I thought I'd really protect my roses through the winter by covering them with large white styrofoam covers, designed especially for this purpose, stuffed full of dead leaves for insulation. Upon uncovering them, there was a lot of mold on the canes and a very rotten smell. Did I kill them by overprotecting them? What's the chance they'll be okay. Should I spray something on them? Has anyone else had this happen?
Debbie, in Southern Ontario... where there are only 2 seasons.... snow and sow!
Hi Mommamac, I haven't had this happen to me, but I'd uncover the roses and maybe spray them with Cornell formula (check with the rose folks at Gardenweb or maybe someone here has the recipe) after they've dried off some. Hopefully the root has not rotted, just the canes and you'll get new growth come spring. Roses are suprisingly resilient. I mulched my roses with pineneedles this year and it looks like they've mostly survived. Good luck, let us know what you did and how it worked out. Foxglove
