Winterizing Roses

Fall care for hybrid tea, Grandiflora and floribunda roses.

Understanding dormancy will help to determine the proper time to prune.
During dormancy, the sap has left the canes and the canes are simply empty tubes of cellulose. Pruning too early in the fall (before the sap runs back down into the roots) cuts some of the nutrients out, so you must be sure the plant is dormant before fall (winter) pruning. The only fall pruning I recommend is if the bush is very tall and the wind will whip it around in the winter, then prune just the very top of the bush. Winter dieback generally occurs from the end of the branches. Pruning removes the available length that can die back before reaching the ground. Pruning a semi dormant plant stimulates growth and sap flow in the pruned region.

Proper cleanup.
To prevent disease/fungus from over wintering, clean the rose bed by removing leaves and other debris. Put the leaves in the trash. Do not add them to your composting materials because the mold spores will continue to grow in a compost pile, making your compost diseased.

Why cover roses in the winter?
Winter protection is essential for our climate. It serves two functions: (1) to keep the temperature of the bush high enough to prevent winter kill and (2) low enough to keep the rose dormant and prevent active growth. Covering also prevents the sun and wind from drying and withering the canes. This is the main cause of winter damage.

Timing is important.
Covering the rose too early is unwise as it may prevent the rose from hardening properly and will slow the onset of dormancy. Covering the rose too late may risk damage from the cold.

Covering the crown on the rose bush
There are several methods of protection to choose from. If the roses are growing in a bed, cover the bed at least a foot deep with tree leaves. Do not use rose leaves. For individual roses, make a mound with soil or mulch (Soil pep is great) to cover the crown at least 12 inches. A very easy method is to use rose collars, found in the garden center at Pinehurst. Fill them with leaves or easy to use soil pep, also found at Pinehurst.

Rose Collars are easy to use.  Fill them with leaves or soil pep.

What about Easy Elegance and shrub roses?

The great Easy Elegance roses from Pinehurst and shrub roses, such as Knock Out roses, are much more hardy and require little fall and winter care, other than to make sure they have plenty of moisture.