Watering your roses is still important during the winter months. Even if your area does not normally get snow or ice, cold wind and air can pull moisture out of the rose's canes – meaning the soil moisture can also be depleted. Check your soil on a warmer day and give it a light watering if it's needed – do not soak.
Water the new shrub once every three weeks for the winter and then once a week through spring. From early spring through fall, most established roses will need a good slow drink of at least 2 gallons of water each week.
Step 1 - Start preparing your rose during the fall months- halt fertilizing and deadheading. Step 2 - After the first hard frost, water the plant well. Step 3 - After a few good freezing days, protect the bud union with a mound of soil then mulch. Step 4 - After the rose is dormant, prune the canes.
Give your roses 1 to 2 inches of water each week in a single watering session from early spring through fall. Increase the frequency to every three or four days in hot and dry weather. Porous soils will also benefit from additional deep soakings.
In dry climates you can water your rose once a month during the winter and resume the normal once per week watering schedule when the weather begins to warm up in the spring and the first leaves start to emerge.
Like most flowers, can last up to three days without water before they will need to be replaced; this is how long roses will survive after being plucked from the plant. Additionally, if not kept in clean, wet paper or cloth, roses can quickly wilt in about eight hours.
How Long Do Roses Last without Water? Cut roses can last without water for about two hours. Roses with woody stems retain moisture better, so they can last longer.
Avoid pruning roses in the fall. Because pruning spurs more growth, stop deadheading or cutting blooms for bouquets a few weeks before your area's first frost date. As the weather gets colder, your roses will begin to go dormant, moving their energy reserves into their roots to help them survive the winter.
November. Water: Reduce water to two times per week and shorten irrigation run time but don't allow plants to dry out. Deadheading: You can stop deadheading if you choose and just pull off petals and allow rose hips to develop. Fungal control: Pick up all fallen leaves and petals.
Fall Care: October and November
Once you have had a few good frosts, leaves will start falling. Apply a dormant spray such as lime sulfur and/or spray oil. This will kill pests and fungal diseases that might try to overwinter on the plant or surrounding soil. It can also help nudge those final leaves off in autumn.
Fall: After the first killing frost, trim longer stems to keep them from snapping in winter storms. Keep rose bushes from being top heavy to protect them from being uprooted in strong winds. Crossing branches that could be damaged by rubbing together should also be trimmed back.
In early November, prune the top third out of plants to reduce and eliminate snow damage if we receive an early, wet snow. Do the finish pruning in the spring while the roses are still dormant but the chances of a hard frost are behind us (about late February). Leave until spring.
Use Lukewarm Water
Extreme temperatures can shock the blooms and shorten their life, so it's better to use lukewarm or room-temperature water. The amount of water to fill the vase is important too—not too much or too little—so filling the vase 3/4 full of water is just about right.
The summer months will bring the heat so watch out for buds, leaves, new growth, and petals that show signs of wilting. This is an obvious sign that your rose needs more water. The leaves might also start to turn yellow (and dry) as a sign of requiring more water.
Fall Fertilizing
October will be the last time to fertilize your roses for the fall growing season. Use fertilizer that is especially formulated for roses. You can alternate with fish emulsion. A dose of iron, zinc, Epsom salts and SUPERthrive applied at the beginning of October will do wonders.
If you want to do any cutting of your roses in autumn, wait until after the first hard frost (temperature below 25 degrees Fahrenheit overnight). If you cut back before the first hard frost, it may send a signal to the roses to grow when they should be going dormant.
If you live in a zone that typically doesn't see frost, your rose will still probably go dormant for a couple of months, so stop fertilizing about eight weeks before typical dormancy times. This is likely closer to October or even November.
Chlorosis. Chlorosis, or yellowing leaves, is common in some parts of the country. Rose leaves turn yellow because the pH of the soil is too high, or there's not enough iron in the soil. It can also be caused by a lack of oxygen when the plants are overwatered or the soil doesn't drain easily.
In the fall, take off about ⅓ of each branch that you cut so your rose bush can grow healthy and tall in the spring. You can cut your rose bush down even more if you'd like to change its shape or height. Make sure to leave at least 6 inches (15 cm) of branches above the ground so that your rose bush can grow back.
Pinch or cut off the finished flower, just below where the base of the flower joins the stem. Leave any remaining buds or blooms to continue flowering.
If roses don't get enough water, they will start to wilt. The leaves will turn yellow and drop off, and the stems will become thin and weak.
If plants don't get enough water, then they show signs of stress. How can you recognize water stress in roses? Roses react to drought by dropping leaves, decreasing flower size or showing signs of early dormancy. In a water stressed state, roses are more susceptible to pests and diseases.
We recommend changing flower water every couple of days, or more often in hot weather. If your water is looking a little cloudy, then it's time to change it pronto - this may be from mouldy leaves below the waterline, so remove these before placing back in fresh water.
To keep your roses from drying out, they can still dry out even if they are dormant, it is advised that you provide your large pots with a gallon of water once every two weeks.