It is now safe to say that cold weather will predominate until mid March.  Our roses have stopped growing and have defoliated.  It is cold enough to apply winter insulation without retaining the heat of the growing season, which would encourage new growth at the wrong time of the year.

    The biggest mistake made in winterization of roses is severe pruning just prior to winter.  Major pruning should be done in late March.  For now we should prune shrub form roses such as Hybrid Teas and Floribundas to a height of 36 inches.  Climbers should not be pruned at all.  The reason for pruning to 36 inches is to prevent strong winter winds from dislodging the root system from the soil.  If this a concern with a climber, stake the plant to keep the roots stationary.

    If the winter is severe enough to kill a portion of the cane back, the remaining cane will still be viable for next spring.  Case in point - 12 inches of cane are lost to winter kill.  The 36 inch plant will still have 24 inches of viable cane.  The rose which was pruned to 10 inches in November will have minus 2 inches of cane left for spring growth.  Minus 2 inches means that any grafted portion of the plant is dead, leaving you with a wild root stock.  The wild root stock will likely by a vigorous climbing rose which will bear large numbers of small red or white roses once a year.  This is what we call a "non recurrent" bloomer.

    Many climbers bloom on "old wood" or previous season's growth.  Save your pruning for spring to maximize the amount of old growth.  Late March is the time to do heavy pruning and clean out small and non-productive growth.

    Back to November.  Clean out all dead leaves around the base of the plant as they may carry disease spores.  If you have had chronic disease problems, consider removing the old mulch as it may be laden with disease spores.  Removal of dead wood is recommended as this pruning will stimulate no new growth.  Do not fertilize your plants, as this may stimulate new growth during an "Indian summer".   Such new growth will be frozen by the winter, causing damage to the plant.

    Be sure your plant's root zone is well hydrated.  Consider applying Wilt-Pruf to reduce desiccation from the harsh winter winds.  Don't forget to water on mild days during a dry winter to prevent dehydration of the plant tissue.

    Mulching is important.  The lower 12 inches of the canes should be mulched to protect them from winter kill.  Unlike the deep mulching of tree trunks, this heavy application will do no harm to the canes of roses.  Soil is an acceptable form of mulch, though much new growth will be torn off in late March when removing this heavy material.  A better mulch would be fine pine bark.  It is attractive and easily removed.

    The best form of mulching is one which provides a great deal of insulation value at no cost.  Newspaper and leaves are used in this technique, as both items tend to be abundant around the house.  Fold 4 full sheets of newspaper horizontally across the center fold.  Use a household office stapler to apply staples about every 3 to 5 inches around the perimeter of the three edges that are attached by the fold.  Repeat this process and attach the two paper "collars" end to end with more staples.  Now place this 5 or 6 foot long paper around your rose to form a collar, making sure the folded side is facing upward.  Staple the remaining two ends together to form a collar around the plant.  Stuff the collar tightly with fallen leaves.  Wah-lah!

    In late March, remove your paper collar (or other forms of mulch) and begin your spring pruning.  For tea roses and floribundas, you will usually leave 4 to 6 of the strongest canes at a height of 12 to 18 inches, removing all side growth.  The plant will look similar to your original bare root rose at the point of purchase.  Use a little common sense here.  If you are so lucky as to have a rose which appears to be on steroids, keep all of the healthy canes and leave them as tall as you like.   Climbers should simply have dead wood removed.

    People who show roses will often cut the canes to a height of 2 or 3 inches, which causes the plant to yield less roses.  The roses which are produced are huge because a set amount of roots is supporting a smaller population of buds.

    Spray the rose and the soil with fungicide if disease has been a problem.  Apply a heavy application of fertilizer and apply fresh mulch.  You're off to the races! Until next week.

                                                                                Andy Lynn