I like to cover my roses with a bucket and loose oak leaves. That means I have to cut the plant back in the fall to fit inside the bucket. Everything I read says I should cut back in late winter or early spring. Around here that would still be before the last frost. Is it okay if I don’t cover the roses?
Welcome to the forum. Your zone is not terribly cold in the winter. I would not recommend putting a plastic bucket over your roses or cutting them back severely to fit them in the pot. Better to do your cutback in December, buy some chicken wire, surround your roses with it, cover the base of your roses with soil and then add an additional foot or so with shredded leaves. You shouldn’t have to cut back the roses back so hard. Contact a Consulting Rosarian in your region and they can give you the best information. The most cold sensitive roses are the apricots, yellows and white colored roses, for example Just Joey, Color Magic, are not very cold hardy. Your harder cutback would be probably be in late March, after the chance of any hard freeze.
It is generally recommended to cut back roses in late winter or early spring rather than in fall for winter protection. When covering roses with a bucket and leaves, cutting back too early in the fall to fit them inside can reduce their natural ability to withstand cold and increase the risk of damage. Many gardeners use methods such as “hilling up” soil or compost around the base of the plant after the first frost, then adding mulch or leaves to insulate. If you choose not to cover your roses, they may be more vulnerable to winter damage, especially if winters are cold in your area or your roses are a variety that is not very cold hardy. However, some hardier rose varieties can survive outdoors without covering if planted in a good site with well-drained soil and proper care. To protect roses effectively, it’s best to wait until late fall or early winter to prune minimally and then apply protection like mounding soil and loose organic mulch (like oak leaves) over the base and canes, secured if needed with a wire cage or bucket. So, you can avoid cutting back prematurely just to fit them inside a bucket, which might not be ideal; instead, focus on winterizing with mulch and minimal pruning, and consider leaving roses uncovered only if they are suited to your climate and are planted well.
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Since you are all talking winterizing roses, I live I zone 6, I have a standard rose which is encased in a rose protector for winter…I just can’t remember when to start covering the rose graft and putting on its cover. I use foam for the stem and made a collar of soft rubber for the graft, and them put the rose cover (2 section) top and bottom over the whole thing. I believe I did this last year after the first couple of frosts, and it was just beautiful this spring when I removed all her protection. Am I right?
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I also wrap everything in burlap