Winter Rose Care

As most seasoned Northcentral Montana Gardeners know, roses sometimes have a bad reputation. They are known to be high maintenance plants and difficult to overwinter. How do you successfully overwinter a rose? That depends on which variety you have. If your rose is a hardy shrub rose planted in a landscape bed with rock or bark mulch, you can leave them for winter interest and prune back in the spring. It is important to provide winter protection if you have tender roses or have planted in an extremely exposed area. Winter protection can be in the form of rose cones, rose collars, or leaves tightly packed around the plants. If you choose to use the packed leaf method, make sure it is in a protected location as the MT Breeze wreaks havoc on leaf retention. If you're using a rose cone or collar, you'll more than likely need to prune the roses back to fit in them. Also, be sure to secure them with landscaping pins. I usually set a heavier rock on top of the rose cones to ensure they will be in place come spring. Finally, it's important to deep water your roses prior to winter setting in. If you missed this step, it can always be done on a warm winter day. Good luck with your roses!