For years I used to overwinter rooted baby roses in my basement. The grow lights (so to speak) were regular fluorescents. The basement was on the chilly side. I had remarkably few problems. So I know you can grow roses inside.

Unless the grow lights you are using put out a lot of heat, they are much too far away. With fluorescents, the only heat is from the ballasts at the end, and the roses could (and did) grow up into the lights. The more light, the fewer problems, Particularly since it sounds like you are growing them in a warmer environment than I had. My unheated basement was in the low 60's, and I needed a light jacket if I was spending any time down there. Being a basement, it was also naturally on the damp side, but was dry enough during the winter that we weren't running the dehumidifier.

On the occasions I brought blooming roses upstairs, they did start to struggle.

Thanks, mad! I'm so glad you're still here and sharing your expert experiences! My heat is usually set to 68 but oftentimes with my baseboard, the basement is a bit warmer. I can go about things in my basement the same as any other part of my house without being chilled. As in, I'm young and warm blooded enough to do so quite in the buff, ha!

These lights are a bit warm, but they are LED and so far, so good. I'm three months in and getting blooms and new growth with healthy leaves. I have a timer set for 12 hours, 7am-7pm.

My basement is 64° against the wall without the baseboard heat, but as I've stated, these roses are right at said units. These roses aren't babies, either, and I've gotten Mrs. Sam to this size from a tiny band.Thirteen inches away from the radiator, fifteen beneath the light.

I concur the lamp is a touch too far away. I'd like it about 5" closer.

I'm also going to provide an image of Mrs. Sam McGredy's cane internode length from summertime, full sunshine. It is comparable, but the caveat is cane type- basal versus lateral.. It has been reviewed (as of yesterday upon returning from Florida) though that my buddy and I will be lowering the lamp a couple inches, but until I get the second lamp, I'm trying to get a reasonable balance of intensity and spread. It's set to a balanced spectrum at 100% output. I know this one is not enough, but clearly I have enough humidity and air circulation, even with my dehumidifier set to what it is. I'm only reiterating because all of these factors are present together. Also is a pic of the specifications of this lamp.

It's warm. It's livable. It's technically "dry". None of the conditions "traditional wisdom" says will work to even overwinter roses indoors.

Aside from that, the California desert can have humidity levels under 40%, and several reference books refer to roses as being healthier in "hot, dry climates". This is as good as indicator as any other that humidity isn't as big a factor as thought.

My aim to primarily to get them through the winter, but if they do more then survive, I'll be even happier. I acknowledge they won't thrive with the current light level, and will never be as they would outdoors, but I didn't anticipate any blooms at all and I expected Christmas flocking mildew and bugs based on so much I've heard, or crisping leaves and shrivelling growth.

Much like my age versus energy and appearance, I surprise others more often than not with things I can achieve.

If my overwintering peters out, I'll be sure to make notes of it. It would probably be a story of "the first X months were fine, but at month Y, things fell apart".

I'm pleasantly surprised so far, and after three months, things are progressing better than I had anticipated.

Steven

Steven - I love that you have an opening bud on LEH!! You get to enjoy the wonderful fragrance in winter. Excellent.

I've never believed that certain plants cant be grown indoors. Give them what they want & need/the right conditions, anything can be grown anywhere! Congrats on your plant babies. Its fun to have green growing things in the winter. I've lived in cold places in the past and it gave me such a mental boost to have plants and seedlings indoors over the winter. Try something fragrant like a moonflower vine!

Carol, you are such a joy and a true blessing on this forum! Persona-wise here on Gardenweb, I feel you to be like the beautiful grandmother everyone comes together with on the holidays.

Sultry, I think you're absolutely correct! Moonflower Vine? I'm intrigued. I shall look it up...ah, yes! I know those, though I've not grown them personally! They're lovely! What are they scented like? Is it like the Easter Lily scent of night blooming cacti or like the delicious fragrance of old fashioned purple petunias?

Naturally, my cactus and petunia images are several years old. They're just a reference!

Today was the day LEH opened too!

Steven

Carla, that is too funny, and perspective has so much to do with it!

I'm in the heart and center of the Great Lakes. Outdoor humidity is considered low here at 50%! Let's, today at 31°F our level is... 85%!!! Wowee. We also get more precipitation from Lake Effect and much more moderated temperatures versus places like Wisconsin across Lake Michigan. Not gonna lie though- our dog days of summer can be in the mid-90's with similar humidity levels, and it's unbearable at times and the bugs atrocious.

But, since I get a full four seasons, spared the worst of most extremes and no volcanoes, big earthquakes, tsunamis,or land slides, I'll take it. Last I looked it up, Michigan was second only to California for agricultural diversity. That blew my mind!

