Overwintering potted roses: How to protect your plants

Your potted roses should be protected from frost, snow, and ice in the winter. The cold can harm the plants and their roots.  

In milder winters, simply placing the potted roses on an insulating polystyrene board is sufficient. A thicker wooden board can also help prevent the cold from chilling the root ball. Use this method for your potted roses on both the balcony and the terrace. 

However, if frost is forecast – meaning temperatures drop below 0 °C – your potted roses will require more intense protection from the cold. When it gets very chilly outside, the temperature alone can cause damage to the roses. Biting winds pose a danger to the plants as they can gradually dry them out. Additionally, if the warming sun comes out during the day, potted roses are particularly vulnerable as the temperature fluctuations can stress the plants. 

Therefore, ensuring good protection means that you can successfully overwinter your potted roses and we will explain how to achieve this below. 

To ensure your garden doesn’t look too bare and bundled up in winter, we also have 6 ideas for you to bring colour to the winter season. 

To help your potted rose to survive the cold season, you should provide ample protection for both the plants and the containers holding their root balls. They can withstand the frosty weather only when well-wrapped and will bring you joy again the following year. 

Firstly, mound soil around the base of the rose trunk creating a small hill of soil around the plant. This substrate warms the plant and protects the grafting point located just below the soil surface in the case of grafted roses. This way, frost will have less impact on the trunk and the delicate grafted points. 

The soil also ensures that the lower buds on the plant are not damaged, as they will produce new growth for the rose in the following year. It is essential to protect this part of the rose. 

Alternatively, you can wrap the trunk with leaves. Then, cover it with twigs to prevent it from being blown away by strong winds. You can conveniently collect your leaves using a leaf blower; the UniversalGardenTidy vacuums them up after you’ve blown them together. 

Wrap the pot of roses in bubble wrap. Then, wrap a layer of jute fabric around the outside of the bubble wrap. Both materials help keep the cold at bay. The bubble wrap provides the best insulation, while the jute fabric adds an appealing appearance. Additionally, the air layer between the two materials provides excellent insulation against the cold. 

Secure both the bubble wrap and the jute fabric tightly with string. This way, even a strong autumn or winter storm won’t blow them away. 

Alternatively, you can use willow, reed, or bamboo mats to wrap up the pots. However, do not place them directly against the pot; instead, cut them generously so that there is some space left between the winter protection and the pot. Fill the resulting cavity with straw, autumn leaves, polystyrene flakes, or wood wool. All these materials help protect the pot from frost. 

Finally, place the roses, as described above, on a polystyrene or wooden board to prevent heat loss from below and protect the plants from frost. 

Whether you have a standard rose, climbing rose, or shrub rose, pack some twigs between the branches. This natural material also offers protection against the cold. Next, wrap the crown with fleece. This keeps the twigs in place and provides additional protection from wind and cold. You can also build a plant cover in the shape of a tipi for delicate roses; this will protect them from an overload of snow and the cold.  

If some branches of the rose extend unfavourably from the crown, making it difficult to apply the fleece, you can shorten these shoots. For thinner branches, use a garden shear such as the EasyPrune from Bosch. It features automatic power assistance, so you’ll need less strength when cutting. For thicker branches, you can use the KEO from Bosch; this battery-powered garden saw effortlessly cuts through thicker twigs. 

Would you like to learn about pruning roses? We have tips on general rose pruning, as well as all the information you need on how to successfully prune climbing roses. 

Around November, you can apply winter protection to your potted roses. Do this when you’re preparing your other plants for winter. Depending on your region and the weather, it can get frosty very early in the autumn, so keep an eye on the thermometer. Be sure to wrap your potted roses in winter protection before temperatures drop below freezing. 

Take the opportunity to also check the pots in which the plants are situated. They should be made of plastic or frost-resistant fired ceramics. These materials won’t crack even in extreme cold.  

If you want to know more about when various gardening tasks need to be done, you can consult our garden calendar, which provides the right timing for all essential activities.