Key Points
In the fall, clean up roses, add mulch around the plants, and water during especially long dry spells.Do not deadhead, fertilize, or prune roses unless for overwintering prep.To overwinter roses, insulate the plants with soil, mulch, or other protective fabrics.
Roses, especially hybrid tea roses, Grandiflora, and floribunda roses, tend to require more care than other flowers. After tending to them all spring and summer, it’s tempting to take a more lackadaisical approach to rose care come fall and winter. That, however, can backfire, as proper fall care is key to helping your roses survive the winter.
Here is what you should and shouldn’t do to get your roses ready for the cold season.
Fall Care for Roses
What to Do
Fall cleanup is very important to prevent for pest and disease control, as some pathogens remain in the soil over the winter. Thoroughly remove all fallen leaves and stems from around the plant, and if they’re diseased, dispose of them in the trash.
Mulch roses after the plants have gone completely dormant, which is usually after the first hard frost. The amount of mulch depends on the type of rose. Native roses and shrub roses only need a 4- to 8-inch layer around the base, whereas hybrid tea, Grandiflora, and floribunda should be buried in mulch so the graft location is fully protected.
Watering in the fall should be gradually reduced as the rose plants approach dormancy, but if it’s a dry autumn with very little rainfall, you should continue watering them moderately. Roses in parched soil are more vulnerable to cold damage.
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What Not to Do
Stop deadheading your roses, as this encourages them to form more flower buds. In the fall, the goal is to slow down plant growth.
Stop fertilizing your roses six to eight weeks before the average first frost date. Fertilizing late in the season leads to lots of new soft growth, which is easily damaged by cold.
Fall pruning is generally viewed as too late in cold climates because the injuries from hard pruning cuts make the plants more vulnerable to frost damage. The only exception is when you cut rose canes down to build an insulating mound around the plant afterward. Pruning roses in fall is less of a concern in areas with mild winters.
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Overwintering Roses
Whether a rose needs winter protection depends on the climate and the type of rose. In cool climates, you need to take some extra steps for overwintering hybrid tea roses, Grandiflora, and floribunda roses.
To prevent rose canes from being whipped around by harsh winter winds, which dislodges the roots, cut the canes down to 2 to 3 feet off the ground after the plant has gone fully dormant.
To insulate the rose against the cold, use any of these methods:
Mound about 12 inches of soil over the crown and add mulch or fall leaves on top.Wrap the rose in breathable fabrics, burlap, or use special rose cones.In extremely cold climates, use the “Minnesota tip method,” where the canes are tied into a bundle, then gently bent to lie in a shallow trench and covered with soil for the winter. After the ground has frozen, you can add a layer of straw for additional insulation. In the spring, when the weather warms, take roses out of their trenches.
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Ludmila Kapustkina / Getty Images
6 Tips for Caring for Roses Year-Round
Water roses in hot, dry weather every seven to 10 days. Shrub and native roses are more drought-tolerant than hybrid tea roses and other garden roses. Apply the water directly to the soil around the plant.
Fertilize roses regularly from spring to summer using natural or synthetic fertilizers and follow the label directions for amounts and frequency. Scatter fertilizer around the base, but keep it 6 inches away from the canes.
Monitor for pests and diseases to spot and treat problems early. Roses are susceptible to several problems, including black spot, powdery mildew, rusts, rose mosaic virus, rose rosette virus, Japanese beetles, aphids, and rose slugs.
Deadhead faded flowers to encourage additional blooms during growing and flowering seasons.
Remove weeds while they’re still small. If using a tool, be careful not to damage the shallow roots.
Mulch to conserve soil moisture and control weeds. Apply a 2- to 4-inch layer of wood chips, shredded bark, or other natural mulch around the base.
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