How to prepare roses for winter: autumn flower care. Caring for roses and perennials in the fall, preparing for winter Feeding and pruning roses in the fall
The end of summer does not at all mean the end of gardening work. Caring for roses in the fall does not become easier, but on the contrary, it even becomes somewhat more complicated. The main task during this period is to prepare flowers for winter. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to carry out a number of activities: fertilizing, clearing debris, pruning and covering plants.
Today there are many varieties of roses. They have a specific “appearance” and develop in a special way, but all the processes that occur in the fall are similar for them.
Therefore, you can properly care for plants only by knowing all the “autumn” processes in the life of flowers:
- Slowing stem growth and bud development. In the case of a warm autumn, these processes may continue. However, this fact does not indicate that the process of preparing for the cold season should be postponed. It also makes no sense to carry out intensive fertilizing in the hope of a rich flower harvest. The crop received all the necessary minerals, as well as proper care, in the spring and summer.
- Beginning of lignification of the stem. The newly formed bark will be able to protect the shoots from the cold;
- Fixing the root of the bush in the soil and accumulating useful substances for storage until spring. It is for this reason that replanting a rose in the fall will give positive results.
- Slowing down metabolic processes in the plant body.
That is, nature itself prepares roses for winter. However, this is often not enough. Since the plant loves warmth very much, gardeners need to take care of covering their favorites for the cold season. 
It is most convenient to divide all activities for preparing roses for winter monthly. But it makes no sense to adhere to exact deadlines, much less dates. After all, the division itself is quite arbitrary.
For example, in the northern territories, cold weather begins earlier, so some types of preparatory work are delayed by almost a month. Therefore, the most reliable option is to navigate the weather and climatic conditions of the region. In general, caring for roses in September includes weeding, painting the trunks and drying out the rose garden.
Video “Preparing for winter”
From this video you will learn how to prepare roses for winter.
Do some weeding
When preparing crops for winter, you should pay special attention to the soil. The soil must be clean. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate all weeds and annuals growing near the bushes. The lower leaves of plants should be removed at a distance of 0.15 - 0.2 meters. This procedure will greatly simplify future hilling. 
Color the stems
Autumn care involves such an interesting procedure as painting rose trunks. This procedure will prevent the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into microcracks in the bark. What to paint with? You can buy garden paint or dilute the “water-based emulsion” with copper chloride. The trunk needs to be painted, starting from the bottom and ending at the hilling level (approximately 0.3 meters). You can safely cover the bushes with paint if you find any violations of the integrity of the bark. After complete drying, the plants need to be earthed up. 
If flowering has not stopped, you need to remove all wilted and small buds that will not have time to bloom before the cold weather begins.
Dry the rose garden
Excessive moisture in the rose garden will not allow the crop to survive the winter in optimal conditions. What to do? The answer is simple - dry it. The procedure is especially important in damp autumn conditions. To “dry” it is necessary to install high arcs over the bushes, which are usually used in greenhouses. Then stretch the film over them, thus creating a roof. If tall plants cannot reach the shelter, they can be slightly bent to the ground.
Ready for cold weather
It is necessary to carefully examine all individuals from different angles. If young shoots do not appear, and the shoots successfully become woody, the crop is prepared correctly. Otherwise, you need to correct the situation as soon as possible by taking all necessary measures.
How to feed
In September, the last feeding before the onset of cold weather is carried out. The soil is fertilized with phosphorus and potassium. It is these chemical elements that make individuals resistant to diseases, stimulate the flowering of crops and the maturation of wood in young plants. 
There is also a specific feeding option. Banana peels are buried in the ground under the bushes. It contains a lot of potassium that is beneficial for plants.
But manure cannot be used as fertilizer. After all, this organic matter is considered summer feeding. A rosette, fed with manure in the fall, produces many young stems that only interfere with the crop.
Proper care in October
In October, work on preparing the royal flowers continues. Pruning should begin when the air temperature stops at 5°-7°.
Trimming
Autumn pruning is an important procedure that simplifies the procedure of covering bushes. First of all, you need to shorten tall individuals. Typically, the tallest are representatives of tea and standard varieties. Otherwise, the two-meter beauties will simply die. After all, tall plants cannot be reliably protected from the cold. 
