It only dipped down to about -6F last night - not quite as bad as feared. Lows for the next few days are at or slightly above zero. We have about 4" of snow on the ground so I think no damage done. It will be interesting to see how this coming Spring will compare to the Spring of 2024, which was the earliest arriving Spring I can remember, with almost no winterkill and for the most part, there were green canes for at least 12-18" from the bud union and some much higher than that. I'll be more than happy if I just have no casualties.

Well, we only received 3 inches of snow the other day. But it's snowing again right now with 3-6 inches expected, with about an equal 24% chance of more or less. Just 3 inches more will do a world of good in that in 3 days' time it's projected to get down to at or below zero for 5 straight overnights. Snow is the best insulation for roses IMHO.

Weather Update - we've not had more than one inch of snow on the ground thus far this Winter. I actually like snow. What I don't like is bone-chilling cold. We are about to get 6-8 inches of snow over the next 36 hours. And just in time for some serious cold weather on the way. Snow is the best insulation for those sub-zero temps. We are looking at 0F Friday morning and negative 8F Monday morning. After that it will be single digit lows for another 5 days or so. Having 6+ inches of snow on the ground will be great. It always feels warmer to me when snow is on the ground.

My one tree rose in the unheated garage has started budding out. Just like it did last year at this time. I am going to prune it much more severely this year when I put it outside in late April. The other tree rose succumbed to Rose Rosette Disease last summer. On balance my tree roses (both double budded - Julia Child and Ebb Tide) have been disappointing. I won't order any more standards.

I always think of Winter as being about three months' duration - December, January and February (March is no picnic but I wouldn't exactly call it Winter). As I write this, we're just over 80% of the way through Winter. Spring pruning will be right around the corner!

I briefly toured my rose gardens yesterday as temps got up into the low 50s. A year ago, I recall there was green cane right to the tips on many if not most of the bushes right about now. Well, that is definitely not the case this year. Therefore, my expectation is for a more "normal" degree of winter dieback that was the case last year. Spring also came 3 weeks early last year and that is unlikely to repeat. So, perhaps 2025 will be a return to normalcy in these regards. Time will tell.