It seems odd for my first blog post to talk about the winter chill, after all the summer solstice has just taken place!
Yet as a keen gardener I've seen time and time again how people will plant dozens of roses in June only to see them die before Christmas. With that in mind, I've come up with a cunning plan on how to keep the pesky frost at bay and keep your roses alive!
So here goes: to prepare your roses for the winter, you need to begin the groundwork well before the ground freezes up - like soon! Remember that different types of roses need different methods of care. For example, hybrid tea roses need a lot of protection in extreme climatic conditions. Multiflora, grandiflora and shrub roses are much hardier, and better equipped to deal with the cold.
Winter blanket for your roses
To blanket your roses, you'll have to surround each bush with a thick layer of high quality soil.
On top of that, add about 30-35 cm of mulch. For the mulch, you can simply use leaves and twigs from your garden, or opt for the commerically packaged variant This is to provide insulation and stabilise the ground temperature. Some gardeneres prefer to use straw, but mulch is better at protecting your roses from the climatic stresses of freezing and thawing all through winter. Once the mulch mound is ready, trim the bushes to the level of the mound, and your roses will be totally ready to tackle the winter cold.
Cover for the Climbers
Climbing roses require a somewhat different treatment to survive the winter spell. First, you'll need to trim the branches to a manageable length and secure them to the ground. These can then be covered with layers of soil and mulch, as before. Alternatively, you can prune your climbing rose plants by removing the dead blooms and branches, and then cover their bases with soild and mulch.
That's all there is to it. Get this done this summer, and your roses will survive the winter and be ready to bloom again when spring returns!
And finally, don't forget to enter our monthly GardenBargains competition for 5 of the nation's favourite plants including a mini-orchard.
