When beautiful roses are fragrant in the flower garden, I want to extend their life for as long as possible. To begin with, it is worth taking care of strengthening plants and increasing their winter hardiness. Only after this, you can think about how to close roses for the winter so that they do not die. The advice of experienced gardeners will help beginners solve this problem easily and the first time.
We prepare bushes for wintering
Already in the early to mid-August, various procedures must be carried out that will help increase the winter hardiness of plants. First of all, it is very important that the bushes stop their growth before the onset of the first frosts. How to close roses for the winter if preparation begins in the summer? It is necessary to stop introducing nitrogen fertilizing, which accelerate the vegetation and cause the plant to grow vigorously. To further slow down the development of new leaf buds, it is worth adding potassium phosphate fertilizer options. In addition, such top dressing contributes to the rapid and adequate maturation of wood.
Young sprouts, having a reddish tint and appearing in September, signal that the plant is in the phase of active growth, when it is simply useless to close roses for the winter. For the bush to survive, it must accumulate a sufficient amount of nutrients, and the stems must be numb. If such a situation arises, you need to urgently make a little phosphorus top dressing. All young shoots will turn green and you only need to pinch the top to remove the unwanted growth point. You can leave a few buds. When the seeds begin to ripen, it will be clear: it is time to prepare for winter.
Pruning and sheltering roses
The moisture required by the plant for normal life, evaporates very much through the foliage. Therefore, experienced summer residents recommend breaking it off before the onset of frost. Deciding what and how to close the roses for the winter further, you need to pay attention to the timely pruning of the bush. Greenhouse varieties and some hybrid varieties do not prune and protect against frost. They bloom only once per season. If we are talking about tea-hybrid, miniature, polyanthus varieties or floribunda roses, you need to shorten all the branches by half their maximum length. All climbing species are cut about one third of the length. Small-flowered roses can not be cut, but be sure to pinch all the growth points.
How to close roses for the winter now and with what? Normal snow is the ideal protective material: it retains heat well and prevents the shrub from drying out. As soon as the first winter portion of “fluff” falls out, you need to collect it and fill it with your garden roses. You can also use pine or spruce spruce branches, which are laid under the bush and make a small hut on top of it. Often used ordinary spruce sawdust, they can be bought at garden centers. Having a sufficient amount of this material, you can simply pour a slide directly onto the bush.
How to close roses for the winter, if there are no Christmas trees nearby and there is no snow at all? You can use special synthetic material, such as agrotex, lutrasil or spanbond. Create a small frame of boards or branches, which simply lay one or two layers of artificial shelter bought in a garden store. Some summer residents prefer to cover the entire structure with plastic wrap to protect them from rain and excess moisture.