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Modern varieties of roses bloom for a long time. And this is undoubtedly a plus. However, the plants are unprepared for winter. Their shoots and leaves turn green, flowers bloom. It is important not only to organize the wintering of plants, but also to properly prepare roses for winter, especially in the Moscow region, where frosts alternate with thaws.
With the onset of sub-zero temperatures, sap flow in plant tissues stops, and roses go into dormant mode. However, when a thaw sets in in the Moscow region, the plants are again ready for the growing season; dissolved nutrients begin to move into them again, which freeze as the temperature drops below 0°C, tearing the plant tissue. Bacteria and viruses penetrate through wounds, roses become sick and may die.
Preparing roses for winter in the Moscow region
Preparing roses for winter in the Moscow region begins in the summer. They change the qualitative composition of fertilizers, stop adding nitrogen, which promotes the growth of shoots and foliage, and increase the amount of potassium and phosphorus in fertilizing. This way the roses will strengthen the root system, and those shoots that have managed to grow will be able to ripen. Options for feeding roses in preparation for winter in the Moscow region:
- In mid-August, potassium monophosphate and superphosphate (15 g each) are added, dissolved in 10 liters of water. If it is a rainy autumn, it is better to apply fertilizers in granular form under the plants. A month later feeding repeat;
- 1 tbsp. l. calcium nitrate, diluted in 10 liters of water;
- Banana peels are a valuable nutritious fertilizer rich in potassium. Apply under the bush, embedding it in the soil, after crushing it. Or brew it as tea if dry banana skins are available;
- Wood ash - 1 tbsp. scatter dry roses around the tree trunk; if there is frequent rain, when autumn is dry, it is better to prepare an ash solution (1 tbsp. wood ash/5 liters of water).
Feeding rose bushes in the Moscow region with a predominance of phosphorus and potassium is carried out twice, with a break of a month. Roses accept foliar feeding very well, then the nutrients are fully absorbed. A solution for foliar spraying of roses is prepared by reducing the dose by 3 times.
With the onset of autumn, people in the Moscow region stop loosening the soil around roses. This is done so as not to cause the growth of new shoots from replacement buds and new fine roots. In the third ten days of September, the growing point of rose shoots is pinched, small buds are removed, and those that have bloomed are allowed to ripen.
Another important agrotechnical technique is autumn pruning of roses. It makes it possible not only to make it easier to cover roses in the Moscow region for the winter, but also to carry out sanitary treatment of the rose bush, its formation, and lay the foundation for future shoot formation, and, consequently, flowering.
Plant pruning in the Moscow region is carried out in the fall, shortly before the roses are covered for the winter. Approximately late October – early November. It is worth making allowances for the climate in the Moscow region. There are no exact dates for pruning; you should wait until a constant slight minus of -5°C is established.
In autumn, damaged leaves and shoots, broken, deformed, and with signs of disease, are pruned.Plant flowers, dried and still blooming, immature shoots are also removed. A sign of maturity of a rose shoot is a light core. You can make several test cuts to ensure the maturity of the shoot.
The issue of removing foliage is controversial; many gardeners will not remove the foliage, since this is quite a large amount of work when there are more than a dozen rose bushes. They conclude, based on many years of experience, that nothing bad happened to the roses over the winter. Another opinion is that the foliage should still be removed, as it can cause the bush to rot.
Both young, newly planted plants and bushes that have been growing for many years are subjected to pruning. Garden tools: hacksaw and pruning shears must be sharp and treated with an antiseptic. Roses are pruned in good clear weather. The type of pruning depends on the type of roses:
- Short pruning - 2-3 buds remain on the shoot;
- Average pruning – 5-7 buds;
- Long pruning – 8-10 buds.
After pruning, all plant debris must be removed from under the bush, or even better, burned, especially if there were signs of rose bush disease.
Trimmed rose bushes are treated with a solution of copper sulfate, iron sulfate, Bordeaux mixture or potassium permanganate. If the weather is warm, the plant continues to grow, even in the absence of leaves. Therefore, you should not cover roses too early; in a confined space, the plant may die or dry out.
Untimely shelter can cost the life of plants, the question is when cover roses for the winter in the Moscow region, is extremely important. Focus on the weather conditions of the region.Well, if it is possible to keep rose bushes at a temperature of -3°C, the plants will finally stop vegetative processes and go into a state of hibernation. At temperatures of -7°C-10°C, roses should be covered. Roses grafted onto rosehip roots can withstand lower temperatures in the Moscow region, while self-rooted roses are afraid of the first frost and can die at a temperature of -3°C.
