Fall Rose Care

Putting Your Roses to Bed: Essential Fall Care for a Healthy Winter

As the growing season winds down and cooler temperatures settle in, it's tempting to think your rose care duties are done for the year. But fall is actually one of the most critical times to give your roses the attention they need. The work you do now will determine how well your plants survive winter and how vigorously they bounce back next spring.

Here are five essential fall rose care tasks to help your garden transition smoothly into dormancy.

1. Keep Spraying (Yes, Really!)

Even as blooms fade and leaves start to drop, pests and diseases are still active in your rose garden. Aphids, black spot, powdery mildew, and rust don't take a break just because summer is over. In fact, allowing these problems to go unchecked in fall means they'll overwinter in your garden and return with a vengeance come spring.

Continue your regular spray schedule through fall to keep fungal diseases and pests under control. This protects the foliage your roses still have and prevents spores and insects from settling into your beds for the winter.

2. Stop Fertilizing After September

This is one of the most important rules of fall rose care: no fertilizer after September. Here's why:

Fertilizer—especially nitrogen—encourages fresh, tender growth. In fall, that's the last thing you want. New shoots won't have time to harden off before frost hits, making them vulnerable to cold damage or dieback. By late summer, your roses naturally shift their energy from producing leaves and flowers to strengthening roots and canes for winter survival. Cutting off fertilizer supports this transition and allows your plants to focus on building reserves rather than pushing out soft new growth.

Plants that are still actively growing when freezing temperatures arrive are much more susceptible to winter injury. Let them rest.

3. Keep Watering Until the First Hard Frost

While your roses may not be blooming anymore, their roots are still hard at work. Even after the flowers fade, roots continue to grow and store energy that will fuel next spring's growth. Consistent watering through fall helps them build strong reserves before the ground freezes.

Dry soil going into winter stresses plants and can lead to root or cane dieback. Moist (not soggy) soil provides insulation for roots and helps them withstand freezing temperatures. Your roses are also still absorbing nutrients from the soil in fall, and adequate water ensures those nutrients reach the root zone.

Once the first hard frost hits—temperatures below 28°F for several hours—your roses will go dormant and no longer need regular watering. Until then, keep their water supply steady.

4. Cut Longer Stems

As you continue to deadhead or harvest blooms in fall, switch to cutting longer stems. This light pruning helps tidy up your plants without stimulating excessive new growth. Save your major pruning for late winter or early spring, but don't be afraid to clean up leggy or crossing canes now.

5. Remove Fallen Leaves from the Bed

This simple task makes a huge difference in your garden's health. Fallen rose leaves are often covered in fungal spores from black spot, powdery mildew, and rust. If you leave them on the ground, those spores will overwinter in the debris and reinfect your plants as soon as conditions warm up in spring. Removing leaf litter breaks that disease cycle.

Fallen leaves can also shelter insect pests and their eggs through winter—think sawflies, thrips, and spider mites. Cleaning up debris now reduces pest populations before they hatch next season.

Finally, a clean rose bed improves air circulation and reduces humidity around your plants, both of which are essential for disease prevention.

Questions?

Fall rose care doesn't have to be complicated, but it does require attention to detail. Following these five steps will set your garden up for winter success and make next spring's bloom season even more spectacular.