The bushes are pruned and fertilized with potash fertilizers. The height of individual bushes must be shortened by half. Usually these are the following varieties of culture: floribunda, hybrid tea, miniature, polyanthus. Plants with large flowers, as well as shrubs, need to be shortened by a third. Small-flowered individuals do not need to be pruned at all, just pinch the growing point. You can determine the best period for pruning by following the Lunar calendar. It is necessary to rid plants of excess plants during the waning moon.
Disease Prevention
To prevent crop diseases, you should do the following:
How to wrap it properly
Roses must be properly insulated for the winter. When carrying out the procedure, you need to be especially careful. Correct actions will provoke active spring growth and flowering of the crop, and will also help preserve the life of individuals. But an improperly organized shelter will simply destroy fragile beauties.
As practice shows, there is a lot of hassle with roses. However, the beauty and aroma of these beauties will convince you that all your efforts were not in vain. If you do all the activities for autumn flower care correctly, then all the efforts expended will return to you as a reward in the spring and summer. The royal pets will delight you with their healthy appearance.
Video “Feeding in autumn”
From the video you will learn how to feed roses in the fall.
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The queen of the garden - the rose - delights with luxurious blooms when she feels love and care. Proper care of roses in the fall is necessary to ensure the survival of the bush in frost; they will go into winter healthy and strong, and in the spring they will quickly wake up and bloom. Strong, healthy shoots will be crowned with bright, large buds. All summer long the garden will delight the eye. At the same time, you need to take care of other perennials and create a beautiful and stylish park landscape near your house.
Preparing roses for winter begins in August
Autumn flower preparation begins in August when the garden pleases with bright colors and ripening fruits. It is necessary to slow down the growth of young shoots, prepare branches and roots for winter rest. Feeding roses in the fall is aimed at maturing branches and roots. Nitrogen, nitrate and manure are excluded, they activate growth. Phosphorus and potassium are used. They strengthen plants and increase resistance to cold and disease.
In August you should start caring for flowers. Clear the bottom of the bushes from leaves, opening the ground under the bush within a radius of 15-20 cm, depending on the variety and size of roses. Remove all grass. Flush the soil shallowly. Under each bush, scatter about 5 grams of phosphorus and 3 grams of potassium into loose soil. Can be used granular complex fertilizer. It promotes:
- woodiness of shoots;
- stops the growth of new roots;
- makes existing ones stronger.
Young shoots do not have time to ripen and freeze first. The rose is weakening and may not survive the cold.
In September, watering stops and the soil under the bushes is fluffed up. The garden is getting ready for winter. How to feed roses in the fall and protect them from diseases? Feeding with superphosphate is carried out. Fertilizers for roses in the fall are those that strengthen the plants. When the temperature drops below 10 degrees, young shoots are removed. They do not have time to mature and become stiff. Earlier pruning in warm weather will provoke the appearance of new shoots. Faded buds and young, emerging inflorescences should be cut off. They won't have time to open up.
The trunks are whitened with special paint, like the entire garden. The finished composition is sold in the store. You can independently prepare a mixture of water-based paint and copper chloride. The composition is applied with a brush and rubbed well into all pores and wounds of the trunk. It is whitened from the ground to a height of 30 cm. After the paint has dried, the rose is sprinkled with peat.
Excess moisture prevents the garden from getting ready to relax. It often rains in autumn. Between the bushes you can put the film, tilting it to allow water to drain, or put arches and cover the roses from excess moisture, dig grooves.
The next stage of preparing roses for winter begins with air temperatures below 7 degrees. Branches are being pruned. The bush is shortened by 30-40% of its height. The exception is small-flowered varieties. It is enough for them to remove the places where the inflorescences grow - the ends of the branches by 5-10 cm. Tall varieties are pruned by one and a half to two meters.
All leaves should be removed, collect the fallen ones and spray the bush with Bordeaux mixture, dissolving 10 grams in a bucket of water or insecticide according to the instructions on the package. Before sheltering, in October, apply potassium fertilizers for roses in the fall. They will help the plant wake up faster in the spring, get stronger and become covered with flowers.
Sheltering roses for the winter
First of all, protect from frost bush roots. The rose will recover and bloom if at least one dormant bud remains. If the roots are damaged or weakened, the plant will disappear. When it warms up, the garden can wake up and begin to bud. The garden is adapted to changeable weather. Trees are protected from premature awakening; they respond to the length of daylight hours. Hybrid varieties of roses, as a result of long-term selection, have lost their natural caution. They must be protected from temperature changes, severe frost and dampness.
