How can I protect my roses against the cold in winter?

Parfum de Nature roses must be protected against temperatures under -10 °Celsius. Experienced rose owners know whether the roses in their region need to be protected from the approaching winter.

01    Cut the roses at knee height. Make sure you do not cut them any shorter, as this activates the dormant bud eyes at the bottom of the bush. As a result, they may shoot out and become more vulnerable to frost. Shorter pruning should therefore always be done in the spring.

02    You may want to pick up any fallen rose leaves to take away the fungal spores. This may prevent a fungal infection in the spring.

03     Protect the roses from frost by ‘earthing them up’: cover the root region of the rose bush to a height of about 15 cm with composted earth or garden soil. This offers good frost protection to the graft points and dormant bud areas in the heart of the rose bush. Do not dig up any soil near the rose bush to avoid damaging the roots.

04     Remove the extra earth again after winter, right before the spring pruning. This is easily done with a leaf blower or hoe.

In standard roses the graft points are higher, right below the head. Earthing up is therefore not an option. The area right above the snow will be the coldest, so wrap the entire stem and head in straw, pine branches or jute. If you use plastic bags, you need to remove the plastic immediately after each period of frost and reapply it when it starts freezing again. The plastic will make the temperature rise very quickly when it is not freezing and will make the rose shoot out prematurely. That is why it is better not to use plastic bags to protect your roses.

To prevent your pot from cracking due to frost in the winter, apply a layer of bubble wrap between the pot and the soil when you plant your roses. Do make sure that the hole at the bottom of the bottom remains open to drain any excess water. The bubble wrap will absorb the expanding water during a period of frost and your pot will remain intact.