Gardeners should be resting at this time of year as there is not much to do in the garden in winter, but there is one important tip to know if you wish to keep your roses healthy.
You may have heard that winter is the best time to prune roses but anyone wishing to have healthy flowers should in fact do nothing to the plant at this time of the year.
It is far too cold to prune roses or do anything with them in December as they are dormant and cutting them now could make them vulnerable to frost damage.
Anyone wishing for their roses to survive the cold and come back blooming in summer should simply leave them alone for now.
Ally North, an expert from Roots Plants, has shared instead to check back on roses in 2025 as they will need to be pruned in late February or early March.
She said: “Roses also need to be pruned to maintain their shape and keep the plant healthy – the best time to do this is in late winter or early spring.”
By late February the harshest winter conditions are usually over and roses are just beginning to come out of dormancy.
Roses tend to be pruned as winter is ending to ensure the plant is still resting but is ready to begin growing new blooms and foliage after being pruned.
If you are worried about your roses, then you can tidy them up in winter by raking up any fallen leaves and debris around the base of the plant.
Fallen foliage is one of the most common ways fungal infections are spread, and rose diseases like black spot is more likely to be an issue in December due to the damp weather.
However, you can also protect roses from the cold in winter by mulching them, which is spreading a layer of organic mulch around the base of the roses.
Mulching needs to be done as it acts as insulation to protect roots from frost and helps the soil absorb moisture so it will not dry during harsh windy weather.
It is also incredibly useful to mulch your garden as it will smother any weeds which try to grow in your garden at this time of year, and is a natural way to prevent weeds from being a huge nuisance you have to deal with once spring arrives.
Ally shared that mulching roses is “very important” as it helps replace the nutrients in the soil to improve the quality.
You can use any organic matter to mulch roses but the most common tend to be garden compost, manure and bark chips.
Jack, a specialist grower from Root Plants, said: “We very much recommend using farmyard manure as a mulch over winter. This breaks down and helps to feed the plants throughout the spring.”
If you have taken the time to mulch roses then they will likely come back in 2025 stronger, healthier and with the potential to grow bigger blooms which you can enjoy next summer.
