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Copyright © 2008 by Greater Harrisburg Rose Society. All rights reserved |
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Rose Care 101– October by Mary D. Slade There are two reasons why I enjoy my rose gardens in October. One, the colors of the roses are more intense and two, there is very little work that needs to be done to care for them. It is too early to winter protect and the roses should not be pruned at this time of the year. Pruning now would only encourage new growth that will be too soft to survive our winters. I will cover these two topics in our November newsletter. Two things that you should be doing in October are weekly spraying and removing decaying petals. Allow the rose hips to form. This will slow the growth of your plants and help prepare them to go dormant. Relax and take time to smell your roses. Rose Care 101– November & December by Mary D. Slade Now is the time to give some serious consideration to winterizing your roses. In my first article I said that you will get a lot of opinions on how to care for your roses. When it comes to winterizing roses, you will find this statement especially true. My advice is to gather as much information as you can on the subject, analyze it, and then adopt a method that fits your timeframe and energy level. It would be impossible to cover all that has been written about winterizing roses in one short article. Therefore, I’m only going to discuss some of the common methods used in our growing area for hybrid teas. Hybrid teas because they are grafted and typically need the most attention. Let’s begin with – Why winterize? One, you need to keep the bud union from freezing. If it freezes and dies, you lose the grafted variety. The roots may live and next spring the new growth will be that of the root stock. Two, you need to provide a constant temperature for the plant. By winterizing the plant, it will remain dormant and get a much needed period of rest. Next, we need to talk about – When is it time to winterize? I wait until we have had a minimum of two hard freezes. A hard freeze by my definition is 2 or 3 consecutive nights in which the temperatures fall below 32 degrees. I also want the foliage to start dropping. This usually occurs around the end of November or the beginning of December. Last but not least. What is winterizing? There are four steps to winterizing a rose. They are minimal pruning, cleaning the beds, tying the canes and covering the bud union. Pruning – There are many opinions about how hard you should prune roses for winter. I recommend cutting your plants down to about 4 feet. Remove broken or damaged stems and side branches that may brake in an ice storm or from the weight of a heavy wet snow. Clean – out all the dead leaves and spent blooms. This will help control blackspot next spring. For extra protection, spray the plants and soil with manzate or mancozeb to kill the blackspot spores that might still remain. Tying the canes – When I first joined the GHRS this step was recommended by most of our charter members. Bring the canes together carefully and tie at the top of the plant. Tie a second cord about 18 inches from the ground. Tying the canes will help to keep the plant from getting whipped around by the winter winds. Cover bud union- An entire book could be written on this subject. In brief, cover the bud union with 12” of sandy soil, compost, mulch, dry-textured leaves like oak, rotted sawdust or growers mix to name just a few. Research has proven that sandy soil is the best material for our growing area. Do not take the soil from the sides of your plant. This will cause the roots to freeze and could kill your plant. You can use rose collars, bottomless bushel baskets, wire mesh or tar-paper cylinders to hold the soil in place. Another method is to use Styrofoam rose covers to protect the bud unions. Make sure you secure baskets, cylinders or cones. If you don’t you may find them in your neighbor’s yard. About 9 years ago, I ran out of time and low on energy. I decided to let my established plants fend for themselves. All survived that winter. Because of this successful work free experience, I no longer tie canes or cover the bud unions. From 1994 to 2002, I have lost 2 plants from winter kill. They didn’t look healthy going into the winter. Healthy, established roses seem to survive without winterizing. I define an established rose as a plant that has been in the garden for 2 or more winters. A word of precaution, what works for me may not work for you. I believe several things contribute to my success: plants are established and healthy, plants selection was based on winter hardy varieties, and most were purchased from Canadian growers. Until next year, have a great holiday season. Rest your weary bones and dream about 2003 roses. Winterizing: Miniatures – Minimal pruning, clean beds, spray, and cover. They are more winter hardy because they are on their own root. Climbers – Don’t prune. Clean, spray, tie long canes, wrap with evergreen boughs and burlap. Pile soil over the bud union. Old Garden Roses – Don’t prune. Clean, and cover with a little mulch. |