Regional Growing Guide: Northern & Central Midwest
Harsh winters and humid summers are the greatest challenges to growing roses in our nation's midsection. Preventive measures in the northern states are extreme. In fall, the "Minnesota tip" involves loosening the roots, digging a trench, then tipping over the rose and burying it beneath leaves, branches and straw. In southern states, gardeners who can't rely on snow to insulate their roses wrap them in rings of newspaper filled with mulch. Planting cold-hardy roses helps ensure success, as does selecting new hybrid teas, floribundas and shrub roses that bear thick, waxy leaves and have been bred to resist disease.
Select a season: Spring Early Summer Late Summer Fall
Wait to Remove Mulch
Don't jump the gun on removing mulch. Wait until the tulips begin to bloom. Remove whatever you can by hand and then use a strong spray of water to get rid of the rest of the soil. Be sure to keep three inches of organic mulch on the ground around the plant for the growing season.
Use a Living Mulch
This year, consider planting a ground cover beneath your roses. Research has shown that instead of competing for nutrients as previously believed, the living mulch actually helps keep the roses healthy and free from stress. Some possibilities include: lavender, germander, lamium, veronica, waldsteinia, potentilla, sedum, geranium, and campanula.
Get Ready to Prune
Prune winter dieback while the plants are still semi-dormant to take full use of the sap and nutrient flow in spring. Dead areas of stems will be obvious by their color. Prune just below the dead area, aiming to cut just above an outward facing bud. Also, prune for a pleasing shrub shape.
Be Realistic When Selecting Roses
When planning a rose display, be sure to choose roses that you have time to care for. Hybrid teas, grandifloras, and many floribundas require disease control, frequent fertilizing, and winter mulching. Hardy shrub roses and
antique roses are usually disease resistant and take little care except for occasional pruning and fertilizing.
Choose Own-Root Roses
If a grafted rose dies back to the ground in winter, the resulting new growth may be from a hardy rootstock that is different from the top. To avoid this, purchase roses that are grown on their own roots. If the plant dies back, the new growth will be exactly like the growth that died.