Even in one region, the air temperature differs, and cold weather arrives at different times. Therefore, you need to focus on the weather. Gardeners distinguish 2 ways to cover roses:
- air-dry;
- step by step.
The first method is not suitable if the garden is located in a lowland with high humidity or close groundwater. The second requires a long transition period from heat to cold. The short autumn will make care difficult.
Air-dry shelter
Treated with vitriol, cleared of dry leaves bushes bend to the ground. This must be done immediately, before the branches lose their flexibility. You don’t need to do full pruning, just remove inflorescences and young shoots. A layer of dry river sand or peat is poured around the trunk. With the arrival of frost, a frame approximately 50 cm high, covered with roofing felt, is installed. The ends of the structure remain open until frost below 8 degrees. With the arrival of stable cold weather, the frame is completely closed and protected with film.
The shelter must be strong enough to withstand bad weather and the weight of snow. The rose is at a constant temperature; in the spring it should be opened at the first warming. Remove the weight from the branches, lift them onto supports, and the rose will be able to develop normally.
Phased shelter
To remove excess moisture the garden is being dried out. Grooves are dug between the plants to drain rainwater. A rose treated with a composition that protects against diseases and pests is freed from young, non-woody shoots at the end of October. Sand is poured around the painted trunk. The branches remain open. They process nutrients in the light.
When the temperature drops below 4 degrees below zero, the bushes are cut to a height of 45 cm and covered with dry peat and leaves. Spruce branches are placed on top. Its needles will protect roses from rodents, which winter drives into a warm shelter.
Features of shelter for climbing roses
Caring for climbing roses in autumn similar to garden varieties. Feeding with phosphorus and potassium, preparation for cold weather, protection from pests. The climbing rose is removed from the support and freed from the leaves. No pruning is performed. Only the inflorescences and unopened buds are removed.
In a climbing rose, the trunk is painted to a height of 50 cm along with the base of the branches. After this, the branches are bent to the ground, pressed down with a load. Before the onset of frost, they must get used to this situation. When the temperature drops below zero, agrofibre is laid on top of the climbing rose in several layers. You can use roofing felt, but only if the winter is smooth, without thaws. Otherwise, you need to open the cover of the roses to ventilate the lashes.
Park roses
Park and standard roses have thick, rigid trunks. It is impossible to bend them down without damaging them. Therefore, preparation in September and October is similar to other types of roses. Shelter and care for park roses is carried out using insulation.
The bush is pruned to a height of 1-2 meters. Autumn feeding is carried out. When the garden is bare, peat is poured around the rose. Then the foliage is removed. Branches and soil are treated with insecticides. The trunk is whitened. With the onset of frost, tall bushes are wrapped in agrofibre. This must be done in the northern regions. Winter with slight frosts in the southern regions is well tolerated by park roses. It is enough to insulate the root and dry the soil around it.
Autumn transplant of roses
Regardless of whether roses are transplanted in autumn or spring, site preparation is carried out when winter is approaching. The hole should be 15 cm wider and deeper than the roots. To the excavated soil add half of its volume:
- sand;
- peat;
- humus.
The composition is mixed with granular potassium fertilizer. It is better to plant and fertilize in the fall.
The earth is poured into a hole in the center, forming a mound. The root is placed on it, when the height of the soil ensures that the grafting site is located 3-5 cm below the ground level, the root is laid along the slopes of the cone and sprinkled with the remaining mixture. The earth around the trunk is trampled down. Then the rose is slightly lifted so that the roots straighten out, and it is filled with a bucket of water.
Caring for other perennials
It's not just roses that decorate the garden. Looks great in the front garden Perennials that bloom at different times:
- tulip;
- iris;
- peony;
- lily;
- phlox;
- narcissus.
All of them do not tolerate glaciation and harsh winters well. Therefore, in the northern regions, these flowers require special autumn care.
Peonies
The first frosts serve as a signal that winter is coming and the time has come prepare the peony. This should be done around the second half of October for the Moscow region and the middle zone. All stems are cut to a height of 3 cm from the buds. Peat is poured on top, or humus can be used. The thickness of the layer is determined by winter in a given region. In the north up to 20 cm, in the middle zone 10 cm is enough, in the south 5-7 cm.