For rose shelters in the Moscow region They use spruce branches, foliage, cardboard, burlap, agrofibre and film. More complex shelters are made from arcs or boards, over which some kind of covering material is stretched. All elements of the winter shelter are securely fastened so that they do not collapse under the thick snow and are not torn off by strong gusts of wind.
Watch a video on how to prepare roses for winter:
Planting roses in autumn in the Moscow region
Planting roses in the Moscow region can be done both in spring and autumn. Autumn planting has even more advantages than spring planting. In the Moscow region there is more quality planting material in the fall. Young plants have time to grow stronger, grow their root mass, and in the spring, having grown green, they begin to bloom no worse than old bushes.
In the Moscow region, it is better to plant roses at a temperature of +13°C+15°C. Such temperatures occur in mid-September - mid-October. Before the onset of cold weather in the Moscow region, seedlings have time to adapt, take root and successfully survive the winter period.
For planting, choose a well-drained area that will be well lit by the sun. The passage of air masses should be taken into account; roses do not like drafts.
Plants prefer highly fertile and well-drained soils.If there are sandstones on the site, they should be diluted with clay, and a 5 cm layer of clay is laid on the bottom of the planting hole. If the soil is clayey, then their composition is improved by adding gravel and river sand. A layer of broken bricks or gravel is placed at the bottom of the pit for drainage.
Distance when growing roses: 0.7 m between bushes and at least 1.5 m between rows. The planting hole is dug in a large volume; it will have to contain food for the rose for several years to come. The depth of the pit is at least 0.5-0.7 m, dimensions are 0.4x0.4 m. Peat, humus, and compost are taken generously, mixed with the existing 1x1 soil and placed in the pit. It is better to prepare the soil for roses 2-3 weeks in advance, so that the soil settles and does not have air voids.
Before planting the plants, loosen the soil again and form a mound on which the root system is placed, carefully straightening out all the roots. This is done if the seedling was purchased with an open root system. Before planting, you should shorten the roots to the size of the planting hole, and at the same time check them.
If you purchased a seedling in a container, then take it out along with the earthen lump and place it in a hole so that after filling it with the earthen mixture, the root collar is slightly deepened, about 5 cm. The soil around the plant is thoroughly kneaded. And water it abundantly.
In order for a young rose to winter well in the Moscow region, it is necessary to prune the bushes with the onset of the first frosts in early October, removing inflorescences, buds, dried shoots and immature shoots, as well as all foliage.Cover completely with soil, peat or compost.
Then organize a shelter, just like for adult roses in the Moscow region. Using arcs or wooden shelters. Or install a support around the bush, attach cardboard or mesh to it, and fill it with foliage or spruce branches inside. You can use plastic or wooden boxes to protect your plants from the cold. Usually this kind of shelter is enough to preserve roses in cold winters in the Moscow region.
Conclusion
In the fall, rose growers in the Moscow region have no less worries. High-quality preparation of plants for the winter season is the key to abundant flowering in the next growing season. There's a lot to do. This includes pruning, covering, and expanding the rose garden. In the fall, young plants are planted in the Moscow region in order to have full-fledged flowering bushes next year.
I haven’t looked after my roses for three years and they turned into rose hips. Is there anything I can do to make rose hips turn into roses?
Good afternoon.
It depends on the stage of degeneration of the rose into a rose hip. To answer you as accurately as possible, we need a photo and a detailed description of the bush. In the description please write:
• name of the variety;
• own-rooted or grafted roses;
• by what signs did you determine that the rose is degenerating into a rose hip;
• is basal shoots being formed (if so, is there a lot of it);
• describe the flowering process (if the bush blooms);
• are there any varietal characteristics left?
The decorativeness of a variety can be restored only if at least some varietal characteristics are observed during the growth or flowering process. If there are none at all, then, unfortunately, it is impossible to turn rose hips into roses.
Here are the signs by which you can distinguish roses from rose hips:
• in rose hips the shoots grow immediately green, while in roses they initially have a reddish tint, and then acquire a green color;
• rosehip thorns are smaller, located very often and chaotically, while roses have sparse and large thorns;
• rose leaves are more rounded and have a waxy coating, while rose hips have oblong and matte leaves.