Now’s the Time to Put the Roses to Bed

  

While this fall’s weather has given us a longer than usual time to enjoy our roses, now’s the time to put them to bed. The main goal of winter protection for roses is to maintain dormancy. Cold damage occurs due to plant tissues alternating between freezing and thawing. Winter dormancy is achieved by keeping the crown, graft, and lower portion of the canes uniformly cold and hydrated throughout the winter months.  

  

The process of preparing roses for winter includes pruning, a thorough clean-up, deep-root watering, and mulching.  

  

  

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 an 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 blackspot, mildew, 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 well hydrated roots will suffer less damage from winter’s cold, dry temperatures than roses with dry 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 winter. Adding organic mulch will also help retain moisture.

Cedar Mulch and Gorilla Hair are good choices for mulching your roses. A three-to-four-inch layer of mulch should be applied to the entire area under the rose canopy, with an additional two to three inches added to the central part of the bush.   

  

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. Take time now to secure the canes to the trellis and wrap them in burlap to prevent winter winds from drying out and damaging the canes, then apply an organic mulch.  

 

 

Plan to water your roses (and other shrubs, trees, perennials) during the winter. Pick a day when the temperature is above 40°F. Water around midday 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.