How do roses survive the winter
As one of the three treasures of the courtyard, the care of roses in winter is directly related to the quality of flowering next year. When the temperature drops to 5℃ or below, roses enter a dormant period, and scientific cold prevention and pruning become the key to maintenance. This article will systematically analyze the core skills of rose overwintering from environmental regulation to pruning techniques.
Three Key Elements of Rose Cold Prevention in Winter
Light Control Strategy
Roses need to maintain more than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day in winter, and it is recommended to place them in a south-facing balcony or unobstructed area of the courtyard. Special attention is needed, in the north when the temperature is below -10℃, it is recommended to use double-layer protection: first wrap with insulation cotton and then cover with transparent plastic film, ensuring both light transmission and preventing frostbite.
Key Points of Ventilation Management
Indoor overwintering requires ventilation 2-3 times a week, choosing to open windows between 11 am and 2 pm, each time for 30 minutes. For ground-planted roses, it is necessary to clean the leaves and weeds within 50cm radius of the roots, maintain the soil porosity between 25%-30%, and test with a bamboo skewer: no resistance when inserted into the soil is ideal.
Water and Fertilizer Control Standards
The amount of watering needs to be reduced to 1/3 of the growing period, maintaining soil moisture at about 20% (hand-held into a ball and lightly touched to fall apart). Apply decomposed sheep manure fertilizer in the late November, mixed with bone meal at a ratio of 1:10, 300-500 grams per plant, can enhance the cold resistance by 2-3℃.
Advanced Pruning Techniques for Roses in Winter
Pruning Standards for Large Flowered Roses
Retain the main stem height of 40-50cm, and keep 3-5 bud points on the lateral branches. The cut should be 0.5cm away from the bud point, forming a 45° oblique surface, using pruning shears disinfected with alcohol to prevent bacterial infection.
Key Points of Pruning Climbing Roses
Focus on removing old branches over 3 years old and keeping the semi-woody branches of the current year. Use a spiral binding method to fix the branches in a clockwise direction on the支架, retaining 7-9 main branches as appropriate.
Through the combination of scientific cold prevention and precise pruning, the survival rate of roses over winter can be increased to over 95%. It is recommended to complete all maintenance operations around the winter solstice, and supplement with a foliar application of monopotassium phosphate before the spring germination, laying a solid foundation for the spring bloom.