QuestionA friend of mine has a Rose Tree that got frostbit. The limbs are still green but frost got the buds. Will the tree bud again after frosbite and if so what should be done to help it survive and bloom.
Thank You
Larry Bahmer
AnswerLarry, People put their tree roses through a lot, and you can't blame them. These are sold with very little or no information about how to care for them. I'm not surprised your friend ran into trouble with this rose.
A plant that has withstood frostbite should not be moved immediately into a warm room. Rather than further protecting it, this invites shock and sudden wilting of leaves and stems that could be fatal. Better instead to keep the plant protected, in cool but not freezing temperatures. Any environmental changes should be gradual.
By now, the damage is done. If this is all that is wrong with your friend's tree rose, it probably will recover all by itself. Dormant buds should be breaking and new buds forming. Many tree roses are Floribunda types; they naturally bloom throughout the season. If your friend's plant is a Floribunda, lots of TLC will only help and lead to larger roses and more buds.
A tea rose pruned into a tree rose will have the growing and blooming habits of any tea rose. Which means here on Long Island there will be a burst of bloom around the beginning of June, and occasional blooms through the rest of the summer -- but nothing like that first week of June. During which, alas, it rained badly here.
See if your friend knows the name of the tree rose that was purchased. We can predict the future with more certainty if I have that detail.