If frosts reach 30 degrees and below, then it is advisable to cover the peonies on top with cardboard boxes and spruce branches.
Irises
Caring for irises in autumn depends on the type of flowers. For northern regions, border and low-growing iris are suitable. It is resistant to cold weather. Mild winters are not a problem for most varieties. They can be planted in the southern regions when you expect to dig them up for propagation once every 5-7 years.
Autumn care includes fertilizing in August. Bulbs should be dug up after the leaves have completely turned yellow and are no longer growing. After this, the tubers are dried, covered with sawdust and stored in a basement or other cool, dry place.
Phloxes
Proper care of phlox in autumn, preparation for winter guarantees lush flowering and bright colors of flowers. Phlox will decorate any garden and flower bed under the windows. When the cold weather begins, fertilizer is no longer applied to the flowers for growth. The stems are cut short, leaving less than 10 cm. For the Moscow region, this is approximately mid-October.
The remaining stems and soil around the phlox are treated to protect them from pests and diseases. After about a week, 5 grams of superphosphate and 10 grams of ash are poured under each bush. The roots are mulched.
Lilies
Lily is afraid of moisture stronger than frost. Therefore, in the lowlands it is better for her to make high beds. In the northern regions, where winters are snowy, most varieties are content with natural shelter. It is better to dig up eastern species.
2 weeks after flowering is completed, the stems are cut to half their height. With the arrival of cold weather, the tubers are dug up, washed with running water, treated with fungicides and stored in sawdust. The frost-resistant lily remains in the garden bed, covered with a layer of leaves and peat up to 5 cm thick.
When summer comes to an end, a busy time begins for flower growers. This is especially true for connoisseurs of the most beautiful flowers in the world - roses. In order for these graceful beauties to delight you with their blooms next year, you need to care for your roses in the fall. Preparing for winter is a complex process, and experienced gardeners know very well that roses need feeding, pruning, and covering the plant.
We will talk about this in detail and hope that the information received will be useful to those who have just started growing these magnificent plants on their site.
What happens to roses in autumn?
Today, a huge number of varieties of roses have been bred. They differ in appearance and have developmental features, but the processes occurring in them in the autumn are similar. Therefore, it is important to understand what care is required for roses in the fall. Preparation for winter is based on the processes that occur in the life of flowers during this period:
- Stem growth and bud development slow down. If the autumn is warm, these processes may continue. But this does not mean that preparation for winter can be postponed. It is also not worthwhile to intensively apply autumn fertilizers for roses during this period in the hope of active flowering. With proper care, the crop received all the necessary nutrients in summer and spring.
- The stem begins to become woody. The new bark can protect the shoots from the cold.
- The root of the bush is fixed in the soil and accumulates useful substances for storage until spring. Therefore, transplanting roses in the fall, as a rule, gives positive results.
- Metabolic processes in the plant slow down.
Nature itself begins to prepare roses for winter. But usually this is not enough: these plants are heat-loving, and gardeners should take care of their shelter for the winter. Activities aimed at preparing roses for winter are best divided into several stages, which are carried out monthly. In this matter there cannot be exact terms, much less dates, since such a division is quite arbitrary. For example, in the northern regions, cold weather begins early, for this reason some types of preparatory activities are delayed by almost a month. It is more advisable to focus on the weather and climatic conditions of the region.
Caring for roses in September
During this period, the trunks are painted, weeded, and the rose garden is dried. When preparing roses for winter, pay attention to the condition of the soil. It must be completely clean. Therefore, you should get rid of all weeds and annuals that grow near the bushes. Remove the lower leaves to a height of about twenty centimeters. This will greatly simplify hilling.
In September, we recommend painting the trunks of roses. Thanks to this procedure, pathogens will not harm the plant. To do this, you can use special garden paint or water-based emulsion diluted with copper chloride. You need to start painting from the bottom and finish at the hilling level (about thirty centimeters). Feel free to paint the trunks if you find any damage to the integrity of the bark. When the trunk dries, the bush needs to be spudded.
If flowering has not stopped in September, remove small and wilted buds, which still will not bloom before the onset of cold weather.
Drying the rosary
A rose garden that is too wet will not allow the crop to survive the winter safely. Therefore, it is necessary to dry it. This procedure is especially important in wet autumn. To do this, install arcs over the bushes, which are usually used in greenhouses. Then stretch the film over them, creating a kind of roof. If the plants are too tall, they can be bent slightly to the ground.
