Although we think of roses as summer flowering plants, they will often continue to bloom well into autumn. In mild areas or sheltered gardens, it’s not unheard of for a rose to be in bloom at Christmas time!
In late autumn we should carry out some light pruning to tidy up our roses, whether bush or climbers, to stop them from flowering and to prepare them for winter. When a plant has been in flower, on and off since June it uses a lot of energy and in the case of roses that are deciduous they need their dormant period to have a well-earned rest.
Roses are definitely one of those plants that we can put to bed for winter and that starts now by giving them a light prune, if you’ve not already done it. By trimming down flowering stems by one-third to half it instantly stops the rose from growing and trying to flower. Removing the top growth also reduces possible wind rock in the winter that can loosen the roots and cause the plant to lean over.At the same time, we can also check climbing and rambling roses to make sure they’re securely tied to the support, and start the war on rose diseases by collecting infected foliage to help minimise spread next year.