Protecting standard and weeping roses in winter

When?

It all depends on your region, current climatic conditions and age of your rose! But it is generally considered that November, planting period for roses, is also a good time to protect your standard and weeping roses, when frosts set in.

Begin by pruning very slightly the crown of the ball-shaped heads on your standard roses, and shortening the long branches of your weeping roses by about twenty centimetres: this will help you cover them more easily with a fleece.

There are two main approaches to pruning roses: a single late-winter pruning, and a two-stage pruning, in November then in February-March. For standard and weeping roses we favour a single late-winter pruning. Pruning recent plants too short can indeed risk weakening them by exposing them to the cold.

Graft point protection

Several measures will actually protect standard or weeping roses correctly over winter. Most important is protection of the graft point, a sensitive scar tissue bulge resulting from the junction between rootstock and scion: as it is located at least 80 cm high, it is particularly exposed to cold winter winds and to frost. This graft point should always be monitored on standard and weeping roses, as it is a gateway for disease, possible wounds and, above all, cold!

You should therefore take particular care with these roses to protect this clearly visible scar tissue bulge a few centimetres below the cluster of branches, whether planted in the ground or in a pot. Surround the graft point with a warm protective sleeve that you will make from various easily obtained materials.

• Prepare your sleeve using strips of fabric (cotton, wool, synthetic, hessian, whatever) to make a long strip about 10 cm wide, enough to cover the entire graft point and wrap it several times. Place your sleeve at the point where the branches start to ensure it fully covers the scar tissue bulge.
• Position it around the graft, and begin wrapping it, packing it with thick but airy material such as wadding, or plant material like dry moss, very dry leaves or straw.
• Tie it with string or raffia, without compressing, to hold the sleeve in place.
• Remove this protective sleeve when temperatures start to rise and your standard or weeping roses no longer risk morning frosts, usually in April.
  

Crown protection

During the first years after planting your standard or weeping rose, or if you grow it in a pot, protect its crown, that is the ball formed by the branches, by wrapping it in a fleece. Beforehand, lightly prune the branches of your rose ball or dome to make the job easier.

Non-woven fleece is a breathable material that specifically protects against cold, insulating the rose while allowing light and rain to pass through, thus preventing any drying out. A fleece with a density of 30 g/m² is sufficient for your standard and weeping roses. You can reuse it for several winters in a row. A jute winter cover, with a loose weave, is also perfect for hooding your balls and domes of standard roses and can be slightly more attractive.

Secure the fleece with raffia ties or string, enclosing the protective sleeve you installed beforehand. Remove the fleece as soon as temperatures rise, without waiting too long. March is generally mild enough in most regions to uncover your rose. Feel free to open the fleece slightly on fine sunny winter days!

Complete protection with a fleece (left), and crown alone with a jute winter cover (right)

Earthing up at base of plant

If you live in a region with a harsh climate, or have just planted your standard or weeping rose directly in the ground, don’t hesitate to give it double protection by mounding soil at its base. This operation, which consists of covering several centimetres of the lower part of the rose stem with soil, significantly protects it — not here by covering the graft union located low down as can be done with ‘classic’ roses, but rather:

– by providing extra support at its base during the first years, it will be less prone to strong gusts of wind,
– the mound of soil formed creates a sort of thermal cloche that is significant in mountainous areas, allowing a gain of 1 or 2 degrees during severe cold spells.

One important recommendation: use garden soil that is not damp to avoid any risk of rot.

Remember to remove this small mound of soil in March, as soon as your roses no longer need it.

Protecting your potted roses

Previous recommendations on protecting the graft union and crown also apply to your standard and weeping roses when planted in tubs or containers. Proceed in the same way as for your standard or weeping roses in open ground.

Your container has a clear advantage: mobility! This means that if your pot is in a spot too exposed to wind (especially very cold easterly winds in winter), don’t hesitate to move it to shelter it as much as possible from the wind: place it closer to the house, under a porch, and insulate the pot from cold ground by placing it on blocks or on a wooden wheeled stand. A small wooden pallet, although less attractive, can work perfectly if you have two containers to raise, for example.

For planting in pots, protecting the substrate is important: a standard or weeping rose in a pot has a limited volume of soil, which acts as a barrier against cold. It will be difficult to mound soil around the stem in any container. Therefore, if your rose has just been planted or you live in an area with harsh winters, a mulch at the base is beneficial: use straw or well‑dried leaves, placed all around the stem.

Mulch around the stem with shredded plant material, well‑dried leaves or straw