September 7, 2017
It is best to stop fertilizing your roses in September so they can start to go dormant. It is also important to stop deadheading. Deadheading encourages new blooms at a time when we want our roses to put more energy into healthy roots for the coming winter.
Keep watering until the temperature starts to get down to 35 degrees during the day. If you don’t keep watering, you will get a lot more die back over the winter. Lack of moisture in the winter months does the most damage to our plants, not necessarily the cold temperatures.
Adding some leaves or mulch for extra protection around the base of the plant is a good idea if we have a hard winter season. If you have drip watering, or soaker hoses, it is important to blow them out before the first hard freeze.
Near the end of October, I like to add a slow release fertilizer, like Rose Tone or Milorganite to give your roses a jump-start in the spring. Once winter hits all we can do is wait impatiently for spring.
Join me on September 21st at 6pm, for my last class of the season, Planning your Rose Garden. I will give insight in how to create and maintain a successful rose garden.
As always you can reach me at larrytheroseguy @gmail.com with any questions or comments. I always love to talk about roses!
