Late Fall has arrived. The days are considerably shorter and every day, the sun comes up farther to the south.

Here in the Northeast, we have had some overnights in the low twenties. Our roses are ready to be helped along into dormancy. I used to wait to cut my roses back until after Thanksgiving. However, I have found over the years that waiting until it’s icy cold outside can be really tough on the gardener! I hate it when my hands and feet freeze and my fingers and toes ache. So, these days I prune back a little earlier and am kinder to myself.

Fall Pruning: Roses

Why do we cut back our roses, anyway?

The truth is, that in many parts of the country, people don’t prune back until mid-winter. That is just fine for those areas. Actually, we don’t really need to cut our roses back in the late Fall. But the reason I encourage this is because our roses grow huge over the growing season (some of my hybrid teas are over 10 feet). If we get hit by ice and heavy snow, the canes can bend over and snap. This is where fall pruning can come in handy!

In some cases they can shatter right down to the ground. I don’t like it when this happens. So, this time of year (after a few freezes) my husband sharpens up my pruners and loppers and I whack my roses back.

I call Fall pruning ‘Gross Pruning,’ meaning that it is a totally non-scientific chopping. I just take them down to about knee high, pull off any remaining leaves, and say goodnight. Then, I rake out any leftover rose leaves and dispose of them, and loosen up the mulch and mound the canes a little.

Come Springtime, I’ll do ‘Fine Pruning,’ which is a little more delicate…that’s when we prune to an outward-facing bud left over from the previous season and seal up the canes with Elmer’s Glue to keep the borers out. No glue this time of year, because the borers are gone until Spring.

Putting Roses to Bed

Mini roses and minifloras are put to bed in the same manner. These are hardy little folks on their own roots. They will make it through the winter just fine with a little mounding. Shrub roses, like ‘Knock Outs’ should be taken down by about a third. Like the other roses, will be fine-pruned in the spring to give them a better shape. Cutting back the big shrubs will help to keep them from suffering winter wind damage that can rock them out of the ground or dessicate the finer canes. Climbers should be tied to their supports for the same reason. It keeps their canes from whipping around in the harsh winter gales.

My roses are always planted deeply in my gardens here at home. My bud-unions or ‘crowns’ are 3-4″ below soil level so that they, and a length of cane, are protected year-round, so I don’t do too much in the way of burying my roses this time of year. Folks in our area who plant their bud unions at soil level will want to mound over the rose to make sure the crowns are protected. Some rosarians bring loads of soil in from other gardens, but then they need to remove it in the spring. Myself, I’m too lazy to do that! If I need to mound something over, I’ll pick up a couple of bags of shredded pine bark mulch and dump it over the pruned rose. That way, come Spring, all I have to do is spread it out and my first mulching is done!

Good Luck

Have fun putting your garden to bed and enjoy the beautiful late Autumn weather. This time of year, the sunrises and sunsets are just spectacular and the full moon is a monstrous balloon when it rises! Enjoy special times with family and friends, a cozy fire, a cup of cocoa or a glass of wine. Your gardens have been beautiful all summer, and you can be very proud of that. Now it’s time for the roses and the rosarians to enjoy a cozy rest.