We continue preparations in October
So, in October, the preparation of the royal flowers for winter continues. Pruning in the fall is very important for roses because it makes it easier to cover the plants. First of all, tall bushes (standard and tea varieties) should be shortened. Otherwise, the two-meter beauties will die. The bushes are pruned and potassium fertilizers are applied to them. The height of the bushes should be halved. Plants with large flowers are shortened by a third. Small-flowered plants are not pruned at all. For them, pinching the growth point is enough.
Many gardeners choose the time for pruning according to the Lunar calendar. Plants are pruned during the waning moon.
Disease Prevention
In October, it is necessary to take care to prevent diseases of roses. To do this, the following procedures are required:
A correctly carried out sheltering procedure stimulates active growth and flowering of the crop in the spring, and also helps to keep the plant alive. But an ill-organized shelter can destroy these fragile and delicate beauties. This procedure consists of several stages:
- Cleaning leaves. All leaves are removed from the plant. This guarantees plant protection from fungal diseases. Digging up the soil For this purpose, you need to use a pitchfork: this way you do not injure the roots of the plants. If the plant has long shoots, they need to be dug up on one side.
- Hilling. Dry materials are suitable for this: loose soil, peat, sand. Having poured earth under the root, it is necessary to create a mound about twenty centimeters high. This procedure will protect the kidneys from death even in severe frosts.
Shelter of Roses
All shoots should be collected and spread on the ground. After this, they need to be covered with a layer of at least ten centimeters. You can use thicker insulation, it is important that it does not harm the plant, which may suffocate or break. The covering material can be spruce branches, dry grass, burlap, brushwood. During the frosty winter, special shelters will be needed. It is necessary to build a frame around the bushes, which is insulated with polyethylene or cardboard. In November, roses are insulated with snow. Bushes covered in this way, even very fragile ones, will survive the cold well.
Why fertilize in the fall?
Summer requires a huge consumption of nutrients from the plant. When it is completed, the bushes need to restore the disturbed balance. Therefore, autumn fertilizer for roses is necessary - this is a mandatory event that must be planned in advance.
Experts recommend feeding bushes twice in the fall. The first is at the end of August or early September, when flowering ends. The second is at the very end of September or early October. With the onset of winter, the growth of rose bushes stops, but as soon as the temperature rises slightly above zero, which often happens in the middle zone and in the south, the plant “comes to life” and sap flow resumes. During frosts, the sap freezes, the bark expands and may crack. Pathogenic bacteria grow in cracks.
In addition to autumn pruning, garbage collection, and shelter from the cold, autumn care for beautiful roses also involves properly fertilizing.
When to apply autumn fertilizers for roses?
August is the month in which the last autumn fertilizers for roses are applied before the onset of cold weather. The soil is fertilized with phosphorus. In addition, potassium fertilizers are applied. In autumn, these chemical elements make plants more resistant to diseases, stimulate the maturation of wood in young plants and flowering of the crop.
Still under the roses? Some gardeners use a rather specific type of fertilizing. They bury banana skins in the soil under the bushes, which contain a lot of potassium, which is very useful for these plants.
And manure should not be used as fertilizer. This organic matter is summer feeding. A rose fed with manure in the fall produces young stems that only interfere with the crop.
The second feeding is carried out at the end of September. For climbing species and bushes, the best fertilizer for roses in the fall will be:
- potassium (potassium magnesium, potassium sulfate, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride);
- phosphorus (double superphosphate and simple superphosphate);
- calcium (wood ash, chalk, dolomite flour).
At the end of September, it is necessary to use potassium autumn fertilizers for roses. To do this, you need to prepare a special solution: fifteen grams of potassium superphosphate and sixteen grams of potassium monophosphate are diluted in ten liters of water.
You can prepare phosphate fertilizers for roses in the fall in the following proportion: 10 liters of water + 10 grams of magnesium sulfate. Or you need to dissolve superphosphate (50 grams) in a liter of hot water. Dissolve the resulting infusion in ten liters of water and spray the plant.
Calcium supplementation is obtained by dissolving a tablespoon of calcium nitrate in ten liters of water. In October, it is necessary to add organic fertilizers to the soil, for example, rotted compost. Feeding is stopped in November so as not to provoke rapid growth of shoots.
