How to properly cover roses for the winter

Rose lovers know firsthand about the capriciousness of these royal flowers. The biggest difficulty in growing roses in the middle lane is that they are very afraid of frost. This is what encourages gardeners to wrap up their rose gardens as warmly as possible with the first cold weather. Unfortunately, such actions do not always lead to a positive result: some bushes freeze anyway, some roses rot, and a few bushes may die altogether. The thing is, when buying a seedling, you need to find out whether it is necessary to cover this particular rose, what temperatures it can withstand without shelter, and also how and how to cover the bush.

From this article you can find out how to properly cover roses for the winter, whether it is possible to cover a particular variety and what material is better to use for this. And video and photo instructions with advice from experienced gardeners will help to assimilate the information well.

Is it possible to cover roses of various varieties

Different varieties of roses need certain wintering conditions, so the first thing a gardener should do is inspect his rose garden and remember which variety each bush belongs to. And after that, already decide how to cover the roses for the winter.

The attitude to low temperatures in different varieties of roses is different:

• most of all, frosts are terrible for hybrid tea varieties and some varieties of climbing roses – these flowers need to be covered especially carefully;
• dwarf varieties and varieties of floribunda are characterized by increased resistance to frost – when covering such bushes, the main thing is not to overdo it so that the lashes do not fade;
• park varieties are considered the most frost-resistant; in the central and southern regions of the country, such roses can not be covered at all or a lightweight version of winter shelter can be used.

When to cover roses for the winter

In most regions of Our Country, roses are covered at the end of October or in the first decade of November. However, the exact date depends on the climate in the region, the location of the flower bed, soil moisture and rose varieties.

It is recommended to completely cover the rose gardens when the air temperature stabilizes at -5 degrees or lower. This means that it is necessary to wait – 7-10 days in the region there should be sub-zero temperatures (from -2 degrees). Only with the onset of stable frosts can rose gardens be covered, otherwise the bushes will take the heat for the onset of spring and wake up ahead of time. Such roses with awakened buds will definitely freeze, even with slight frosts.

It is equally important to remove the shelter in time, because during the spring warming, moisture will begin to accumulate under the covering material. Condensation is dangerous for plants, as infections and fungi quickly develop in a humid environment, and also, a rose can simply rot.

Remove the shelter gradually so that the flowers can acclimatize in the environment. First, lift the edges of the film or choose dry materials from the shelter (fir branches, straw, fallen leaves, etc.). It is necessary to completely remove the shelter from the roses in cloudy weather or in the evening so that the young shoots do not burn out in the sun.

How best to prepare roses for winter

You can’t immediately take and cover the rose bush, you still need to prepare the plant for wintering.

The preparation of the rose garden begins in the summer and consists of several stages:

1. End of dressings. At the end of August, flowers are no longer fed with nitrogen fertilizers, starting from this period, only potash and phosphorus mineral complexes can be applied. Such fertilizers stimulate the lignification of the trunk and prepare the rose for wintering.
2. The earth is stopped loosening with the onset of September. Especially when September is dry and warm, the soil around the bushes cannot be loosened, because the rose perceives such actions as a signal to wake up. If you dig up the ground around the rose, young shoots will begin to grow from the roots, the buds in the soil will wake up – this will lead to the freezing of the bush.
3. Pruning is needed for all varieties of roses, only its degree differs. For example, climbing and park roses are pruned quite a bit, and young shoots and all foliage are also removed – only lignified stems covered with bark should remain. The remaining varieties need to be cut more carefully – the stems are shortened to the height of the future shelter so that the entire bush is hidden from frost.
4. Cleaning and processing of rose bushes. From under the bush, you need to select all the leaves, grass and other debris, because infections, insects and rodents like to winter there. To strengthen the immunity of flowers and prepare them for high humidity, it is recommended to treat the roses with a solution of copper sulfate or use Bordeaux mixture for this purpose.
5. Hilling rose bushes is also an important step in preparing for shelter. Do this immediately after the disinfection treatment. You can’t take land for hilling from the same flower bed, because because of this, the roots of neighboring plants and the roses themselves can be exposed. It is necessary to pour mounds about 20 cm high, which will protect the roots of flowers from freezing. In loose soil there is a lot of air, which will warm the root system. For many varieties, simple hilling is enough; they do not need other shelter.

