Hi, I Live In Ohio And Have A Trailing Rose Bush That Is About 3 Years Old. This Year, It Is Not Budding Like I Remember From Last Year, It Only Has 5 Leaves On It So Far This Year, And They Are On 2 Seperate Branches. How Can I Tell If It Isn't Going To Come Back, Or Is There Anything I Can Do, Or Am I Just Too Impatient??? Any Advice Willl Be Appreciated. Thank You, Joanne
Maybe it froze. If it has leaves it is not dead, unless it is grafted and the scion (top part, the variety you were buying it for) died and the leaves are on rootstock sprouts.
My understanding is that the USDA plant hardiness zone for Toledo is 4-5 - that makes it very cold - for roses. Therefore, as Ron suggested, it is likely that the existing canes were winter killed. What do the existing canes look like. If they are black, they are definitely dead. If they are black at the top, can you trace it down to any greener canes low down? If so, your rose might still survive. However, if all the canes are black to the bud union, your only hope is to see new shoots coming out of the bud union. If you do not see new shoots appearing by now, it is likely that the the ornamental part of the rose has succumbed to the winter. Did you protect the crown of the rose bush with a winter mulch, and is the bud union welll below ground level? If not, the likelihood of complete bud union failure in a zone 4-5 environment is almost a certainty. You did not mention which variety of rose it is. It can be very frustrating to grow climber roses under such cold winter conditions as the chances of the canes being top killed is high. However, you should consider choosing varieties that are known to be winter hardy. The best bet is to look around local gardens and see who has success growing climbers and find out which varieties those are. The Canadian Explorer series of roses are probably the hardiest of the lot.
