The Best Methods for Winterizing Roses: Prepare Your Roses for Winter

If your garden contains roses other than the wild or native variety, your roses will probably be susceptible to any extreme winter conditions. You will probably need to winterize your more tender roses if your ground stays mostly frozen during winter, and your temperatures stay below 20^◦ F. While it can be a chore, winterizing your roses will ensure that you have a beautiful garden in the spring.

Preparing Your Roses for Winter

The easiest way to help winterize your roses is to make sure that your roses are healthy. By taking good previous care of them, your roses will be strong enough to face the winter season.
Some other tips:

In late summer, stop fertilizing and deadheading your roses; this will discourage new growth and begin hardening your roses
Remove any fallen leaves and debris within or around the roses
Prune enough to prevent your roses from breaking in strong winter winds; follow up with antidesiccant spray to seal in moisture
Tie together long canes to prevent roses from breaking

Winterizing Roses: Hilling Method

Adding a mound of dirt around the base of your roses will help conduct warmth into the main stem and protect against freezing. The best time to use this method is after a few frosts, but before the ground freezes.
How to do it:

Take dirt and pile it up around your roots, making it 1’ high and 1’ wide (do not take the soil from directly around your plants; it will expose roots to the winter air)
Sandy, lean soil is the best type of soil to use for your mound; pack it firmly around the base
If you live in an extremely cold region, you can add mulch (contains salt hay, bark chips, pine needles, leaves, etc.) to your mound as an extra layer of protection

Winterizing Roses: Give Some Structure

If you have particularly tender roses, you may need to go the extra step by creating or buying cones or structures for your roses.

Encircle the base of your roses with either chicken wire, a cone, or a cylinder; allow for one foot of space around the roses
Fill up your container with straw, leaves, or other similar materials
Punch 1” holes all around the top of the structure (if it doesn’t have holes) to allow for air circulation
For an extra coat of protection, add a piece of burlap around the structure and tie with twine

Once the ground has thawed for good in the spring, promptly remove the dirt from around your roses to allow for new growth. Keep some extra mulch on hand in case a late frost occurs and you need to insulate your roses again.

Once the winterizing process is complete, your roses will be ready for winter!