The growing season for many plants is drawing to a close. For gardeners, the question of the preparation and protection of flowering perennials from the winter cold becomes urgent, especially rose bushes, which bloom profusely in summer, but do not tolerate winter well. It is important how the shelter is organized, since it depends on whether the plant will endure the coming winter, and how abundant the flowering of roses will be.
Preparing spray roses for winter
The task of flower growers is not only to make a shelter for roses, but also to prepare plants for the coming winter. It is required to create such conditions so that spray roses smoothly complete the growing season and prepare for the period of hibernation.
First of all, they change the composition dressing for roses: exclude nitrogen, focus on phosphorus and potassium. If you leave the roses in the summer composition of fertilizers, where nitrogen is in the first place, then the plants will continue to bloom and grow shoots, that is, they will continue the growing season. In autumn, this is no longer required, so, young shoots of roses only consume the strength of the plant, they do not have time to ripen and, most likely, will be destroyed by frost. Moreover, the affected shoots become a potential threat to the entire rosebush.
Throughout the summer, bush roses bloomed luxuriantly and actively consumed minerals. Feeding plants in the fall is a must. It is important to replenish the mineral balance of roses. Potassium is especially important, which strengthens plant cell tissues and enhances immunity. Thus, reducing the susceptibility of bush roses to disease and climate change. Plants more easily tolerate not only winter cold, but also thaws in winter and spring return frosts.
You can compensate for the lack of potassium by adding potassium sulfate, potassium magnesium, potassium nitrate, and kalimag.
Another equally important element in the nutrition of roses is phosphorus. It participates in all metabolic processes of plants, promotes the growth of the root system, due to which they assimilate a greater amount of microelements. The ripening of shoots is accelerated, lignified they will not be damaged by frost. Phosphorus is found in fertilizers such as superphosphate and double superphosphate, ammophoska.
Without fail, in the autumn period, 2 dressing of roses is carried out before the shelter: in late August - early September and late September - early November. Top dressing options:
- Superphosphate and potassium monophosphate, 15 g each, are dissolved in a 10-liter bucket of water;
- Potassium sulfate (10 g), superphosphate (25 g), boric acid (2.5 g) are dissolved in 10 liters of water.
Gardeners also use ready-made complex fertilizers "Autumn", "Autumn" according to the instructions. You can feed bush roses with wood ash, 1 tbsp. they are brought under the bush and watered with water, or an ash solution is prepared and the plants are watered with it.
And another example of useful fertilizers for roses from folk recipes: the use of banana skins. They are actually rich in phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, and are in no way inferior to purchased mineral fertilizers. Bananas should be washed before use to remove the wax used to treat the fruit for better storage. The easiest way: chop the banana peel and bury it near the bushes, without going too deep.
Another way: grind the skin with a blender, pour water over the mass and water the bush roses. Banana skins can be harvested in advance by freezing or drying. Dried skins are brewed with boiling water, insisted and watered.
The next thing to do in autumn care for bush roses, in contrast to summer care, is to reduce watering of the plants, and then completely stop it, depending on weather conditions in mid-September.If the autumn is very dry, then the plants are watered once a week, using 2 times less water. This action also leads to the end of the growing season of roses. Young shoots and superficial roots of the plant will not develop.
Stop cutting long-stemmed flowers. It is best to pinch the shoots of roses at the point of growth. Shortly before covering the bush, they carry out sanitary pruning of roses, removing all leaves, buds, fruits, flowers, weak and immature shoots of the plant.
Further, the autumn pruning of plants is carried out. Choose the strongest shoots from 3 to 5 pieces, the rest are completely cut out. The remaining ones are shortened by half. Usually, for spray roses, medium pruning is carried out, when 7 buds remain on the shoot. Secrets of the correct pruning of roses:
- Pruning of bushes is done in dry, clear weather;
- To remove thick stems of a plant, use a garden hacksaw, for thin ones - a pruner;
- The cut is made at an angle so that moisture does not stagnate;
- A healthy rose shoot that can withstand winter has a light core on the cut;
- The cut is made above the outer bud at a height of 5 mm so that the future shoot does not grow inside the rose bush.
All plant debris left after pruning roses is collected and disposed of.
After pruning, the plants are treated before shelter for preventive purposes from diseases and rot with copper sulfate, Bordeaux liquid, and iron sulfate.
After such treatment, the root zone of plants is covered with a high layer of mulch of 30-40 cm from peat and soil. This hilling is the simplest way to cover bush roses.
Watch a video on how to cover shrub roses:
How to cover spray roses for the winter
However, a simple hilling not enough to keep bush roses intact. Especially in the middle zone, where frosts are quite strong, although thaws are not excluded. The meaning of the shelter is to protect the flowers not only from freezing temperatures, but also, to a much greater extent, from moisture, in the presence of which diseases develop.
Most often, the air-dry method of sheltering plants is used. The covering material does not allow moisture to penetrate, and due to the presence of an air gap in the shelter, a comfortable microclimate for roses is maintained.
For spray roses that grow several in a row, it is more convenient to organize a shelter using arcs. Arcs can be used the same arcs as when organizing a greenhouse. To stiffen the structure, the upper part is reinforced with a narrow board or slats. The measure is needed so that the arcs in the shelter do not bend under the weight of the snow. Many gardeners also strengthen the arches on the sides. Before sticking in the arches, the plants are spud and additionally covered with spruce branches.
Covering material is pulled over the installed arcs. It is best to use geotextiles, spunbond, lutrasil in 2-3 layers. Covering material is attached with paper clips, clothespins or special plastic clips. On the sides of the shelter, bricks or any available heavy materials and objects (pieces of slate, trimming boards, pipes, stones) are placed.
Another option for shelter is using planks or plywood, hammered together like a shield. They are covered with covering material in several layers, set at an angle to each other, getting a shelter - a hut. At positive temperatures at the end of autumn, the ends of the shelter are left open, but as soon as a stable sub-zero temperature is established, the ends are reliably covered.
The higher and longer the shelter, the greater the volume of air will act as an air gap. In large shelters, a comfortable temperature for plants remains longer, they will not be threatened by either thaws or severe frosts.
For freestanding rose bushes, you can make shelters from scrap materials.If the bush is small, then you can cover it on top with a plastic or wooden box, after having previously spud the plant and covered it with spruce branches or dry fallen leaves.
Another method of shelter: around the roses, slats or metal pins are stuck around the circumference, which will hold the base: cardboard, mesh - a chain-link or mesh for reinforcement. Thus, a protective cover is obtained around the bush rose. Insulation is laid inside. They can be branches of coniferous trees, foliage, straw. From above, the shelter is tightened with covering material.
The question of when to cover spray roses is quite relevant for gardeners. Weather conditions in different regions differ, sometimes nature presents unexpected climatic surprises. Therefore, it is impossible to name the exact calendar dates. The best time to shelter spray roses is when the temperature is set between -3 ° C and 7 ° C. Nighttime temperatures can be below -7 ° C-10 ° C.
The main thing is that daytime temperatures are constant and do not rise above -3 ° C. In central Russia, when such weather sets in, it is roughly late October - early November. But here, too, the usual course of things can be disrupted, and the timing of the shelter of roses is shifted in one direction or another. Gardeners need to be careful and observe thermometer readings.
Conclusion
A lot of effort should be made to preserve bush roses in the winter. It is necessary to prepare the plants by properly fertilizing them, reducing watering, pruning. Which will lead the flowers to the end of the growing season. Another important stage is the organization of the shelter and the observance of temperature terms. Following the recommendations and agrotechnical techniques will allow you to preserve wonderful plants without loss in any winter cold.
