Early bud break

In southern Ohio, and I have a rose that has broken dormancy. Buds have opened to leaves (on some branches, several leaves). It’s been in my garage, but the weather has been so warm lately. I know I have at least 3 more months of winter. Next week we have several days with lows like 3, 6, and 12 degrees F. Any suggestions? I don’t know if I can force it back in dormancy, that would probably just kill it. I could put it in the basement under the grow light, inside my humidity chamber with my Tropicals. Luckily nothing else is close to waking up. I also could put it in a window well that has a cover on it wheee I keep a Datsun I azalea, which is probably what I will do. I airlayered this cultivar (popcorn) last fall, and let it grow all this year,

This is a tricky one. On the one hand it has opened too early so it won’t return to dormancy and on the other it now needs sunlight/ daylight to photosynthesise. Do you have a greenhouse where you could put it for a couple of hours in the afternoon when favourable?

Nope. It’s the obvious solution and I wish I had one. Not in the cards yet.

You could make a small one using plastic pipe and a bit of wood if you’re handy like that…or a cold frame using a pallet and some old glass / windows from the local recycling place.

I have several trees of a few different species that woke up last thu-fri and started pushing new leaves. It had been 80+ degrees for two whole weeks at that point.

Then of course this past weekend we dropped from 85 to 25F in ~48 hours :upside_down_face:

I dont know the best answer to dealing with this kind of weird timing, but I have left mine all outside to do their best to realize its not spring yet, hopefully before too much damage is done. There is too much winter left for me to feel good about nursing them through the next several months in the garage or elsewhere.

Although I have a greenhouse it usually gets pretty full. A couple of weeks ago I knocked up (i won’t say built as I’m not that skilled as you’ll see!) this additional covered space. It consists of two pallets and a plastic cover that the dog’s paddling pool (don’t ask!) arrived in in the summer.

It’s not pretty I grant you but it functions well. There are only a few hinoki in it at the moment but plenty of space for trays of cuttings, or sensitive trees etc.

And…in case you were wondering what that grey thing next to it is, it’s the dog’s toy sloth that I have to throw around the garden… :joy: :joy:

Thanks for the reply Keith. I would be worried about air circulation in that small space and stuff growing in there I didn’t want.