Now’s the Time to Put the Roses to Bed

While the prolonged fall weather has given us a longer than usual bloom season, now’s the time to put your roses to bed. The process of preparing roses for winter includes pruning, a thorough clean-up, deep-root watering and mulching. Roses vary in hardiness, but all roses will benefit from some attention and preparation before winter arrives. This is because our winter temperatures can fluctuate widely and moisture levels will vary from month to month. Begin by cutting each cane back about to about 24" to 30". This is not an exact measurement, but it’s important to cut tall canes now to prevent damage from winter winds. Prune to the outward bud, so that future growth is toward the outside, away from the center of the bush. If you see any diseased branches and leaves, cut them off and dispose of them.

 Remove any spent flowers or rose hips at this time. Clean up fallen leaves and petals from around the rose bush, to prevent black spot and other diseases from wintering over. While you're at it, rake up any leaves on the ground around your roses.   Next, water your roses thoroughly.  Roses with dry roots will suffer more damage in cold temperatures than roses with well-hydrated roots.  All roses will benefit from applying a natural mulch to the bed.  This serves to keep the ground cold and stable and help prevent damage to the rose bush as the ground freezes and thaws, only to freeze again during the course of the winter. Adding mulch will also help retain moisture. Soil Pep, Cedar Mulch and Gorilla Hair are good choices for mulching your roses. Soil Pep offers the additional benefit of being a soil improvement. 

A three-to-four-inch layer of mulch should be applied to the entire area under the rose canopy, with an additional six-to-seven inches added to the central part of the bush. This will protect the bud graft as well as the roots.  Once the mulch is in place, dust the area with sulfur. Sulfur will help control disease and insects trying to winter over. If you have climbing roses in the garden, wait until spring to prune them. Instead, secure the canes to the trellis and wrap them in burlap to prevent winter winds from drying out and damaging the canes, then apply mulch. Water your roses (and other shrubs, trees, perennials) during the course of the winter. Pick a day when the temperature is above 40°. Water around mid-day and confine your watering to the base of the rose. You want to get water to the roots, not the top of the rose. As always, you are welcome to bring your rose and gardening questions or concerns to the Diagnostic Center in the Hardgoods section of the store.