Winter Protection by Diane Brueckman
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October is the time to t’s that time again! stop deadheading. Pluck Our roses need to the petals off the rose to go to sleep for the winter. Modern roses keep the plant looking neat but leave the ovaries are bred to be bloom to become rose hips. machines, so it is up to Forming rose hips will tell us to protect them from the plant it has done its themselves. Mother Nature does her part with job by producing seed. the shorter day length Keeping your roses well and colder temperatures. hydrated going into Now is the time for winter is very important. rosarians to do their jobs. You don’t want roses to be In September, we stopped under stress because of a fertilizing the roses with lack of moisture. The one quick release nitrogen inch of water a week rule and we slowed down is sufficient in fall. Roses deadheading. It is OK to are not growing as much remove dead and diseased canes from your roses but and the heat is not as intense. do not cut back canes to shape the plant. It is important to keep up with disease control so the roses go into winter as healthy as possible. When temperatures drop and humidity is still present botrytis blight and powdery mildew are likely diseases. Botrytis blight is very unsightly and hard to miss seeing. The THE GARDEN infected blooms are covered with a brown mold, which are the spores. The “cure” is cutting the infected IS CALLING. stems off and discarding them. Powdery mildew is a white coating on the buds and new growth at the top of the plant. As for powdery mildew, neem oil is very effective, again cut off the infected stems and discard. Good housekeeping in the garden goes a long way to preventing disease. Removing diseased leaves from the ground takes all those overwintering spores away.
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Late October and early November is when we can expect a killing frost. Roses will stop growing when the soil gets cool. This is when I start cutting back my roses. Some say not to cut back until spring but I have always cut back in fall. I take out spindly canes and crossing canes because it makes it easier to cover the roses when the ground has frost in it. I also strip all the leaves from my plants. On a warm day with temperatures in the mid-forties, I spray with horticultural oil or neem oil. If I use a light horticultural oil I will add insecticidal soap. Neem oil is an insecticide so insecticidal soap is not necessary. Cane borers over winter in the cane to chew their way out in spring as a mature sawfly to start the cycle all over again. While you cut back the roses look The Gateway Gardener™ OCTOBER 2020
