If rose gardeners take the right protective measures, winter loses its horror for the queen of flowers. Crown, trunk, grafting point and roots benefit from a warming winter coat so that frost and snow do not cause damage. A proven basic principle with the help of fleece, bark mulch & Co. sets the course. The specific procedure takes into account the respective type of rose. This guide explains in detail and comprehensibly when and how you can skilfully winterize roses.
Why is winter protection recommended?
Many rose varieties with a limited winter hardiness pay for their lavish blossoms. Blazing winter sun, freezing frost and drought stress put the resilience of roses to the test. This makes things even more difficult when a repeated change from frosty and mild temperatures tears at the plant tissue. Rose bushes should not be exposed to these strains without protection. It is important to winterize the shoot base and refinement point at the right time. For this purpose, prudent rose gardeners have a wide range of suitable materials at their disposal, tailored to the type of rose in question.
Preparations begin in summer
As a prologue for the competent winter protection of roses, the care program will already be modified in summer. In order for young shoots to harden in time, the right nutrient supply is important. At the end of the season, nitrogen is unfavorable as the engine of growth. From August onwards, fresh shoots have nothing to counteract the first frosts and freeze back. At these damaged areas, pathogens, rot and mold have easy play, so that the affected rose is doomed. How to properly prepare roses for the upcoming winter:
- From July onwards, stop using nitrogen-rich rose fertilizers
- Instead, fertilize with patent potash at the end of August
- Alternatively, shower the root slices over the root slices in July and August with high-potassium comfrey manure
One of the special properties of potassium is that the main nutrient strengthens the cell walls in plant tissue. This is of particular advantage when a permanent temperature change in combination with sunshine tears at the tissue cells in winter. Furthermore, potassium is able to lower the freezing point in cell water.
Tip: The starting signal for perfect winter protection for your roses is given on the day of planting. Put the young shrubs so deep that the grafting point is at least five centimeters below the ground. The neuralgic point can be seen as a slight thickening in the transition from roots to crown shoots.
The ideal time is in November
North of the Alps, the time window for winter protection on roses opens at the beginning of November. As long as the golden October sun warms the bed and balcony, hasty measures run the risk of causing heat to build up. Only when the temperatures drop permanently below the 10-degree mark and move towards freezing point is the ideal time to winterize roses.
Pile bed, shrub and hybrid tea roses
Piling up the shoots plays a key role in the winter protection of roses. The frost-sensitive area of the grafting point and branch base receives a natural bulwark against frost and moisture. How to do it right:
- Cover the shoot base of rose bushes 15 to 20 cm high with soil
- Ideally, pile up with a mix of compost and topsoil
- Alternatively, lay out a coconut mat on a lower layer of autumn leaves or straw
- Cover branches protruding from a mound with needles
The supplementary cover with pin twigs fulfills two tasks. Mainly tightly needled branches slow down the icy east wind and prevent frost cracks as a result of the
Exposure to sunlight. In addition, fir fronds give the unsightly mounds of earth a decorative touch.Note: Bark mulch is unsuitable for piling roses in the bed. First and foremost, the shredded bark of conifers gives off an excess of tannic acid, which the noble ornamental trees do not like. In addition, removing the decomposing bark mulch in the spring is proving to be a difficult undertaking.
Fleece hood shields the crown
Winter protection of head-high bush and hybrid tea roses requires more extensive measures. Piling up the base of the shrub and coniferous cover is not sufficient because the crown is not or only partially included. The specialist trade offers breathable fleece hoods for this purpose. Put the hood loosely over all the rose shoots and pull the open end together with cords above the piled earth. Alternatively, wrap all branches with jute ribbons or a comparable, weatherproof and breathable fabric. Foil is not suitable as crown protection for roses. Condensation forms under the watertight and airtight material within a short time, which inevitably triggers putrefaction.
Make tall trunks winterproof
In the imaginative design of the bed and balcony, opulent roses shine, their picturesque crown perched on a trunk as a sturdy base. The sensitive finishing point is at the base of the crown, which requires an alternative strategy for experienced winter protection. In addition, the trunk bark is subject to the risk of tension cracks if warm rays of the sun suddenly hit it on cold days. With a combination of crown and trunk protection, you can arm your rose trunk against the rigors of winter. That is how it goes:
- Put the fleece hood over the crown
- Tie together on the trunk below the finishing point
- Wrap the trunk with jute or fleece tapes
In winter regions, we recommend protecting the wrapped trunk with mats made of reed or coconut.
Tip: Please do the last rose pruning of the season several weeks before the first frost. Rose bushes cut shortly before the onset of winter are massively threatened by frost damage or even total failure. If in doubt, postpone pruning to the coming spring. The best time for the main pruning is during the forsythia bloom.
Special case of climbing roses
Attempting to equip climbing roses with a hood is doomed to failure. Nevertheless, the long tendrils of climbers and ramblers should not go through the winter without protection. Resourceful rose gardeners use the following options to guide roses on the trellis through the cold season without damage:
- At the beginning, pile up the bush base 20 cm high and cover with fir fronds
- Hang twigs of needles in the climbing rose to break the icy wind
- Either set up winter protection mats made of coconut, reeds, straw or heather
There is no need to worry if a few tendrils do not survive the winter. Roses are all well tolerated by pruning. Wait for this year's budding to see frozen parts of the wood. In April or May you cut the damaged climbing rose back into the healthy wood as part of the annual pruning. As long as the grafting point survives the winter healthy, a rose sprouts powerfully again.
Winter coat for buckets and boxes
In the planters, the root ball of a rose is in an exposed position and is vulnerable to severe frost. A thick winter coat and warm feet ensure that the roots do not freeze to death. How to make roses winterproof in a tub and box:
- Buckets and boxes move into a sheltered wall niche
- Slip a block of wood, styrofoam or plant roller underneath
- Cover the vessel with bubble wrap, jute, fleece or coconut mats
- Important: Leave floor openings free to protect against waterlogging
- Crown protect with a hood made of fleece
- Cover the substrate with straw, coconut discs or compost soil
Resourceful balcony gardeners put buckets and boxes in a larger vessel or a jute sack and stuff the cavities with bark mulch.
Any winter protection comes to nothing when roses wither in the pot and box. The earth dries out quickly in winter, especially in protected planters. On mild days, please check the moisture content of the soil with a thumb test in order to water moderately when it is dry.
Remove winter protection precisely
A look at the calendar gives only limited information when you should remove the winter protection from your roses. After all, the right time has to be chosen carefully. An early appointment will deliver the noble flowering bushes helplessly to late frosts in the worst case. Winter protection that is removed too late carries the risk of rot and mold growth. The decisive clue for the ideal time comes from nature. When the forsythia bloom, winter protection on roses has done its duty.
No winter protection for wild roses and ground cover roses
You can remove protective measures for the winter time from the maintenance program if wild and ground cover roses adorn your garden. Both types of roses thrive without roots and without a sensitive grafting point. In connection with a pronounced vigor and reliable winter hardiness, these rose shapes fearlessly offer the floral forehead of the cold season.