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By Paul Rodman (paulgrow)
Those of us that live in the colder climates have to take a few extra steps to make sure our roses make it through the winter and will be ready to come to life in the spring. Most hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras are grown as grafted plants. That is, the rose plant is grafted onto a hardy root stock. The large knob or graft is known as the bud union. This has to be protected from freezing.
The first step in preparing our rose beds for the cold is to do a complete cleanup.
After there has been a couple of hard freezes strip off all remaining leaves and discard. This is the time when a dormant spray needs to be applied to the canes and the soil around your plants. The usual combat ion of this spray is to use a mixture of Lime-sulfur and dormant oil. These are natural substances than will kill and insects and spores that might be present on your roses
You can mix the ingredients together yourself or premixed sprays are available. Follow the instructions on the container and wear appropriate protective clothing and eye gear as should be done when any spraying is being done. Make sure the temperature is above 40 degrees F when applying this product.
If you talk to many different rosarians you will get many different methods as how to protect your roses from the cold. I’m going to share a couple of the ones that I have had success with. Protection should be placed after a couplre of hard freezes. Tie the longer canes together with garden twine to prevent them from whipping around in the wind. I like to take several thickness of newspapers fold in half lengthwise and place them around the base of the plant. Staple the ends together to form a collar.
Fill the collar with shredded leaves, compost or garden soil.
Many folks like to use rose cones as their winter protection. If you choose this method cut the top out of the cone. This allows air circulation and prevents condensation on sunny days. If the plant is too large for the cone, prune it back just enough so that it will fit. Place bricks or rocks around the base to keep it from blowing over in the wind.
I grow several roses in large containers 25 gallon or larger. I have found that moving them into the garage and watering them once a month works really well. In the spring after the danger of freezing weather has passed, remove the winter protection and give them a good watering. When the forsythia blooms it’s time to prune them and apply the rose fertilizer.
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