Hi everyone — I’m looking for advice on whether my Chicago rooftop container roses are just delayed from winter stress or if they may be dead/hopeless.
I’m growing roses in containers on a very sunny, windy, exposed rooftop in Chicago. I protected them over the winter (mounded mulch around base, covered in burlap), but as of today, May 11 they still have no leaves or obvious new shoots. Some of the canes look brown on the outside, but several are still green externally, and both brown/green canes are mostly green internally when I scratch-test them. I also snapped a small twig and the inside was pale green/yellowish rather than dry brown.
I see what may be small swelling buds/eyes on a few canes, but I’m not sure if they are viable buds or just old nodes/scars. I have attached a few photos of how they look. Of note, they are mostly from Heirloom Roses (varieties: Scepter’d Isle, Lady of Shalott, Queen of Sweden)
My main questions are:
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Is it concerning that they have no leaves yet by May 11 in Chicago, or can container roses on an exposed rooftop be this delayed while still being alive?
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Do the canes/buds in the photos look alive and likely to push growth?
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Should I prune back the brown-looking canes now, or wait longer to see where they bud out?
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Should I avoid fertilizer until I see actual leaves?
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At what point would you consider the plants unlikely to recover?
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone with experience growing roses in cold-winter containers or exposed rooftop conditions.
Note: Because I’m a new user, I’m only able to upload one photo. But I have some close-ups of what the small snapped twig/cane looks like internally, plus a few of what I think are new (hopefully) buds. Not sure how to include those photos if they would be helpful.
