How to Insulate Roses in the Fall

Preparing your garden to face winter is key to successfully re-growing it in the fall. Some plants can take care of themselves naturally, but others need a bit of help to make it through the seasons. You should insulate your roses in the fall to prepare them for winter.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Mulch
• Wire fencing
• Leaves

1. Plan your rose protection process according to the weather. As plants need time to help prepare themselves for the winter, you'll want to stop deadheading the plants in early fall so that it can grow hips. Hips tell a plant that the season is coming to an end and to start preparing for winter.

2. Stop feeding your roses 6 weeks before your first frost. This is another signal to the plant to start insulating itself for winter. If you keep feeding your plant, it will keep growing and blooming and possibly be caught off guard by the first frost.

3. Start putting mulch around each of your rose plants after the first frost. You'll want to build up a decent sized mound around the plant, roughly 12 inches above its base.

4. Water your rose plants as you normally would. They need plenty of water to prepare for a long winter.

5. Set up a wire fence around some of your more delicate roses. The fence should be a circle that surrounds the plant and extends several inches above the top of it.

6. Fill the wire fence with leaves. These leaves will insulate the plant from the cold and also protect it from a sudden warm day in the winter. Leaves are the best way to insulate your roses because they allow the plant to breath and don't trap moisture.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your local nursery about the different kinds of roses you have. Depending on the climate you live in, some types of roses require little to no insulation during winter months.
• Even if your roses can last through winter on their own, consider a wire fence to help protect their stalks from damage by cold winter winds.
• Get help from a nursery worker if you don't think you can properly insulate your roses in the fall by yourself. A local rose society may also be able to give you some tips or guidance.
• Tender and delicate roses often require both mulch insulation and a wire fence. If you don't prepare these roses in the fall, they probably won't make it through winter.