Preparing rose bushes for winter in the Moscow region

With the arrival of August, people begin to think about the upcoming cold weather. Russia's climate is such that warm months are fewer, and winter lasts not three but four to five months a year, so preparations for it should be made in advance. This includes various pickles and preserves, as well as the care of every Moscow region resident who raises livestock or grows crops. How to prepare roses for winter in the Moscow region, so that the flowers don’t suffer during harsh weather?

Current issues

What should you pay attention to? This is especially true for inexperienced gardeners who have enjoyed beautiful bushes all spring and summer. A bush's winter hardiness depends on its variety and the maturity of its shoots by the first frosts of winter. It's important that they aren't still growing. To achieve this, finish feeding with nitrogen fertilizers, which stimulate growth and flower development. Switch to potassium or phosphorus fertilizers. These inhibit growth and help the wood mature faster.

Do I need to cover the bushes? Yes, but not completely and not all. If you have old roses, some of which are several years old, or species roses, there's no need to cover them. They bloom once, after which growth stops early, the wood hardens and matures. The bush is ready for winter. Chinese, Bourbon, and tea varieties require reliable shelter.

Modern roses are a completely different matter. Scientists have made specific genetic modifications tailored to human preferences. These bushes bloom continually, emitting fragrance all summer long and into late autumn. This "eternal" blooming is ensured by the long growth of their shoots, which sometimes don't have time to ripen before the frost sets in. How to prepare roses for winter in the Moscow region (video) – they need to be provided with shelter. Even if you've planted the most resilient shrub roses, you still need to be on the safe side. Among the shrub roses, there's a hybrid from the rugosa rose. It blooms vigorously early on, but the subsequent blooms are much more subdued.

Check your readiness for winter? How to check your flowers to see if they're ready for winter: when the shoots have a reddish tint, they're actively growing and the bush isn't ready for winter frosts yet. They haven't accumulated enough carbohydrate reserves and haven't become woody. Add phosphorus fertilizer, so all the shoots will quickly turn green. To be on the safe side, you can pinch off the growing point. Leave two faded buds on each bush. This will cause the seed to ripen, signaling to the bush that winter is approaching.

When to start loosening the soil? With the arrival of September, stop all digging and loosening of the soil. This is done to prevent shoot growth from re-starting. Buds have formed on the bushes and are dormant until the end of winter. From late October to the beginning of November, begin removing the leaves that have grown on the shoots. varieties of roses Climbing roses. This work requires a meticulous approach; everything, even the tiniest particles, must be removed; otherwise, unable to grow in winter, they will die and then begin to rot right on the bush. How to prepare roses for winter in the Moscow region, photo – don't skimp on removing them.

Do you need to trim the leaves? This is part of preparing the bush for covering. If you have a park rose, which blooms only once per season, or a hybrid of a rugosa rose, don't remove its leaves, and don't bend its shoots to the ground afterwards. They won't be covered. Trim the shoots of tea, China, or polyanthus roses by half.

Wait until the end of October and prune another third. Small-flowered roses don't require this kind of pruning; simply pinning them at the desired growth point is sufficient. If you haven't removed the leaves of roses you're covering in advance, don't worry. Do this later, before covering. Covering them with the leaves intact is not recommended, as this will lead to continued water evaporation, creating high humidity that will cause rot. Disease will develop, and then the immature, diseased shoots won't be able to survive the frost, and the entire bush will die.

What to cover with and how? The best and most natural covering material is snow. It's just as nature intended. It has a porous structure, allowing plants to breathe under cover, retaining heat, and preventing frost from entering. After the first snowfall, take some snow and cover the rose bushes.

• The second option is spruce branches, but you need to collect enough of them to cover both the bottom of the bush and the top.
• Third – how to prepare roses for winter in the Moscow region, spruce needles. They will protect the bush well until spring.
• The fourth option is leaves, but they need to be collected on a good day and checked to ensure they are dry and healthy.
• The fifth option is suitable for busy people or inexperienced gardeners. Synthetic material for shelters - agrotex or lutrasil. They can be purchased.

Conclusion

Preparing your roses for winter cold is a simple process, but it's not without its nuances and takes time, so it's important to approach it in advance, especially if you're an inexperienced gardener. Each rose variety has its own unique characteristics. Some require proper shelter, while others don't; some require leaf removal, while others don't. It's important to understand the differences. After all, frosts in the Moscow region are truly harsh and long-lasting. Preparing for them often takes a significant amount of time, and this applies to the entire farm, as livestock and garden trees require human assistance. Therefore, everything is done on a large scale.

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For more information, you can always ask your neighbors or browse online. Roses deserve careful handling. They delight with their beauty and fragrance throughout spring and the hot summer days, and with the arrival of autumn, they prepare for the cold weather. You need to monitor the process initiated by nature and adjust it. How to prepare climbing roses for winter in the Moscow region? This variety usually delights with vigorous growth during the season, but does not require pruning.