Happy Thanksgiving.
And my roses are blooming like it’s Labor Day.
I shot this photo today . . . the third Wednesday in November.
What other landscape plant blooms from Memorial Day until Thanksgiving? I’d like to see a peony do that.
Even though autumn temps are spring-like and buds are swelling on rose bushes, don’t be fooled into pruning or fertilizing.
Let those late blossoms turn into hips. Any deadheading or pruning at this time of year could result in new growth that won’t have a chance to harden off before the real cold weather finally shows up, causing dieback and stem damage. Same with fertilizing. You should have stopped fertilizing back in August. Roses need to toughen up before winter.
On the other hand, go ahead and give the plants a deep drink. Roses and other shrubs always need water from the soil for the root system, even in winter dormancy. Especially considering how dry it’s been in our region over the last several months.
Also, clean up leaves and debris from around the plant that could harbor fungal spores until next spring.
The bottomline: preparing your roses for winter began last spring and summer. If you kept your roses healthy by watering, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, controlling diseases, and fighting off insects, they should be in good shape to face the winter.
Meanwhile, I’ll be real impressed if Rosa ‘Prairie Harvest’ is still blooming in the front yard on Christmas!
