Snow serves as a natural insulator of plants, and many rose cultivars die back to the snowline. Those parts of the canes exposed to the cold air above the snow die, while the lower parts of canes covered with snow survive. There are also cultivars that show variation in injury pattern from cane to cane. Within one plant, canes with no winter injury can be found next to canes that are either partially or completely killed. Other cultivars behave much like herbaceous perennials, dying back to the ground every winter.
Canes are hardy to the tip.
Indicates dieback of all canes to the snowline. Cane material below the snowline remained alive. Cane injury within a single plant can vary from none to complete kill to the ground. Closeup of dieback in the lower panel shows this variable injury pattern. Every cane is killed to the ground.