Getting Special Roses Through The Winter

As the days get colder, the hours we spend in the garden are getting shorter. The frost on the ground each morning is a polite warning from Mother Nature that it’s time to close up shop for the winter. It’s time to winterize the plants and put away the tools.

Last week we discussed bedding down hybrid roses. Today we’ll look at the other rose specimens — miniatures, old-fashioneds, climbers and tree roses.

Miniatures and old-fashioneds: I am lumping these two types of roses together because their winter care is about the same. Minis and most old-fashioned roses are grown on their own roots. In other words, they aren’t grafted and therefore there isn’t a graft or bud union that needs to be protected for the winter. We don’t have to mound the base with soil nor do we have to mulch these plants with leaves or needles. And of course, we don’t do any pruning on them until spring.

With all this said, I still mulch my minis and some of my old-fashioneds. I am sure it doesn’t do much for the roses, but it does make me feel better.

Two other tips when it comes to miniature roses: Many of us receive these handsome little plants as gifts to be grown indoors. Keep in mind, these are plants that want good air circulation, full sunlight and cooler-than-the-house temperatures. Miniature rose don’t fare well indoors. Inevitably they develop a roaring case of spider mites.

The best place for them is outside, planted in the ground. If you have a miniature rose, consider planting it now. After the ground freezes, mulch it with pine needles or large leaves to keep the soil from freezing and thawing and heaving the newly planted plant out of the ground.

If you’ve had miniatures growing in pots on the patio or deck, pull them into the garage or other sheltered place for the winter. Set the potted rose in a larger pot and insulate between the pots with packing peanuts, rags, peat moss or any other material that may be available. Give the plant a drink of water now and again — not enough to soak it, just enough to keep the roots from totally drying out.

Climbers: Climbing roses are often considered marginal plants for our area. Though their roots are hardy, their long, exposed canes often are damaged during the winter months. These long canes are what produce the flowers for the next year. If they have to be pruned back in the spring due to winter die-back, they won’t flower.

In order to insure flowering for the coming year, we must protect the canes for the winter ahead. Garden books will often instruct us to dig a long, two foot deep trench, remove the canes from their trellis, bundle them, pull them down to the trench and bury them. RI…GHT….! First, there is no way I am going to untangle a mass of thorny canes that are interwoven on a trellis, let alone dig a two-foot deep trench.

Climbers can be protected by first mulching the base with one foot of soil, sawdust, peat moss or fine fir bark. Then pile pine needles, large leaves or straw (a devil of a material to clean up in the spring, but it does work) as high up the rose as possible.

Once this task is completed, try wrapping the canes, trellis and all, with burlap. If you keep the burlap loose, needles and such can be stuffed in between the burlap and canes for added insulation.

One other thing you might try. Spray the canes with an anti-transpirant such as Wilt-Pruf. This material may help prevent the canes from dehydrating.

Tree roses: These are not hardy plants for our area. The bud union or graft is chest high. In order to protect the graft of hybrids, we bury it 2 to 4 inches in the ground. How can we protect the graft of a tree rose when it’s so far above ground?

For you adventurous souls that are growing them, hopefully they’re planted in large containers in the ground, and hopefully the containers are on wheels for easy moving.

Tree roses can be overwintered in the same fashion as overwintering miniatures. Pull them into the garage or shed. Insulate the container by double potting, wrapping it with rolled insulation or by surrounding it with straw bails. Water it only enough to keep the roots from drying. And finally, wrap and insulate the graft at the top of the plant. You can also lay the rose down on its side on a bed of straw and cover it with straw. A little messy, but this, too, may work.

As for tree roses planted outside _ try to insulate the plant as best you can. Begin by insulating the graft. Then construct a chicken wire cage around the entire plant, leaving about one foot between the cage and the rose. Wrap the cage with rolled insulation or burlap. Stuff needles or the like between the cage and plant and pray for a mild winter.

And finally, with all roses, don’t prune them back this fall. Wait until spring to handle this chore. If you’re worried about the canes snapping with the winter winds, simply pull them tightly together with a bungie cord or wrap them with nylon cording.