Late Autumn Rose Gardening Care Tips

If you are in the months of November and December, you are at a weird time for your roses and garden. The growing season has come to an end, but the winter hibernation period for your roses has not yet begun either. Your roses are in a kind of slowing down, holding pattern. If you are a rose gardener, you can wonder what to do with yourself during these months!

Even though your roses are not yet in hibernation, there are still some things that you can do to help them. You can still make sure that your roses get plenty of water. They will need to stay healthy with moist soil. As always, however, make sure you do not over-water your plants and drown the roots. Water is an important part of their survival and health, but like anything, you can overwhelm them with too much. Well hydrated roots will help to keep them safe during the cold winter months that lie ahead.

You will not need to do any pruning or deadheading while you are in this stage because you do not want to encourage new growth here. You will have stopped putting nutrients and organics in your soil at the end of October and you won’t want to add any fertilizer now. Your plants don’t need extra energy; they need a chance to calm down before hibernation. Your roses just need to stay healthy before they go into their dormant period, which is an important part of their growing process as well.

Continue to spray for mildew, disease and Blackspot at least once a month to prevent these diseases from gaining a foothold on your plants. Spider mites are a particular cause for concern since they can still be active well into late autumn. You will want to spritz your flowers and leaves with water whenever you see a possible sign of spider mite infestation. The aphids are also active now, so if you see one, you can zap it with a bottle of soapy water to discourage it from making a home in your roses.

Another great thing to do while you are in these months is to pick up any debris or fallen leaves near your rose garden. This way, you can keep your garden looking clean, while also ensuring that no disease-ridden leaves fall near your roses and infect them, too. Use these months to look for and prepare new rose holes that you can easily plant new plants in during the upcoming spring season. Preparing them now will help you save time when the busy springtime arrives. In addition, these new holes will be able to adjust to the surroundings over the wintertime.

Put mulch around your more delicate flowers to protect them in the winter season. You can wait to mulch your more hardy flowers next month. You will be rewarded for taking good care of your roses throughout the winter season with healthy flowers and big blooms.

         

Rose Garden - Climate Zones