Features of autumn feeding
- In the fall, it is better to replace it with granular ones, for example, “Osennee”. Such fertilizing is not immediately, but gradually absorbed, providing nutrition and protection to the plant even under a layer of snow.
- Root feeding can be successfully replaced with foliar feeding, for example, spraying. In this case, the concentration of the starting substances is reduced by three times.
- Autumn fertilizers for roses are best used in dry form during the rainy season. This will protect the soil from rotting.
Many gardeners do not deny that roses cause a lot of trouble. But the amazing beauty and wonderful aroma of these beauties in the summer will convince you that your efforts were not in vain. If you carry out autumn rose care activities correctly, then in spring and summer your garden will be decorated with healthy and strong flowers.
The rose is a luxurious decoration for any garden or summer cottage, it was so, it will always be so, it is not for nothing that it is called the queen of flowers. How to preserve roses in the garden in winter, what to cover them with so that they continue to delight us with the onset of the new season? Let's consider ways to protect roses from frost, all stages of preparing them for winter.
What to cover, photo:
This is a rather delicate and whimsical crop; if the bushes are not covered for the winter, the likelihood that they will die is very high. If the preparation of roses for winter was carried out incorrectly, the plant was poorly insulated, the chances of freezing increase. When starting the process, you need to take into account the type of flower and its frost resistance. The most “freezing” groups are tea, hybrid species, and some climbing varieties. A number of Floribunda varieties, low-growing varieties, are more “hardened” and can withstand harsh climates in winter. But among the park representatives you can find real “walruses” who can spend the winter without shelter.
Autumn pruning of roses and shelter for the winter is perhaps one of the most important procedures, ensuring harmonious development and abundant flowering with the arrival of the new season. Densely planted bushes can withstand cold weather more easily; it is more convenient to cover them all at once with one cloth. It is somewhat more difficult to wrap erect tall representatives, and climbing ones too, but in any case the work will be justified.
Shelter of a climbing bush, photo:
This is how you can cover the climbing beauty for the winter What kind of work does preparing roses for winter include?
It’s worth thinking about this process in the summer, or rather, at the end of summer, when vigilant gardeners stop feeding the bushes with nitrogen fertilizers. Small amounts of potassium supplements will not hurt with the arrival of autumn; they will help the plant strengthen its branches and trunk before the upcoming cold weather. By this time, you should also stop loosening the soil near the tree trunk, so as not to provoke a new round of shoot growth.
Preparing rose bushes for winter involves pruning them. This will be discussed in more detail below. You should remove everything unnecessary from under the bushes: garbage, fallen leaves, remnants of grass. Cleaning is done not only to maintain cleanliness, but also to ensure that plant debris does not become a haven for harmful fungi. After this, it is recommended to spray the plants with a 1% solution of Bordeaux mixture or ferrous sulfate diluted with water (3%).
Preparing roses for winter also involves hilling them - this procedure improves the aeration of the root system. Even a small 20-30 cm mound will protect the roots from the cold and help the soil retain air better.
A mound of earth at the roots - in the south this is often enough to prevent the bushes from freezing You should think about covering the bushes already in October, towards the end of the month - when the first frosts make themselves known in your region. How to properly cover roses for the winter? It will be better if by this time the air temperature becomes relatively stable, approximately -5°C. The plant will experience a kind of “hardening”; at higher temperatures it is not worth insulating roses, since additional heat can provoke shoot growth. Moreover, earlier shelter is fraught with rotting of the root system, again, due to lack of air. To insulate the bushes, choose a dry, frosty day; the soil should not be wet (this is important!) to avoid the activation of fungi.
What is the best covering material for roses for the winter? The choice here is quite wide: thick polyethylene film, spunbond, geotextiles, lutrasil, dry leaves, burlap, cardboard, plywood, spruce branches. The variety and characteristics of the type of roses determine the method of shelter. For some representatives, insulation from coniferous spruce branches is enough, while for others you will have to mount a hut from cardboard or boards with plywood. There are many ways to insulate, let's look at the most basic, “universal” options.
Shelter with spruce branches, photo:
Cover the baby with spruce branches How to cover roses to preserve them in winter?
Whatever the shelter material, you should always leave free air space between it and the plant. Damping off is no less dangerous than freezing, and with the onset of a thaw (if the cover is too dense), the plants run the risk of being frozen or getting wet.
