What Your Roses Need in October – 6 Things to Get Right for a Fabulous Flower Show Next Year

October is a transition time for roses in many growing zones. Your goal now should not be to promote more growth or flowering, but essentially to put them to bed for winter. You might still have some blooms right now, but the shorter days and cooler temperatures are signaling the plants to prepare for dormancy.

It’s not quite time yet for your roses to be dormant, but it is time to get ready. In October, you should be cleaning up, watering, doing a little light pruning, and avoiding triggering any new growth. Growing roses successfully depends on this end-of-season care, so take a little time to complete these important tasks while stopping others.

1. Stop Deadheading

Some types of roses benefit from deadheading, which encourages reblooming. If you grow these varieties, which include floribundas and grandifloras, you’ve probably been picking off spent flowers all summer and into early fall. This prevents flowers from developing rose hips and, instead, puts energy into more blooms.

By October, you can stop this task. Let some rose hips develop to signal to the plant that it is slowing down and preparing to enter dormancy. Rose hips also offer good visual interest as the season winds down and help feed local wildlife.

2. Clean up Around Roses

Roses are notoriously prone to disease, so cleaning up around plants is an essential hygiene task. Removing and disposing of plant debris, whether it looks diseased or not, helps prevent the spread of pathogens, including bacteria and fungi, which can overwinter there.

Remove fallen leaves from around the bases of roses as well as any lower leaves that look diseased or are damaged. Don’t put these in the compost pile. Dispose of them with yard waste or garbage.

If your roses struggled with a disease like black spot or powdery mildew this year, thorough fall cleanup is your first line of defense. Then, next spring, consider applying a preventative rose fungicide before new foliage emerges to help protect fresh growth. I like BioAdvanced All-in-One Rose and Flower Care Granules, available on Amazon, because they double as a fertilizer.

3. Do Some Light Trimming

As you clean up debris and remove any questionable leaves, you can also do some light fall rose pruning. Save the hard pruning for late winter or early spring. For now, it’s best to exercise restraint. Too much trimming triggers fresh growth that will only get damaged by winter conditions.

Focus on removing any dead, damaged, or diseased canes. It’s also a good idea to trim back the height a little on taller plants. This will protect them from winter winds that can damage canes or loosen roots in the soil. Remove about one-third of the height of tall canes. Climbing roses are exceptions to this. Rather than trimming them back, tie and train them against their supports.

When pruning roses, it's essential to use clean, sharp pruners to avoid damaging stems and spreading disease. In our testing, the best garden pruners were Felco F6 pruning shears, available on Amazon.

4. Stop Fertilizing

Along with stopping the chore of deadheading, you can also stop feeding your roses. Fertilizing now, especially with a high-nitrogen product, will trigger new, green growth. This new growth is wasted energy for a plant going dormant.

New growth is tender and highly susceptible to damage. Damaged green growth isn’t just wasted energy. It can also introduce pathogens and disease into otherwise healthy plants. Instead, wait until your roses begin actively growing again in spring before feeding. A balanced rose fertilizer, such as Espoma Organic Rose-tone, will provide a steady supply of nutrients to support healthy foliage and abundant blooms as the new season gets underway.

5. Water Deeply

It’s a mistake to assume that cooler weather means plants don’t need any watering. While you may water less as temperatures drop, especially if your area is getting rain, roses benefit from water right up until the ground freezes. If it isn’t raining once or twice a week, you should be watering.

Water deeply at ground level to avoid splashing leaves. Water your roses whenever the top layer of soil feels dry. Potted roses may need watering more often. While you don’t want the soil constantly wet, adequate water will hydrate your plants and better prepare them for a healthy winter dormancy.

If you aren't sure how dry the soil is, use a moisture meter, like the Yamron 4-in-1 soil moisture meter, available on Amazon, which also checks for soil pH, light intensity, and temperature – all factors that can affect the performance of roses.

6. Start Thinking About Winter Protection

Depending on where you garden, October may or may not be the right time to apply winter protection for roses. Either way, it’s a good time to start planning and, if needed, implementing these protection measures. Older, hardier roses might not need much, but smaller plants, hybrid roses, potted plants, and roses in more exposed areas can benefit from protection.

Wait until a hard freeze before you use any significant protection. If you do it too early, you can interfere with the plants’ transition into dormancy. Protection options include applying mulch, like Miracle-Gro Organic All Natural Mulch from Home Depot, around the base, tying canes together, or using a rose collar around the plants. Rose collars, like these pop-up rose cones on Amazon, are especially useful for potted roses, which are more vulnerable to winter cold.

Fall Rose Care Essentials

Effective October rose care is all about restraint. The focus is on doing less as the plants prepare for winter dormancy. This doesn’t mean doing nothing, of course. You’re winding down care, not stopping entirely. Clean up around roses, do any necessary trimming, keep watering as needed, and let the deadheading and fertilizing go. With these simple steps, your roses will enter dormancy healthy and ready to grow and bloom again next year.