Of course, despite being slightly protected by the Great Lakes, we still average a higher number of F4 or stronger tornadoes than places like Louisiana, Georgia, or either of the Carolinas! Check out the 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak. Before my time, we had two F4's within a couple miles of my childhood (and adult!) homes. They passed on the same path only half an hour up forty minutes apart. We are overdue...

Steven

Steven - awwwww...that's such a warm compliment!!! Thank you so much!! :) :) I love your cactus bloom!!! I've never seen such a beautiful one before. I had no idea they could bloom with such big, gorgeous flowers. Your LEH looks great!! The leaves are healthy and the bloom is a winner!!! Take a sniff for me, please. :)

Love that cactus bloom, too. I never got a bloom from the cactus I grew years ago, but my granddaughter, Jemma, gets blooms from hers. We just grew our cactus in kitchen or bedroom windows. Diane

Currently, this giant bowl of succulents is existing in the garage. I'm hoping it will survive. I had a smaller bowl do fine in the garage over winter last year with zero water until it had warmed up, and I was hardening if off. I don't know if I'll have such luck this winter. These plants get no sun, either.

Diane, those are gorgeous. Hopefully they'll pull through fine.

Steven

Thanks, Steven. I was sort of pulled into the succulent thing when my daughter got a small bowl of them as a gift. She didn't take care of them, so I took over. This happens a lot. Diane

It sounds like the conditions in your basement are very similar to mine. I never noticed how cold it was until I was down there for a couple of hours pricking out seedlings.

Diane - such a beautiful succulent mix...they're perfect...you could sell pots of them or have classes on how to grow them...or you could simply enjoy them...really wonderful!! I'm sure they'll survive. :) :)

To help get me through the winter, I keep a few vintage Cattleya orchids under lights. This is BLC. Iroquois Trail 'Midfarm' FCC/OAS, from the 1970s, bred by The Beall Company on Vashon Island, WA (long gone, sadly). The blooms smell like chocolate, tobacco and vanilla and something dark and undefinable.

Paul, that is spectacular! I've long been fond of the Cattleya tribe- themselves, Encyclia, Laelia, Brassavola, Sophronitis, and the like!

It may be odd (no pun!) but I prefer the unifoliate type Cattleya orchids. Thank you so much for sharing! Either way though, so many of them do possess rich, sweet, and nuanced fragrances.

Back in my teens, I had Oncidium Sharry Baby 'Sweet Fragrance'. I adored the "dancing ladies" on their stalks, delicious fragrances, burgundy and white blooms, and ease of care.

Oh, to go back and do things a little differently. It's part of why, in the next five years, my goal is to gain better hort skills and move into plants, but local opportunities are incredibly sparse, and today's world wants a full degree and somehow, ten years of experience right off the bat. I very much support on the job training and paid apprenticeships, and would leap at the chance to do so.

From prior academics, food service certifications, and currently a Board Certified Optician despite not practicing actively since 2018, I know I have the cognitive capabilities, intelligence, and, after going into high performance plastics and making within a stone's throw of six figures, I've proven my adaptability. Nothing like switching from bankers hours and a medical facility for 12 hour factory nights (and holding a second part-time job for a whole year from 11/18/22 to 11/18/23). I've got some grit, no doubt.

Plants have been my dream and passion for decades, and I need to do it. I'm tired of the factory grind, and I refuse to go into excessive debt. I'm tired of the factory/corporate grind and nonsense politics. It's time to do what I enjoy and makes me happy. Don't mean to ramble or over share, just adding that human touch.

Your old website was a favourite of mine in highschool, and your achievements and dedication an inspiration to me. You made a difference in a teenager's life all the way across the continent, and I feel that really says something.

Thank you, Paul. You were a huge influence on young me.

Steven

Thank you Steven, that's very kind of you to say! Best wishes in your horticultural pursuits, both personal and professional.

Paul

Paul - that orchid bloom is huge and utterly beautiful!!

Steven - oh, I hope you are brave enough to make the leap and that you find a way. :) :)

thanks for the informative post! i have a tent i grow cannabis in and have been thinking that a lot of the techniques used to grow pot indoors could be adapted to cold climate rose gardening (using SIP to pump the water into the thirsty plants, starting seedlings early, growing the rootball in an airpot before mother's day to give the rose a good start...) i'll have to try this out in the late winter!

Hello there fellow Michigander. I saw your post from last year on a different thread and I see you found R. primula from Hortico. I can't tell if they are simply sold out or no longer carry it? Have you considered taking cuttings as it is not trademarked? I am near Midland if I can offer a trade for a cutting? Kind regards, Lynn Moss

I tried over-wintering a few spindly and weak roses in my breezeway because I they wouldn't survive the winter outside and they just hated it. It rarely if ever drops below 40 degrees in the breezeway and the roses were resentful and aphids got to them. I learned to place young/weak roses inside the barn at a south window. It freezes hard in there and apparently that's what they want as they are so much happier and do better when I take them out in the spring.