Winter rose care

Caring for your rose over winter

English Roses are tolerant and healthy by nature, and will cope with wintry weather without fuss. Our advice and videos on rose care over the winter will provide you with everything you need to ensure your roses continue to thrive when the warmer weather arrives.

November and December

Your roses are winding down for the winter. Let them go into dormancy. There is nothing you need to do now. Do not worry about your roses being exposed to extreme frosty conditions or snow, they are in hibernation and will be unaffected.

January and February

It’s time to prepare your roses for the year ahead and give them a prune. Ideally, complete this task in January or February, but if you haven’t done so by March, don’t worry; your roses will still benefit from a thorough prune.

Roses planted in windy or exposed conditions

For roses planted in particularly windy or exposed areas we suggest pruning shrub roses by 1/3 of their size in mid to late October; once the last of the roses have faded. This prevents ‘wind rock’ which is when the rose becomes loose at the base where it meets the soil, due to wind exposure. For standards prune lightly to defend against strong winds.

Let our experts show you how to prune your roses

Watch our videos or follow our step-by-step guides.

Hip producing roses

Many roses will produce plentiful crops of beautifully coloured hips following their flowering season. These hips are highly decorative and will provide vibrant colour over the winter months, they also attract wild birds to your garden.

For hip-producing roses do not deadhead. This will allow hips to form over the autumn.