Hello -
My wife and I would like to plant some climbing roses in permanent 18" planter boxes positioned around our pergola posts. We'd love to train the roses to grow up the posts.
However, I'm very concerned about the roses making it through the winter. We live in southeast PA (zone 6). The planter boxes do not have bottoms and I lined them with burlap but I still don't think that's enough.
I read one post about using a thermostatically controlled pipe heater (set to about 33 or 34 degrees) with pipe heating tape -- Do you think that would work for my situation? Do you have any other suggestions or recommendations for my planter box situation?
My worst case scenario would be that the roses would do fine for a few years and then die during a particularly hard/cold winter.
Thanks very much in advance for your help,
kmholdem in PA
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grandpasrose
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- Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a
Welcome to the forum kmholdem!
My first question is why the 18" boxes? Are you meaning 18" deep, or 18" around? Is there a paved area surrounding your pergola posts? Or are they just for appearance?
If they are just for appearance, then I would plant my rose directly into the ground, with the bud union (graft) about 4" below the ground level. Then put your planter boxes around that filled with some more soil and mulch material. With the rose planted that deep, and then your planter box material on top, you should not have any problem with winter. You would however, have to protect the climbing canes in some way. To learn more about that, you can refer to the thread in this forum called "articles for wintering roses".
However, if the boxes are on top of a paved area, then it is a different problem which I can get into, if you let me know this is the case.
Send me back a note letting me know which is the case, and I can help you more appropriately.
VAL
My first question is why the 18" boxes? Are you meaning 18" deep, or 18" around? Is there a paved area surrounding your pergola posts? Or are they just for appearance?
If they are just for appearance, then I would plant my rose directly into the ground, with the bud union (graft) about 4" below the ground level. Then put your planter boxes around that filled with some more soil and mulch material. With the rose planted that deep, and then your planter box material on top, you should not have any problem with winter. You would however, have to protect the climbing canes in some way. To learn more about that, you can refer to the thread in this forum called "articles for wintering roses".
However, if the boxes are on top of a paved area, then it is a different problem which I can get into, if you let me know this is the case.
Send me back a note letting me know which is the case, and I can help you more appropriately.
VAL
Thanks for your reply, grandpasrose.
The planter boxes are 18" x 18" x 18" high (aprox). I built them around the 4 posts that support the pergola. The pergola itself is 12' x 12' x 9' high (aprox) and it is over a paver patio. The planter boxes exist for decoration and also to "frame" an area for planting around the pergola posts.
I made the planter boxes without bottoms and no pavers exist directly beneath the planter boxes to allow the roses to "root deeply". However, there are some obstacles in the ground beneath the planters (such as the concrete footings for the posts) that the roots would have to work around.
From your post, it sounds like I should be able to plant the "bud union" 4" below ground level (which is actually 4" below the bottom of the planters) and then fill the planters with soil and mulch. In effect, this would put the "bud union" under 10-15" of soil. I didn't know that they could be planted so deeply. So, this gives me alot more confidence that they could make it through a cold winter.
I carefully read the wintering articles you wrote -- Thanks very much for this information. Winters here in southeast PA are fickle - we get alot of freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw cycles. Based on the info in your arcticles, I think I should plan to wrap the climbing rose canes with burlap for the
winter (the wrap would wrap the pergola posts and canes together).
Please let me know if I've got anything wrong or if you have any other suggestions based on this info. Thanks again for your help!
kmholdem in PA
The planter boxes are 18" x 18" x 18" high (aprox). I built them around the 4 posts that support the pergola. The pergola itself is 12' x 12' x 9' high (aprox) and it is over a paver patio. The planter boxes exist for decoration and also to "frame" an area for planting around the pergola posts.
I made the planter boxes without bottoms and no pavers exist directly beneath the planter boxes to allow the roses to "root deeply". However, there are some obstacles in the ground beneath the planters (such as the concrete footings for the posts) that the roots would have to work around.
From your post, it sounds like I should be able to plant the "bud union" 4" below ground level (which is actually 4" below the bottom of the planters) and then fill the planters with soil and mulch. In effect, this would put the "bud union" under 10-15" of soil. I didn't know that they could be planted so deeply. So, this gives me alot more confidence that they could make it through a cold winter.
I carefully read the wintering articles you wrote -- Thanks very much for this information. Winters here in southeast PA are fickle - we get alot of freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw cycles. Based on the info in your arcticles, I think I should plan to wrap the climbing rose canes with burlap for the
winter (the wrap would wrap the pergola posts and canes together).
Please let me know if I've got anything wrong or if you have any other suggestions based on this info. Thanks again for your help!
kmholdem in PA
-
grandpasrose
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- Posts: 1651
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:21 pm
- Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a
Exactly! You got it totally right!
The reason for planting the roses directly in the ground, is that if they were just in your box above ground, they can get frozen from all sides. The most important part to protect on your rose is that bud union. If you lose it, you have lost the pretty rose you bought, and will be left with whatever stock root they grafted to (which is usually something stronger, but not very pretty). Some of my tea roses have their bud unions buried about 20" below ground, and they do fine. If you are worried about them being buried so deep, go to only 2" below ground level, and don't quite fill your boxes, and that will lessen it. But definitely stay beneath the ground level.
Once they are planted in the ground, I probably wouldn't fill the entire box with soil, but rather part soil, and then a mulch, like cocoa shells, well rotted compost, chopped up leaves.
Also, there are some recipes in the Organic Rose Care thread of this forum, for compost, manure, or rose teas. They are wonderful for your roses, and are a wonderful organic addition to the nutrients in your soil.
When you plant your rose, ensure that it is filled with well rotted compost, manure, leaf mould, alfalfa meal, kelp, epsom salts, and fish emulsion. This will ensure that your rose will have all the necessary nutrients to get a good start, and you shouldn't have any problems.
Hope it all turns out as you vision it-it's exciting having a new project!
Let us know how it turns out, and feel free to return with any more questions, or just to share with the rest of us!
VAL
The reason for planting the roses directly in the ground, is that if they were just in your box above ground, they can get frozen from all sides. The most important part to protect on your rose is that bud union. If you lose it, you have lost the pretty rose you bought, and will be left with whatever stock root they grafted to (which is usually something stronger, but not very pretty). Some of my tea roses have their bud unions buried about 20" below ground, and they do fine. If you are worried about them being buried so deep, go to only 2" below ground level, and don't quite fill your boxes, and that will lessen it. But definitely stay beneath the ground level.
Once they are planted in the ground, I probably wouldn't fill the entire box with soil, but rather part soil, and then a mulch, like cocoa shells, well rotted compost, chopped up leaves.
Also, there are some recipes in the Organic Rose Care thread of this forum, for compost, manure, or rose teas. They are wonderful for your roses, and are a wonderful organic addition to the nutrients in your soil.
When you plant your rose, ensure that it is filled with well rotted compost, manure, leaf mould, alfalfa meal, kelp, epsom salts, and fish emulsion. This will ensure that your rose will have all the necessary nutrients to get a good start, and you shouldn't have any problems.
Hope it all turns out as you vision it-it's exciting having a new project!
Let us know how it turns out, and feel free to return with any more questions, or just to share with the rest of us!
VAL
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The Helpful Gardener
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grandpasrose
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1651
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:21 pm
- Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a
