Taking Care of Roses in Winter
Taking care of roses in winter… when the cold winter winds begin to blow, and frost and snow threatens, most warm weather creatures feel the pinch.
Don’t let your beloved roses feel the brunt of old man winter without any protection.
Taking care of roses in winter is extremely important for any gardener hoping to have the plants weather the tough season well.
After all, you wouldn’t venture out into the freezing cold without protection, would you? So how can you leave your roses to fend for themselves, without making sure they are well protected, without taking care of roses?
Don’t leave it until the last minute to start taking care of your roses and making preparations for winter. Always remember that it is better to prepare early rather than leave it too late.
Start your winter preparations a month and a half in advance of the expected frosts.
Begin taking care of roses in winter by completing the winter pruning, especially if you plan to use Styrofoam or plywood protectors.
Make sure the plant is cut back so that it is small enough to be covered by the protector, and tie it up with a synthetic string, before you cover it, to ensure that the string does not rot away during the winter.
Pull off and take away old petals, dead and dying leaves, and debris left behind from cutting and pruning, to the trash bin.
If you leave them around the base, they will provide a warm and hospitable home for rats and fungal diseases over the cold winter months, and do your roses no good at all.
Part of taking care of roses in winter is to make sure not to add these things to the compost heap.
They may carry some rose diseases that would survive the winter and would immediately affect the roses as soon as you use the infected compost.
Bring in extra soil, to add a layer over the roots.
This will keep the soil in the immediate neighborhood of the roots warmer, preventing the roots from being frozen.
If your roses are outdoors, and in a place likely to be affected by the sharp winds, you can include cutting the tall canes back to a medium height and tying their tips together to the taking care of roses list.
This will prevent excess buffeting and pulling saving the roots from being damaged, as well as prevent direct breakage of the canes.
Taking care of roses in winter, in this case would also include dormant spraying the roses when you do your final fall cleanup.
At the time, remove old mulch which can cause infection and pest infestation.
Rotting mulch is a prime source of trouble over the winter months. Get rid of all the old mulch, and apply new mulch only where absolutely necessary.
You can also look into other methods of taking care of roses in winter like trenching or constructing rose boxes.