Air-dry shelter
This method will provide the bushes with high-quality aeration, while the temperature under the shelter will remain at approximately the same level. You will have to mount a frame (canopy) over the plant; it can be made from plywood sheets or fragments of a board, and then cover the resulting structure with a special covering material or plastic film. Covering material for roses for the winter should be secured to the ground with something heavy (bricks, stones or metal brackets). Such a “house” must be very strong, because it will have to withstand the weight of the snow masses. Its dimensions, and especially its height, must exceed the dimensions of the bush. With the onset of spring, you will be able to fold the material on one side (or lift it from below), thereby ventilating the plant.
Insulation using spruce branches
Spruce branches (coniferous branches) are an excellent natural covering material for roses for the winter, which will cost you completely free. Around the beginning of November, you should stock up on spruce branches. After harvesting and pruning bushes, the ground around the tree trunk should be covered with coniferous branches. The shoots that remain after pruning must be carefully wrapped with a wide fabric rope. If the plant has long branches, then after tying them they should be carefully bent to the ground, as far as their flexibility allows (without the threat of breaking). Secure the branches with wide metal staples (bend pieces of thick wire like a hairpin), throw spruce branches on top. The main thing is not to forget to cover the ground with spruce branches in the place where the ground part of the bush will lie. This especially applies to climbing varieties.
Fixing the climbing variety, photo:
If you have doubts, you can additionally cover the flower with non-woven material directly on top of the spruce branches, securing the ends of the cover with heavy objects. In the spring you can lift them, thereby providing the bush with proper ventilation. How to prepare low-growing roses for winter? Such bushes should first be hilled up (you can use peat) and covered generously with the same spruce branches on top. After the snow falls, a snowdrift can be formed on top of the branches
Shelter of a small bush, photo:
Use of agrofibre, spunbond, geotextiles
This material is widely used in various fields related to plants. Covering bushes with it for the winter is an excellent solution, since it allows air to pass through well, at the same time protects from frost, and prevents condensation from accumulating during a thaw. How to use this covering material for roses for the winter? Again, it is better to make a frame: metal arcs or fragments of a chain-link mesh are suitable for creating a “canopy” over the bush. The ends of such a frame are securely fixed in the soil, the covering material is folded in half (this is an important point!) and the structure is covered. The edges of the covering are secured using the methods described above - using heavy objects or a long board (it will be convenient to lift it in the spring for ventilation).
Frame over a small bush, photo:
How to cover roses for the winter if they are small (for example, dwarf varieties)? For these purposes, you can use cardboard boxes as a frame, after making holes in them. Plastic vegetable containers or baskets that have become unusable can also be used quite successfully. Any of these structures can be covered with agrofibre on top and secured using the methods described above. To protect standard crops, you can use jute bags: cut off the bottom, put it on the plant, tie it from the bottom (where the crown begins), cover it with dry leaves or, better yet, spruce branches, tie it again, but at the top. The trunk can also be wrapped in burlap, and then re-wrapped in the resulting cocoon with lutrasil (for reliability).
Which roses do not need to be covered for the winter? Park crops have sufficient winter hardiness to do without protective covering in winter. In fact, some experts argue that the “park” classification does not exist as such, supposedly this is the definition of the most unpretentious varieties.
According to reviews on the relevant forums, these are: “Alba Mediland”, hybrid Rugosa, Spinosissima (prickly rose), winter-hardy varieties of Canadian and American roses, etc. The so-called winter hardiness scale of these flowers has three levels, which are determined by numbers: absolute winter hardiness (3- zone), winter hardiness (4th zone), average winter hardiness (4-5th zone). If you buy seedlings, there will definitely be an indicator number on the label.
Preparing roses for winter - pruning
This procedure is mandatory for most varieties. The exceptions are small-flowered climbing species, parks, groundcovers, as well as those representatives that produce color once a year. Formative spring pruning is recommended for all varieties, but at the moment we are talking specifically about the autumn procedure. Pruning roses in autumn is aimed at maintaining the vitality of the plant, strengthening it, and increasing frost resistance. Proper removal of old branches contributes to the formation of healthy, strong shoots, as well as the formation of new buds in the next season.
