Preparing Roses for Winter to Ensure a Strong Spring Return

Winterizing Roses in Simple Steps
Roses need just a bit of extra care when you are preparing your garden to winterize it. Depending on the climate in your area and the type of roses you are cultivating, how to winterize roses is different. The following are simple steps as explained in this article to prepare your roses against harsh winter weather and set them ready to bloom again in spring.
How to Winterize Roses
The quantity of care your roses need through winter depends on how cold your area is and the varieties of roses you have. Regardless of variety, all roses will withstand cold better if they’re well watered in fall when the soil freezes.
Prepping Roses for Winter in Southern Climates
If you reside in regions where winters are relatively mild but the soil still freezes (typically USDA Zones 6 and higher), use the following advice to provide additional protection for your roses:
Allow Plants to Acclimatize Naturally: Cease deadheading roses during early fall and allow hips (seedpods) to form. This informs the plant to slow growth and harden off. Reducing during warm days may trigger new growth that will be damaged by an early frost.
Mound Soil to Protect the Base: After the first frost, and when nighttime temperatures drop into the 20s (°F), mound soil over the base to mulch young or grafted roses. For grafted roses, mulch the bud union (where grafting occurred) and the lower 12 inches of the plant. Mulch or cover with dry, shredded leaves with fresh topsoil or compost—not rose-bed soil—and top with a layer of dry, shredded leaves or mulch.
Prune Tall Canes: Trim back high stems of bush roses to reduce wind damage. Prune one-third or so, above an outward-facing bud that is where new spring growth will appear. There will be some dieback in winter; remove dead, brown canes in early spring.
Expose in Spring: When warmer weather arrives, remove the mulch and mound the soil. Spread any shredded bark or leaves in your garden as mulch.
What’s a Grafted Rose?
Some of the most popular roses—hybrid teas, grandifloras, and floribundas—being grafted, that is, the flowering top is joined onto a different rootstock for added vigor. The graft union is protected from cold; when frozen, the desired top will die and all you’ll have left is rootstock growth, usually unsightly.
Protecting Roses in Severe Winter Areas
In northern regions with cold winters and hard freezes, lovely roses need stronger protection. Try this method:
Post-Frost Cleanup: After the initial frost, remove any leaves still on the plant. Remove all but 3–5 of the best canes and cut them back to about 12 inches.
Dig a Protective Trench: Dig a trench on one side of the rose deep enough and wide enough to lay the plant on its side.
Plant Plant in the Trench: Gently loosen roots with a garden fork and top the rose and plant it in the trench.
Cover Well: Fill the trench with soil and cover with a 2-inch layer of shredded leaves or mulch.
Replant in Spring: Carefully uncover and replant the rose when the weather gets better.
Winterizing Tree Roses
Tree roses have a graft union several feet above the ground, so it is more challenging to protect them in winter. Use these steps:
Insulate the Base: Straw around the base is utilized in warm climates. Soil insulates best in cold climates.
Create a Support Structure: Wooden stakes are utilized to go around the rose.
Wrap in Burlap: Burlap is wrapped around the stakes to create a protective covering. Twine or wire is utilized to secure it together.
Fill with Insulating Stuff: Add dry straw or leaves inside the enclosure. In very cold regions, you may need to dig and bury the entire rose, like bush types.
How to Keep Potted Roses
Plant container roses on an unheated garage or south-facing wall. Where it is icy, bury the entire pot in a large cardboard box. Insulate with shredded paper or dry leaves and then cover the box with hay bales for added protection.
Prep early on to prevent winter damage from freezing and thawing. A little prep work at this point will have your roses looking the better for it come spring.