Preparing for Old Man Winter

By Logan Shillinglaw

As you probably know by now, there are as many ways to tackle a rose garden chore, as there are rosarians. We each have our own way. That’s the joy of gardening. Listen to people who have been successful, try their advice and then adapt it to meet your needs. Winterizing is one of those topics that provides a wide variety of solutions. I am not going to try to tell you all the options, because quite honestly, I am too lazy to learn them all and then write them all down. In talking to successful rosarians in my area, I have found a variety of methods, all of which seem to work. The one common thread is that they address the basics of winterization, the three C’s – cut, clean and cover.

Before I get into the hows of winterizing (the three C’s), it is important to understand the whys. It’s really not too hard. The most obvious reason for winterizing is to keep the plant from freezing. Hybrid teas are plants that have been budded or grafted to a stronger rootstock. The big knot at ground level is the bud union. If that freezes and dies, so does your plant. The roots may live, but the rose you planted will never grow again.

The other reason for winterizing is to provide a constant temperature. By protecting the plant from the cold and wind, you are allowing it to remain dormant and to get a period of needed rest. Without the constant temperature, your roses may think it is time to grow an early, extended warm spell before Spring only to be wiped out by the hard freeze that is likely to follow. You do not want new growth to appear during the winter months. That means the plant’s energy is high in the plant and vulnerable to cold instead of low and protected in the roots.

Now that we understand why to winterize, let’s get back to the three C’s – cut, clean and cover.

Cut. When should I cut or prune– November, December, early, late? Actually in late October into November is a great time to start letting the blooms stay on the bush. Cutting the blooms only encourages new growth and you want your plants to move smoothly into dormancy. A good rule of thumb to follow regarding winterization pruning is to wait until you have had two spells of two or three nights of sub 35-degree nights. This is a distinct signal to the plant to start to go dormant. In Tennessee, I usually don’t prune until mid December – but watch the weather forecast!

How much should you prune? Again, a topic of debate. I’m getting lazy in the Fall so I don’t want to have to work too hard. I do not prune back hard in the Fall because I want the plants’ energy to move back down the canes into the bud union. Cutting back keeps the canes from whipping around in the winter wind. This puts a lot of stress on the roots that just isn’t necessary. I cut mine to about three to four feet from the ground.

CLEAN!! CLEAN!! CLEAN!! This is as important to winterization as water, water, water is to growing good roses. If you don’t clean out all the dead leaves, spent blooms and loose petals, you are asking for a constant battle with disease in the Spring. Believe me, I learned this the hard way. Blackspot spores will winter over and when the warmth of Spring arrives, they will leap off the ground and cover your new growth. There are probably a million other diseases that winter over but blackspot is the one I have the most problem with when I don’t clean the garden properly.

How does one properly clean their rose bed? Quite simple. Pull or clip all remaining leaves and blooms off the bushes. Rake or sweep the leaves and petals off the ground. Be certain to remove ALL of this debris from your rose bed. Don’t just do it around the base of the rose - hit the entire bed.

Ounce of prevention – spray the plants and ground with Pentathlon or Mancozeb. This helps kill the spores that might still remain on the soil. If you don’t have these, drop me a line and I’ll let you know where to find them.

Cover. Two down and one to go. This is where you get a million different methods – mulch, soil, growers mix, mushroom compost, straw, pine needles, leaves, shredded newspaper, etc. What works for one garden may not work for yours.  Garden environments within the same town can vary. Try to find a garden that has similar conditions to yours and see what works for that person.

Many of these materials will work but I do recommend against two in particular – leaves and shredded newspaper. It may just be a personal choice, but they both have a tendency to mat down too much causing unwanted mildew and rotting. Plus with the leaves, you’re just not sure what disease you might be introducing into your garden. Once you have chosen your material for protection, you then have to decide how you want to physically protect the plant – with a wire circle, cones, tar paper cylinder or just simply piling it up. Again, it is your choice.

A simple method is to take newspaper and form a cylinder to put around the pruned rose bush. You can then fill it with your protection material. The paper holds well and will start to break down by Spring. Wire mesh around each plant is a good way to hold growers mix, mushroom compost, mulch or soil in place over the bush. Several people use mulch and then top it with a Styrofoam cone. Others just pile hardwood mulch on top and let it go at that.

Which method works best? Each person has his or her own decision. I have tried several and it is hard to compare because each Winter has been different for us followed by an unpredictable Spring – go figure. One year I used cones, but I had to cut a lot of the canes back considerably. Then I had to get a brick that would hold it in place. Too much work for me. Another year I used the tar paper cylinder method. With this approach you take a roll of roofing felt (tar paper to me), cut a piece long enough to wrap around your plant. Then cut it length-wise in half to make it the proper height and staple it to make a cylinder. After that I put a scoop of mushroom compost (great organic) over the bud union and filled it almost full with hardwood mulch. The garden looked like it had small smokestacks but it seemed to work.

Currently, I take the lazy approach. After doing a thorough cleaning and Pentathlon spraying of the bed, I will cover the rose to at least a foot and a half height with shredded hardwood mulch. This will provide solid winter protection and the mulch will then be used in my bed in the Spring and Summer. Once that is complete, I will water the mulch to help compact it and to provide moisture to the plant. I had good results in years past with this approach. Some years, I will put a couple of handfuls of mushroom compost around the bud union before covering the rose with the mulch. This will break down over the winter and add organics and “liven” the soil.

NOTE: Lighter colors – whites, pinks, yellows – are typically more winter tender so give them extra protection.

Fall is also a good time to have your soil tested. It only takes a few days to get the results and you can begin to correct any deficiencies in your soil. Many rosarians like to put a cup of dolomitic lime around each bush when they winterize. This helps raise the pH that may have been lowered by a summer of fertilizing.  If you need to lower the pH, use soil sulfur. Do it now so you can be ready for Spring.

A couple of last reminders. Roses love water – we all know that (or at least by now we should). This is true when they are dormant. They don’t need as much but if we have a dry winter you should get out and water them once a month.  

Also, don’t uncover too early in the Spring. Anxious rosarians many times end up setting their plants back or even killing them by pulling the mulch back too early in the Spring. Just be patient – I know it’s difficult but be strong.

I am just about out of space so in a nutshell here’s what to do with the following: 

• Miniatures – Cut, clean and cover. They are more winter hardy because they are on their own roots.
• Potted teas and minis – Bring them in the garage, basement or protected area to keep the roots from freezing. You might round them up and mound mulch around them. Not the most attractive but it works.
• Climbers – Don’t prune, do clean and tie the long canes to keep them from breaking in the wind.
• Old Garden Roses – Ask an OGR expert – I only have two and quite honestly, I don’t know the best approach so I don’t want to lead you astray.

If you have a question, drop me a line. Also, start ordering your roses for the Spring before they are sold out of the popular varieties.