[arctichomesteader]

Just based on the natural forests of the area, I would say Vernon and vicinity is the warmer part of the state. There are forests of black gum, some understory chestnut, and other species there that resemble the forests farther south in New England. And the zone map appears to correlate with that. But still, it's not really warm enough if you're going from NJ, as many species that will thrive in NJ will never survive in any of VT. You would need to look at every species of rose you have, research its accepted cold tolerance, and take into account as well your plant/seed source, to see which can survive in VT. I know with trees of the same species you can't always take its offspring and plant it in another location within its native range and have success. Black walnuts growing in VT have greater cold tolerance than black walnuts growing in southern states, for example, and the offspring of a southern walnut tree may or may not survive in VT because of slight regional variability and adaptations. There is no one answer to your question and seeing how you must be attached to those plants I wouldn't want to give you one when it would mean some would live and some would probably not live for the reasons I described. It may be warm enough for some of them but not others in southeastern VT.

[ansible90]

Originally Posted by cgregor

Wal, I dunno. We do a pretty good business here at our surfing gear shop on the Connecticut most Januaries, And the banana plantations over in Townshend do so well they have to recruit Jamaicans year 'round. Good thing Jamaica's only six miles up the road. Most months in Springfield it's warm enough so there's a sunbathing competition between the residents of the Whitcomb high-rise (elderly) and the state office building workers on the roof of the respective buildings-- you can check it out if you use binoculars in the Lovejoy parking lot. My neighbors said the February heat darn near killed their overwintering parsnips. But I wouldn't expect roses to hack it in this state.

As global warming increases, though, Vermont is going to have a climate like Bucks County, Pennsylvania. I think right now Bucks County is Zone 4, which ought to be good for roses.

[averysgore]

Elevation can make a huge difference. I used to live in Hartland right near the CT river (so low elevation) and parts of Hartland near the Woodstock border could be way colder --- in particular, I remember the snow melting slower there during March. I had a garden at my place and a garden on a farm property 5 miles away, and they got a frost weeks before we did.

[jackmccullough]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Just based on the natural forests of the area, I would say Vernon and vicinity is the warmer part of the state.

I've often noticed on the news that Vernon has the highest temperature in the state, summer or winter. I just wonder if that will change with VY closing down and emitting less radiation.