Rose bush protection?
by
KD Redlowske
+3
I have two rose bushes that I covered the base of last year with about 5" of mulch to protect from winter cold and snow like the instructions said I should. This year they came back scrawny and did not produce any roses. What can I do to protect them better this winter?
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Lots of molch!!
Have you fed them with rose food? When you planted them did you soak them in water as well? The food is the best thing. If you can pull that mulch away as much as possible and mix up some rose food, and apply around the base maybe the would help.
buy winter rose cones @ any DIY store but add tons of mulch also. Your roses might need fertilized. Roses can be heavy feeders. Good soil & good fertilizer is key
Trim the rose buses down to about 6” tall as soon as it starts to get colder weather. Apply the mulch as you did last year, but cover each bush with a roomy trash bag, duct taped or tied around the bush.
You may need to rewrap the bushes if a hard, long freeze or a heavy snowstorm is expected. In that case, cover each bush with crumpled newspapers, a trash bag, and a bucket or trash can which has been weighted down. When the terribly low temps have moved on for a while, expose the bushes to the sunshine, but protect with the trash bags again at night. This back and forth with the coverage helps rose bushes to acclimate. With a dash of fertilizer and only deep watering every few days, your rose bushes should come out ready to grow and bloom in the Spring.
No plan is foolproof, but this has worked for me in different locations across the years. But sometimes a rose bush dies. Autumn is a great time to start new rose bushes, in a slightly different space, at least 2” from the first. Dig out the old; dig in the new. Try something you think you would really like on the next go around. Best wishes, KD. ☺️