Preparing And Caring For Your Rose Garden During Winter Months

Most of today’s modern roses need help surviving through the winter months. It is not necessarily the cold temperature that does damage to the roses; rather it is the rapid change in temperature that can be harmful. Repeated freezing and then thawing can be considerably destructive. Taking the proper steps to prepare your rose garden for the cold season can help insure the plants make it through the winter.

To begin with a healthy plant is more likely to survive a harsh winter than a weak or diseased one. Because of this it is essential that you maintain and care for your roses during the growing season to make sure they are healthy enough to take the brunt o the cold season. Because roses store nutrients in their woody canes, the larger the plant the healthier it will be and more likely to make it through the winter.

In addition, you should ease fertilizing and pruning your roses towards the end of August. This is because you want to prevent new growth that may be too weak to make it through the winter. However, during the cold months you should remove any damaged or dead plant parts to prevent disease or pest infestation.

It is a good idea to build a protective mound of soil around the base of the plant to help it endure the winter. The mound should be eight to twelve inches high to protect the lower part of the plant. This mound should be built around the end of November, before the first frost of the season. Make sure that you bring the soil to make the mound from another location. Do not take soil from the root zone of your rose plant. After a few seasonal frosts you should place a layer of compost around the base of the rose for additional protection.

When a frost occurs, the rose bush must be able to take care of itself because you will be unable to effectively penetrate the soil. For this reason it is important to deeply water the rose immediately after the first frost set in.

Once you have had a few good frosts it may be beneficial to apply a dormant spray such as oil or lime sulfur spray. This will help prevent infestation of insects over the winter months and help protect the plant from winter diseases as well.

Climbing roses are slightly more difficult to protect from winter harshness. Typically the entire plant should be covered in soil to shield it from strong, drying winds. The plant should be carefully removed from it supportive climbing structure. The canes should be softly bent all the way to the ground and covered with several inches of soil and mulch.

If covering the entire climbing rose is impossible then you can wrap the canes together with straw. This will keep them insulated. The climbing plant should still be pinned to the ground and tied together in bundles.

When spring comes the excess soil and mulch should be removed. If cold weather creeps back into the early months of spring then you should recover the rose plants until it warms again.

Keep in mind that how much preparation and which kind depends heavily on the type of roses you have in your garden. There are some native buses and antique roses that survive on their own with little or no help, but for the most part you should prepare your roses for the winter months.

While preparing your roses for the cold winter may take a little more time, your efforts will be rewarded when spring arrives and your rose bushes are safe and sound.