A couple of weeks after the first cold evening, prune back your rose bushes; trim long canes by half and shorter ones by about a third. You want to carefully peruse each plant as you do this, so that you can eliminate dead, weak, or diseased shoots. Wipe off your pruners with some bleach before moving onto the next bush if you’ve been working with a diseased plant. Remove all remaining leaves from the plant, and any debris around the base; not only does this aid in the nurturing of the plant, it adds a “spring cleaning” look to the garden. At this time we’re only doing a down-and-dirty pruning; come warmer weather is when you will be doing more precise pruning.

You’ll be covering your roses with fresh dirt and mulch, which should be introduced into your garden from a different location. First remove all old mulch and dirt from underneath and around the roses; leaves that have fallen can spread disease spores if they were infected, and the mulch can provide a home for insect eggs. You should have stopped fertilizing in late summer; the last feeding should occur approximately two months before cold weather. Enjoy the final blooms on the plant, for cutting them will only stimulate tender new growth at a time when we are encouraging a dormancy. Spread the new soil and mulch around the base of the plants, extending to the branch line, and mound the mulch over the plant crown 6 to 12 inches up the canes. Adding some Epsom salts to the soil will provide the magnesium needed to stimulate strong basal cane breaks. Water well; dryness can be a killing factor. Adding an anti-desiccant will aid your plant in maintaining its desired level of moisture. Try Soil Moist Granules. And of course, the zone in which you garden will dictate the degree to which you should winterize your roses, along with their location in your garden (rosebushes next to the house fare better in the cold). USDA Zone 8 through 10 is kinder to the rose than the colder zones. These instructions are aimed for Zones 6 and 7. Also, when you are first designing your rose garden, along with your zone designation, take into account that the older varieties of the rose tend to be hardier than the hybrid teas, floribundas, and grandifloras.