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Overwintering roses
When the days grow shorter in autumn and winter announces itself, it is time to winter-proof your roses.
How much winter protection the rose garden really needs depends on the choice of varieties, the location and, ultimately, your willingness to take risks.
A large part of frost damage is also not caused by insufficient protection. Rather, impatience in spring gets the plants into greater trouble. Often the mounds are removed and the roses cut back as early as mid-March.
The latter in particular has fatal consequences in the event of subsequent bare frosts; the fresh new growth generally does not survive them.
Overwintering bush, shrub and hybrid tea roses
Winter-proofing rose shrubs planted in rose beds or freestanding in the garden:
- Autumn pruning / shaping cut by max. 1/3 of the plant height
- Mounding up around the graft union
- Create an air cushion with straw, coconut fibre, fleece or fir branches
- In case of bare frosts, provide shade with fleece, in spring on sunny sites
Tip: when mounding up, add a little soil activator or horn shavings; then the rose will find optimal conditions at the start of growth in spring.
Attention: if the winter brings long-lasting, cold and dry periods (easterly wind, high-pressure area over Eastern Europe), the plants should also be watered in winter despite the frost!
Winter-proofing standard roses
With standard roses the main thing is to protect the graft union (or graft unions). Without winter protection it is exposed to the cold temperatures and can freeze.
Standard roses planted in exposed locations or not entirely hardy, freestanding ones are wrapped with straw and a hessian sack, coconut matting or bubble wrap.
Overwintering roses in tubs/pots
If possible, move the container plants to a moist room that is not necessarily frost-free (cellar, garage, shed) or into a greenhouse.
Potted roses are at much greater risk of drying out, so they must always be watered.
Winter protection for newly planted roses
In the first year it makes sense to mound up even very hardy varieties. In exposed locations they can also be covered and shaded as a precaution. In any case it is important that the graft union was set deep enough when planting. Then winter protection can usually be omitted or greatly reduced in the following years.
Do roses need to be winter-proofed?
Whether a rose is winter-proofed, and with how much effort, depends essentially on the variety and the location.
In general, most roses get by with no or only very simple winter protection. Expensive protective covers are not necessary in most cases - rather invest in new roses or companion plants.
Which types of rose need winter protection?
How sensitive a rose variety is to frost can usually be deduced from the botanical species it belongs to.
Generally regarded as not frost-hardy are tea roses, China roses, Noisette roses, Banksiae Lutea (and other Banksiae).
In addition there are individual varieties from all rose classes that can suffer more frost dieback or generally need attention.
In the descriptions of our roses we point this out honestly, and we also allow customer comments that reveal known weaknesses of a variety.
With these varieties you should definitely check how cold it can get in winter in your climate zone and how exposed the site is.
Does snow harm roses?
No, quite the opposite. A deep blanket of snow forms an insulating layer - similar to an igloo. It protects the rose beneath from the cold temperatures, shades it from the sun and supplies it with moisture.
When can the mounds be removed from roses after winter?
After overwintering, the mounds can be removed from the roses as soon as no prolonged periods of frost are to be expected.
Even if it gets warm very early and the roses are already sprouting, it is risky to remove the mounds before the end of March. Bear in mind, too, that very fresh new growth can easily break off when the mounds are removed.
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