BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Roses Getting your roses ready for winter

I'm in Zone 9, my winter preparations won't start for a few months yet.
Other zones have already began their winter preparations.
What I'd like to know is what zone are you in and what do you do to winterize your rose garden?

Dove
"Only the pure of heart can make good soup"
Beethoven

Hi I live in zone 4. I have all ready started to get my Roses ready for Winter drity word!! About the sec0nd last week of Aug I stop dead heading my Roses so they know it is time to get ready for Winter. I let the leaves all fall off then I spray them with a dormat spary after we get a few frost not before. Then I make sure all the Bud Unions are down far enough and covered very well, then I lay straw down around all of them. As for my Climbers I make sure they are tied well and wrap them with burlap and but straw inside but not a whole lot because then the mice like it to well. Some of my shurb Rose's get a Rose hutt over top but not all of them because I have to keep an eye on them to make sure mold dosen't start because most of my Roses are on the South side of the house. My tree roses I let the leaves fall off them and I don't sapry them I just take and but them in are back shed for the Winter. One more thing I do is make sure they have lots of water if we have a dry Fall but that isn't the case this year they are getting plent of water. That is what I do for my Babies so they are happy and warm all 55 of them. I do not prune in the fall I wait for Spring.

Connie Barber

Hi Connie,
Thanks for posting your winter routine.

For those in Northern zones;
Unless you've already had a frost, adding a little more potassium would be a good thing. Potassium (sulphate of potash) will help increases cane survival over winter.
It is the last number on the NPK scale so something like a 0-0-30 would work.

Don't start pruning your roses back yet. An unusually warm autumn day might stimulate new growth which would be too tender to survive the next frost.

Just stop deadheading and let your roses naturally go dormant. Cutting back on the watering will also help.

For people who live in the Southern zones;
Keep deadheading and your roses will bloom through November and in some areas December.

Unless you live in zone 10 it's time to slow down the feeding a little bit.

You can even plant some roses, they have time to get settled before winter sets in. Planting in fall gets them well established before winter.

Dove

This is interesting. My mother always pruned her roses back in the fall so I've followed suit. Right now, I don't hav time and the plants seems fineso I'm leaving them alone. I'm in zone 6b here, moving to a 5b or maybe another 6. Anyway, they weather over just fine.

It never ceases to amaze me just how tough roses are.
Although some of the tender growth will most likely freeze, that can be pruned away at a later date.

So you came by your love of roses through your mother's example? That's fabulous.

Roses and carnations were the only thing she could grow. Everything else turned bad. I think she had a black, or at least very dark gray, thumb. Roses are my big passion but I like a lot of other plants, too. I hope to get some hellebores, astilbe, foxglove and others going, along with more roses when I find a house.

Maybe it was the era, my mother grew carnations too, although hers were paired with Tall Bearded Iris.
I like underplanting some of my roses with Dianthus and Feverfew.
I love Foxglove and think every garden should have some especially if you want to entice Faries to your garden.
But alas, mine never seem to make it after the first blooms fade. Maybe it's just too hot in my zone, if you have a secret I would love to hear it.