Does ARS recommend pulling leaves off rose bushes in the winter, once roses are in dormancy? Is it preferable to cut the leaves off so that less damage is potentially done? If the recommendation is to cut, doesn’t that leave a small part of the stem that can harbor disease over the winter? There is conflicting information on this topic online. Thanks.
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In our region, considered the lower south, Black spot is a major disease problem and is dormant in both the canes and leaves during the winter. We recommend that you cut off the leaves if they have not fallen off naturally. When we do the major cutback in February and March, that removes some of the remaining pathogen remaining in the canes and leaves. If you spray fungicides, I read a study several years ago to spray a systemic fungicide, e.g., propiconazole in mid January. This spray prevents an early out-break of black spot.
Ultimately, it is up to the Rosarian if they want to cut off the leaves or not. Depending on how bad your leaves were infected during the growing season might determine if you want to do so.
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Thank you. I forgot to mention, I live in the Pacific Northwest. Specifically, the Portland, Oregon area.
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I do not pull off the leaves in the winter….. and then I regret it. The new leaves emerge, and the old leaves turn yellow and I have to pull them off anyway.
Rose bushes can translocate nutrition from the old leaves and use it for new growth. They sacrifice the old leaves. Those leaves turn yellow, and there you are, plucking off the old yellow leaves.
And yes, old leaves typically have, or will get, disease, because they will lose their strength / health from lack of nutrition.
As for cutting instead of tearing: I do both. If the leaf does not come off easily, usually with a snap, then I cut, instead of risking the stem getting torn, offering a wound for easy penetration by disease.
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Thank you for your quick reply. Much appreciated.
I like to have leaves removed. I live in NC and we normally shorten our bushes to about 4 feet in January after a few hard frosts to prevent winter damage from plants blowing in the winter winds. This also removes much of the remaining leaves from the previous seasons growth. The remaining leaves tend to come off after we appy a dormant oil/fungicide spray in mid January during a day when it is sunny and over 50 degrees. We sometimes have to appy a second spraying a couple of weeks later. When the leaves fall we try to remove them by using a blower or rake them out to avoid over wintering of pests and diseases. We final prune in late February before new growth begins. A dormant plant is much easier to prune than one that has broken dormancy.
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Thank you for your reply - very helpful.
Craig
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