roses all winter - a test to see how they could do uncovered with our warmer weather. The mouse had stripped many canes but only about 3 inches high on the canes. All of my roses survived...but they did struggle. So this year I'm putting the blankets on and leaving no place for rodents to hide. I love the cat idea!

Kali_c - oh you are most welcome!!

Carol

Carol, now I know exactly what to do with those going into the garage! I didn't know about the blankets, but I think you're saying if the garage is insulated, they're not necessary? It did reach freezing for an extended in the polar vortex, but that was once in probably 100ys. I don't think it's ever nearly that cold normally. You're a genius! Thank you!

Oh no i hope mice don’t eat mine!

we had a small mouse problem but we called an exterminator and haven’t seen one in a long time. Honestly our cats were USELESS for getting mice hahah, 1 of them was scared of mice, 1 of them just liked to watch them run by, and the third was actually kind of a psycho and would only hurt them but not kill them. You’d think mice wouldn’t want to come into a house with 3 cats though

The estimated low tonight is 27. My container roses are all up by my house and I have doubled potted the least hardy and stuffed newspaper in the space between the pots. These have been placed in the 4 by 4 windows wells at the basement windows. Others have been wrapped in burlap and moved in groupings around the exterior wall of the house. The burlap has provided a collar of sorts that I will later fill with mulch. I have no idea what I am doing so time will tell.

The usual mistake is to keep the roses in too warm a spot. Sometimes it is just unavoidable, like when your outside is too warm. But usually it is confusing dormant roses with people. They are very different things.

Mad-gallica, your previous comment about keeping them around 30 degrees was very helpful. Of course it is likely to be warmer than that in my area for much of the winter. I got an old, proverbial, little red wagon from a friend that I will use to move my container roses around.

Vaporvac - I don't think blankets should be put on in an insulated garage unless the outside otemps go down to - 20 C or colder -4 F). So with your temps, you probably don't need to cover them. Here, not very often, it gets -35 C (- 31 F)...not as often as it used to that's for sure.

Carol

After seeing that our forecast low this evening is 19F, DH and I just had a heck of a time trying to wrangle my 2 five gallon ceramic pots into the garage in the dark. He wasn't expecting to have to help me do that, and since he doesn't handle the roses regularly and isn't used to them, he got quite comically tangled up in the canes. I feel bad for laughing so much since he was nice enough to come out and help me. At least they didn't draw blood.

No blood? How in the world did he manage that? :) Sounds like a great guy. :)

Carol

Carol, absolutely, I sure got a good one, even if he isn't quite as obsessed with the roses as me.

I like it that way!! My friend has a husband who is totally into roses (they got married about 1 year ago) and he's been instrumental in getting their new yard rose worthy....but she doesn't get to pick exactly the roses she likes...she has to compromise. She's been growing roses for years and adores roses...but the control over what roses to get is gone. I would hate to let my husband have a say in what I grow. LOL

Carol

I normally move mine in when the temp drops to 24-25F, just moved 7 potted KOs in the garage this afternoon in zone 5b country house. They looked so cold out there!