How to prune roses in autumn? Both old bushes and new young bushes should be subjected to this procedure. Unripe shoots, blossoming flowers, weak or diseased branches must be cut out. All of the listed plant parts, if not removed, can become a source of rot, fungi, and various diseases. After autumn pruning, 3 or 5 of the strongest healthy shoots should remain on the bush. All removed parts should be destroyed immediately. Old branches, stems that are already 3 years old, multiple lateral shoots, and shoots with dry bark must also be removed. Pruning is important before covering plants for the winter - a “trimmed” bush will be much more comfortable under an insulating structure.
How to properly prune roses in the fall? There are several rules that are best adhered to - for example, the cutting tool must be very sharp. A dull knife or pruning shears will leave a torn cut, injure the bark, and the damaged area can become a source of penetration of pathogenic microorganisms. Coarse old branches are best removed using a hacksaw with a new, sharp blade. The cut should be made above the bud (which has not yet had time to germinate), retreating about 1 cm from it. Pay attention to the presence of healthy white wood at the cut site; the cut itself should be made as if at an angle. The approximate time for pruning is the beginning of November; for this, choose a sunny, fine day.
Short crop, photo:
Before pruning roses for the winter, be sure to disinfect cutting tools (you can even use a solution of potassium permanganate). Lubricate the cut areas with garden varnish. And one more thing - we should not forget about “balance”; we should not get too carried away with circumcision. Ideally, the dimensions of the root system should correspond to the volumes of the remaining above-ground part after pruning! Otherwise, the plant’s nutritional system will be disrupted, it will get sick or even die. When starting the procedure, take into account the varietal characteristics, specificity, and speed of its growth. Thus, one of three types of pruning can be applied to each individual bush.
How to properly prune roses in the fall:
- Short pruning (strong) is recommended for varieties of multi-flowered polyanthus roses, miniature species, tea and hybrid representatives. Climbing ramblers should also be pruned short with the arrival of autumn. After the procedure, only the base of the bush with a couple of dormant buds remains, all shoots and branches are removed.
- Medium pruning (moderate) is aimed at activating the growth of fresh shoots with the arrival of spring. With this method of pruning, plant branches are shortened by 1.2 parts of their length. Weak stems are removed completely, and short shoots (about 30 cm) with four or five buds are left at the base of the bush. This procedure is suitable for many medium-sized varieties, hybrid teas, and also for Pernepian roses.
- Long pruning (weak) allows you to leave tall branches on the bushes, shortened by about two-thirds of the original length (only the upper segment is removed). Approximately 8-9 buds are left on each shoot. This pruning method is recommended for tall hybrid-tea species, antique English roses, individual species, and delicate Bengal representatives. This procedure promotes early flowering, but if it is carried out regularly, the roses begin to lose their shape, the buds become smaller, and the number of flowers decreases.
Do you need to prune climbing roses for the winter? Since this category of plants is a favorite of many summer gardeners, they are worth mentioning separately. Shortening the shoots of climbing varieties should be approached individually, taking into account the characteristics of their species subgroup.
They need to be pruned very carefully, moderately, choosing the longest branches. As for dry, weakened, diseased or damaged shoots, as well as remaining flowers or fruits, all of them must be radically removed. Please note that active shortening of branches in climbing representatives leads to the growth of multiple “empty” (non-flowering) shoots.
Now you will know how to prune roses correctly for the winter. To summarize, it is worth clarifying that in central Russia this procedure is best carried out around the 20th of November. If there haven't been any frosts yet, don't even think about pruning, because otherwise buds will begin to sprout on the bushes. When frost comes, then get down to business. Do not forget about removing young green stems that have not yet covered with bark. At the first frost they will die, and with the onset of warmth they will begin to rot, spreading bacteria and fungi in the insulating cocoon. Put on a rough gardening glove and be sure to remove all the foliage from the branches - this will make it easier for the bush to “breathe.”
It is not so important what kind of variety grows on your site. The specifics of preparing this crop for winter are the same for all types: clearing the soil of plant residues and debris, hilling (covering) the root collar, covering the ground around the tree trunk with foliage or spruce branches, laying the plant on the ground. You now know how to preserve roses in the garden in winter and how to cover them. Lapnik, lutrasil or spunbond, durable polyethylene will not allow this delicate crop to freeze when frost arrives. Sheltering and pruning roses for the winter is an important agrotechnical measure on which their health and beauty depend.
It wouldn’t hurt to watch the so-called visual aid - how to prune roses in the fall, video:
To make it easier to cover the rose, bend the branches and secure them with stones
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