Roses in zones 5b and under need winter protection of some sort. Here are pointers
to consider depending on where you live and what roses you are growing!

Late October to mid November is the time to put your roses to bed in zones 5b and under.
The aim is not too soon nor too late but just at the right time.
This is a time that most rose growers detest -- winterizing the roses. It's not enough for us
to have to acknowledge that there will be no more blooms until spring but the actual job of
putting our babies to bed is not an easy one especially if you've a great number of them
and if you live in a cold climate!
Here are some guidelines to help you understand why it's needed and to get your through
the process; hopefully making it somewhat easier to swallow.

For a rose to survive winters not only does buying a hardy variety come into play but the
process of acclimation and de-acclimation is crucial!

"What da heck" you say is that?? Well stay tuned and you'll find out....

One year you plant a hardy rose that is said to survive to zone 4 (you're zone 5b-
warmer) and the next spring you've had massive cane damage and you're left wondering
"why?”

In order for hardy plants to get through winter successfully they must go through a period
of acclimation (fall) and then de-acclimation (spring). This process allows the plant to
undergo certain chemical and physiological changes.
Plants that have the ability to do this have obtained it from their adaptation of their cold
environment over millennia. Yes, Evolution plays a very important part in this scheme of
things. So either a rose has super-cooled genes or it doesn't. This explains why some
roses are hardier than others.

Acclimation occurs in late fall as the plant responds to the shorter day length (less & less
sunlight) along with colder temperatures. If the days continue to get shorter as they do
and the temperatures continue to get colder by early winter the plants have shed enough
water from their cells so that they can withstand freezing temperatures without perishing.
Some call this "super-cooling".


What then happens if you have fall into early winter when the temperatures don't
continually get colder but stay relatively warm then all at once dive to well below freezing
OR Winter arrives early before the plants have had sufficient time to acclimate??


The answer is that you get winterkill. Whatever part of the plant that has not sufficiently
shed water from its cells has died. It's quite simple; too much water in a cell and when it
freezes it expands and the cell wall burst.


In spring the plants will begin to de-acclimate triggered by the day length getting longer
and the temperatures steadily rising. This means their cells will slowly begin to
accumulate water until they are back to full functionality.


So what do you think happens when you've had a very warm early spring (January frost)
but then winter decides it's not over yet and temperatures dive again to below freezing??


Winterkill also. If this happens early in the de-acclimation process the plants still have the
capability acclimate but if it happens late in the process, the plant can get to a point of no
return.
Something similar to this can happen if you leave your rose cone on without propping it
up in warm days of early spring. It gets warm enough in there to fool the rose into thinking
its spring and it de-clematises and breaks dormancy. When a really cold spell descends
it's past the point of no return and the plant dies.

So you see Mother Nature will have the last say every time and we humans just have to
acknowledge and accept it

Do's for all Roses in General
To any one who has ever read any of my articles you have probably read this before but
it simply has to be acknowledged; " A hardy rose has to be a healthy rose!" Don't expect
to ignore your roses and then have them come through winter with out dying or at the
least having lots of winter damage. Hardy roses are no exception to this rule.


·             If plants go into winter weaken from lack of water or nutrition, ravaged by insects
or disease that have gone unchecked then you can count on casualties. It's a little too
late now to do much except make sure they are watered well before winters complete
freeze-up. If insect has damaged them and/or disease attacks then spray them with lime
sulfur/dormant oil before the temperatures go below 10dgrees nighttime temperature.
You can read more about this procedure on our disease and insect pages of our website.
This will help kill and suffocate over wintering eggs and spores.

·             Clean up all fallen rose leaves and debris from the rose bed. This too will harbor
disease and insects. (This is especially important if you've had a disease or insect
problem)

·             Prune off any damaged or diseased canes back to healthy wood. Dab a bit of
wood glue on the wound to prevent cane borers from entering. With this exception,
pruning is best done in the spring for cold climates. Nature can do her own pruning and
we get what's left!

·             If it is common to have high winds or lots of snow in your area, it's a good
practice to tie the canes together so that they will not tear off with the weight of the snow
or ice.

·             If you have made a well or dug around the base of each rose to hold water then
this must be removed as it will continue to hold water that will turn to ice and can certainly
do damage to the crown of the rose. Bark splitting and even death of the plant can occur
if water freezes and thaws here over the winter. While you’re at it, mound up the soil over
the plant base so that the water will run away from it.

·             Hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas are not very hardy in zone below 7. In
order for them to have a fighting chance of surviving their bud union or graft needs to be
atleast four inches below the level ground surface. This graft is very tender and the whole
rose can perish if it is damaged by freezing and thawing during winter. Cut back the
canes to around a foot tall.(these will most likely die back anyway in colder zones)and
mound them up as high as you can with earth. Once this is done, add enough leaves to
each bed to reach the tops of the cut-off canes. The leaves insulate the roses from
temperature fluctuations that are so hard on them. To keep those leaves from blowing
away,you can put down a layer of evergreen boughs.

·             This is an excellent time to apply Kelp Meal fertilizer. (September is best but up
until early Nov. will do) This is a high potassium, natural fertilizer. One job that potassium
does for plants is that it builds up the plant in times of stress. If winter isn't a stressful time
tell me what isn't!! This is also a good time for compost to be added. Leave the manures
for the spring. (You don't want all that good nitrogen leaching away with the melting snow.)


·         If you're unsure how hardy your rose is or if you've just planted it then by all means
mound it up as high as you can with earth, not mulch. Earth insulates much better!

·         So if unsure- mound it up anyway!
Getting your Roses
Ready for Winter