Roses are one of the most alluring shrubs, adored for their color and fragrance. Yet, despite their popularity, they do have a reputation for being finicky. They can be fussy when it comes to many aspects of their maintenance, but don’t be put off. Here I reveal what to do with roses in February, as it can be a make-or-break month.
February is a crucial time of year for gardeners growing roses, and those who have aspirations of doing so. Not only is late winter a perfect time to plant bare-root roses, but also a time for pruning, mulching, and clearing old debris to protect plants from troublesome diseases.
I have grown and cared for roses in all the gardens I have worked in, from shrubs part of large cottage garden borders to formal standard roses to dedicated rose beds in walled gardens. To help you get a stunning display of flowers this season, here I look at what to do with roses in February. I highlight four key jobs for the coming weeks, and one key task to leave to next month.
1. Plant Bare-Root Roses to Expand a Collection
February is an ideal time to plant roses to add flowers and scent to your garden. You can get bare-root roses in late winter, offering a convenient way to add roses to a yard.
Bare-root roses don’t look much when they arrive – little more than a stem and some roots – but they offer a more budget-friendly option than container-grown roses. They will burst into life come spring, produce a selection of blooms this year, and profusely flower for years to come.
To plant bare-root roses during dormancy, first ensure the ground is workable, not frozen or waterlogged. It is also advisable to soak the roots in a bucket of water for a few hours to rehydrate them before planting.
Dig over the area, removing weeds and large stones, and add some organic matter, such as compost or well-rotted manure. Place the rose in the hole, and before covering with soil, it is beneficial to sprinkle mycorrhizal fungi over the roots (you can get mycorrhizal inoculant from Amazon) to help the roots take in nutrients and water more efficiently.
Then refill the hole, making sure the base of the stem is an inch below the soil surface. Give the rose a deep watering to settle the soil around the roots and keep the soil consistently moist over the coming months.
You can get a range of bare-root roses at Amazon to add to your garden this month
2. Prune Shrub Roses for Stunning Displays This Year
You can prune many types of roses in February, including shrub, floribunda, hybrid tea, miniature, and groundcover roses. An ideal time for lots of rose pruning is towards the end of dormancy, just before new growth starts again for the new season.
It makes February a good window in milder climates, but gardeners in colder zones may need to wait until early March when conditions improve.
The exact techniques for pruning roses vary by type, so see this in-depth guide to how to prune roses for different pruning methods.
However, a few core essentials to remember to avoid rose pruning mistakes include using clean and sharp pruning tools, removing any dead, damaged, and diseased stems, and cutting to an outward-facing bud to develop an open shape.
A quality pair of pruning shears, such as these Felco 5 pruners at Garden Goods Direct, makes the ideal tool for pruning all manner of roses this month.
3. Remove Debris to Keep Roses Healthy
A bright, dry February day is the ideal time to tidy a rose garden or flower beds. Not only will it make your borders look tidy and ready for the new season, but also play a key role in protecting your roses from a common fungal issue – rose black spot.
Rose black spot is a serious fungal disease that infects the leaves, often appearing as dark or purple patches on the top of the foliage, and greatly reduces the vigor of the plant. The spores overwinter in leaves and stems left on the soil, only to wake up in spring and infect the roses’ new growth.
Take time this month to remove any lingering weeds, dead leaves, or old stems from the soil surface, as they may be harboring nasties. Mulching also helps bury the spores and reduce the chances of them splashing back up in the rain, infecting the plant.
Rose black spot can also be unwittingly moved from plant to plant by tools. Always sanitize your pruning tools after any pruning to avoid spreading spores. You need to regularly clean pruning shears and spray them with disinfectant when moving between plants (You can get disinfectant sprays from Walmart).
4. Mulch Roses With Organic Matter
Roses benefit from mulching, potentially twice a year. An application in the fall helps to winterize roses and protect the roots from winter frosts. However, arguably the most important time to mulch roses is in late winter or early spring.
The benefits of mulching roses at this time of year are that it retains moisture in the soil for the season ahead, suppresses weeds that can grow quickly in spring and rob water and nutrients, and the mulch boosts soil nutrients as it breaks down.
A thick layer of mulch is also a good preparatory way to protect the roots from intense summer heat.
The best mulch for roses is organic, biodegradable materials, such as compost, leaf mold, well-rotted manure, or bark chippings. Of all those, compost is potentially the best, whether you can make your own or buy bags of ready-made material, such as this organic compost at Lowe's.
Mulching is advisable after pruning and feeding roses, and anytime after planting roses. Spread a layer 2-4 inches thick, but keep any mulch away from the stem. Ensuring a few inches remain clear around the base prevents a mulching mistake that can cause rot.
FAQs
Do You Fertilize Roses in February?
February may be early to fertilize roses, unless you live in a warm US hardiness zone. The ideal time to feed roses is in early spring, once you see your roses starting to burst into life for the new season.
At this time, a balanced rose fertilizer like this organic granular rose food at Burpee can be given to plants to provide essential plant nutrients for strong growth and blooming in the months ahead.
Continue to feed roses during summer with a bloom booster liquid feed (such as this rose boost at Amazon) or a homemade rose fertilizer, which can be a tea made from comfrey or nettles, for a long season of flowers.
Now you understand what to do with roses in February, it may also be worth brushing up on your knowledge on one area that is key with the plant throughout the year, which is watering.
Roses require watering for the best displays, and will suffer when both under- and over-watered. Our guide to how to water roses looks at how much you need to water, and the right and wrong way to irrigate roses.
John F. Kennedy is a hybrid tea rose that produces large white flowers with a mild fragrance. It is classed as disease-resistant.
