Tips for
Winterizing Your Roses by
Gary Mueller
There should be no application
of fertilizer beyond the month
of October. Your roses must
know it is time to stop growing
and start going dormant.
Stop deadheading or (cutting)
your roses to let the seed
hips form. This signals your
roses that its job of making
seeds is done and will cause
growth to slow or stop.
After a couple of hard freezes
(below 28 degrees or so) you
can cut back the long canes
to even up the bush and tie
the remaining canes up so
the wind doesn't damage or
break them.
Clean up all the leaves
and petals that have fallen
and mound the bud union with
fine mulch or soil to protect
it from freezing.
After roses have gone dormant
for the winter(usually about
mid-December) spray them with
Volck Oil and Lime Sulfur
dormant sprays. The Volck
Oil will kill off scale and
all insects that try to winter
over. Lime Sulfur dormant
spray will stop all diseases
that try to winter over on
your roses. This should be
sprayed on the bush and ground
as well. Make sure to wait
until after leaves have dropped
from your roses to spray them.
A second spray of Volck
Oil and Lime Sulfur in late
January or early February
can be a big help in controlling
Scale and Fungi that plague
roses.
During the dormant season
is also a good time to test
the ph of your soil. Roses
can tolerate a wide range
of ph values; the optimum
ph value for roses is 6.5.
If you do not have a tester,
take a sample of your soil
to the County Extension Office
for an analysis. The Soil
Test Report that you get back
from the County Extension
Office will tell you how much
lime is needed to correct
ph. If you find your ph is
low, the winter dormant season
is a good time to add dolomitic
lime to the soil to raise
ph. Soil test results may
also indicate other deficiencies
in your soil such as zinc,
magnesium, potassium, phosphorus.
Heavier pruning of your roses
should be done in late February
to mid March. After you notice
new growth starting to grow,
you will be able to prune
the canes so the top growth
will be outwards. Seal the
canes with Elmers Glue (not
water soluble) or pruning
cote. This will help prevent
Cane borer. SEE: Pruning
Roses
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