I’m in ND and in the same situation… same storms, probably, gave us 99 inches of snow this winter. I emailed Grace Rose Farms last week and my shipment is delayed shipping until next week, so I’ll probably get it Wed.

Here’s what I am going to do.

1. Soak the roses in cold water for 24 hours. Thankfully by then, we will have above freezing temps during the daytime, so they should be fine in the garage.

2. I have coconut coir blocks on hand that I will add water to and make a lot of soiless mix. (DO YOU HAVE A LOWE’S OR HOME DEPOT OR MENARDS, OR HARDWARE STORE NEARBY? They will have some potting soil in large bags. Get some of that.)

3. Take a box that is not so huge that the roses will fit in. Line it with a garbage bag that has a hole cut in the bottom to let any extra water drain out, and add some soil mix in the bottom. Then put the roses at a slant so they fit in. Add soil to cover.. I make sure the soil is moist, but don’t drown the roses, and keep them in an unheated garage. Don’t let the soil get dried out. Don’t bring them in the house unless you have grow lights and that’s a whole different ball game.

They should be fine until the time you plant them. I would not leave them for a very long time if they are already sprouting when they come. It’s ify because they are coming from California and will be exposed to warm temps along the way. If they are sprouted, plant them in their pots when you get them. You can always plant them in your garden after the snow is gone and it thaws enough to dig.

By the way… WHAT ROSES DID YOU GET? I ordered 2 Distant Drums, Crazy Love and my free rose is Apricots N’ Cream. I’m pumped!!

Happy Rose-ing in the North Country!!!

Rebecca

Hi Rebecca,

Yes, that storm was a heart breaker, I lost a few lilacs that broke off under weight of the snow, it's hard to imagine that we did not have temps over 50 since Thanksgiving weekend. I always get so "jealous" when I see the people in the west and in the south posting pictures of their blooming roses and all I see is white snow.

I went a little overboard on the roses I got, I got (one each): Shirley's Bouquet, Marc Chagall, Distant Drums, Yves Piaget, Moonlight in Paris, French Lace, Koko Loko, Love Song, Sunbelt Savannah, Traviata, State of Grace, Crazy Love, Soul Sister, Plum Perfect, Paris de Yves St Laurent, Oklahoma, Pink Traviata, Twilight Zone, Vanessa Bell, Moonlight Romantica and Bolero. I'm in rebuilding mode, I lost most of my roses a few years ago and I'm working on getting them all back (and than some). I grow my roses in pots, from 2 gallon (band roses) up to 25 gallon and everything in between. I use concrete curing blankets in the winter to cover my roses and they work great.

I usually get my potting mix from a local source in bulk, but for the time being I can get some regular potting mix to cover them, it will be only a few days at most.

Thank you so much for your advise!

Dennis

WOW, DENNIS!! you have a bit of work ahead of you!! Here’s a link to help you out. It’s Rose Geek’s youtube videos on the subject. She does it well. And you are very welcome. Enjoy the roses!!!! https://www.google.com/search?q=rose+geek+heeling+in+roses&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

Oh, and I am looking at using those blankets to put on my trellis against my wall to keep my climber from freezing. Can you please tell me where you get your blankets?

Rebecca

I got the blankets at Walmart (online), but you can get them at Amazon too. I have attached a great article about using those blankets, she is using blankets with a higher R value, I use two R1.50 value and hope for a nice blanket of snow.

I asked if GRF could postpone my shipments, but they told me that I can leave the roses in water for up to 30 days, that seems a little excessive but I'm sure I'll manage.

I used to MN tip my roses but that's a hard job if you have a lot of them. The blankets work great, sure I might lose one or two, but that's the risk i’m willing to take.

https://theminnesotarosegardener.blogspot.com/2014/02/winter-protecting-roses-with.html?m=1

Dennis, I just thought of something. You could e-mail Grace Rose Nursery and ask them how long you can leave the roses in the boxes. That would be the ”official” word from them. Their customer service is amazing. Julio is the one who helped me and answered questions before I ever purchased my roses. It might buy you some time so you don’t have to go through all the work of heeling in. Especially since you are going to pots and not to dirt.

I am really excited to get my roses and see what they look like. You have an incredible variety of beautiful roses chosen, and quite an investment at that. I hope they do very well for you!!

Rebecca

Dennis, WOW, 30 DAYS!!! That’s great to know!!! I may just try mine out with doing that this year!! thanks for the info on the blankets and the link! I’ll get right on watching it tomorrow. I started my tomato plants today and it was a BLAST!!!!

Rebecca

Yes, 30 days! It's seems a little long, but if I can keep them in the box one more day, then soak them for another day or two, hopefully by that time I will get my potting mix delivered and can I plant them. I'm excited to see what they look like and if they are as "big" as I see some people show on facebook and youtube.

I started my tomatoes last weekend (and some other stuff), it is a lot of fun!

Dennis

Dennis, that sounds like the perfect plan to me!! Would you mind taking photos of the roses when they come so all of us on the forum can see them? It would be really great to see the first blooms, too. I know some of Grace’s roses are hers exclusively. It would help her if everyone could see what they look like in a different climate than California.

I agree. It’s a lot of fun!!! We may appreciate it more because of the long winters and time to rest in between gardening. I couldn’t garden year round. It would do me in. :)

By the way… what tomatoes did you start? If you want to answer that with a personal message, you can click on my name and message me. And I’ll message you back the ones I grow. Don’t know if the Rose forum is interested in Tomatoes suitable for the North Country. :)

Rebecca

I will do that, as soon as I unpack them and put them in water I will take a picture, blooming pictures might be a while but I will add those too.

The ones I got from her are not the florist roses, I was a little too late to get them, but nevertheless these are pretty roses. Maybe next year I will try to get some of her florist roses, we will see :)

Dennis

THANK YOU, DENNIS!! I was so tempted to get Koko Loco, but it only gets a fair for cold hardy on HelpMeFind. That means a pot that gets put in the garage over the winter. I wasn’t ready to do that this year with all the other planting that I am doing. Sooo, maybe next year.

I am gonna go through all of the roses you listed that you got this weekend. It could be dangerous to do that, but I’ll risk it. :) I know I’m just gonna want more.

Rebecca