If this is done too early, the buds below the cut will wake up and sprout young shoots. Such branches will certainly freeze, even under cover.

How to cover roses for the winter

Many inexperienced gardeners do not know other shelters than spruce branches. In fact, There are many materials and ways in which rose gardens can be covered for the winter:

• straw;
• oak leaves in which fungal infections do not develop;
• sawdust;
• sand;
• peat;
• polycarbonate or wood;
• lutrasil or other non-woven material;
• polyethylene film.

Different ways of hiding are shown in the photo in the article.

Regardless of what material was chosen to protect the rose garden from frost, an important rule must be observed: an air gap must remain between the shelter and the lashes or shoots of roses. If this is not the case, the plant will not have enough oxygen and it will “suffocate”.

How to cover roses for the winter

As mentioned above, some varieties of prickly flowers tolerate frost better, while some, on the contrary, need very careful protection for the winter.

Accordingly, choose shelter options for the rose garden:

1. For hybrid tea and floribunda you can choose a shelter, inside which a constant temperature is kept at -3 degrees. In addition, such a winter road is well ventilated, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the shoots and roots of roses. To make such a shelter, it is necessary to build a frame in the form of a mesh cone from thick wire. The height of the product should be approximately 60-70 cm (depending on the size of the bush). This cone is surrounded by a rose bush, then a heater (lutrasil, cardboard, film, etc.) is attached on top of the wire, which is fixed with a rope. Polyethylene should be stretched over the insulation, which should protect the bush from rain and wind. The ends of the plastic film are fixed with earth so that they do not bulge and do not expose the roots.

   

2. For climbing varieties it is more convenient to use a frame-panel shelter. Before starting work, you need to remove all the remaining foliage from the climbing rose, cutting it along with the petioles (the foliage does not fall off on its own from such varieties). The lashes are tied together and tilted in the direction where they lean during flowering. Spruce spruce branches should be laid out on the soil, which will protect the rose from rodents and frozen ground. Now the connected lashes are laid on the ground and fixed with metal, wooden or plastic studs (as in the photo). In advance, you need to prepare shields made of wood or polycarbonate, their length is equal to the height of the bush, and the width is about 80 cm. They make a house over a rose from such shields, support the “walls” of the shelter with metal rods. From above, the shelter must be covered with plastic wrap. If the soil in the flower bed is already frozen, the film is pressed tightly and sprinkled with earth. When severe frosts have not yet begun, the ends of the shelter are left ajar so that the roses do not fade.

   

3. If the climbing variety does not grow in rows, but is located in the center of the flower bed, for example, using shields as cover will be inconvenient. In this case, a vertical type of winter protection is used. Scourges of roses are tied and fixed to a vertical strong support. A frame in the form of a cone is woven from the wire and a rose with a support is placed inside it. From above, the frame is wrapped with several layers of spunbond, fiberglass or thick polyethylene, tied with twine. Be sure to leave ventilation holes that can be opened in early spring. Shown in detail in the video:
   How to properly cover roses for the winter

   

4. Standard varieties It is customary to grow in tubs and large boxes. Such roses are easy to transfer to the basement for the winter, thereby protecting them from frost and death. But the standard variety can also be planted directly into the ground, in which case it is necessary to cover the plant with the onset of cold weather. An ordinary jute bag will help in this, in which you need to cut off the bottom. Such a bag is put on the crown of the rose so as to cover the upper part of the bush, starting from the point of growth. Then the shelter is tightly stuffed with straw, small spruce branches or dry leaves. The upper part of the jute bag is tied with twine, and the stem of the rose is wrapped with cut burlap.

   

First, the ventilation holes are opened, when the earth completely thaws and the temperature is consistently positive, you can open the bush completely.

For more information on how to shelter roses from frost, the video will tell:

If you follow all the recommendations and cover roses correctly, you can keep even the most capricious exotic varieties of these luxurious flowers in your garden.