Caring For Your Roses In October

Whilst the weather is starting to turn cooler in October, it is not quite cold enough to start your winter rose maintenance. Nevertheless, there are still plenty of jobs you can do throughout October to look after your roses.  

Keep reading to hear our Rosarian’s advice on caring for your roses in October. 

Remove any diseased leaves 

With the air becoming damper in October, your roses are more likely to get a few diseased leaves with ailments like black spot. The best thing you can do in these cases is remove any diseased leaves from the plant and keep an eye on it.

It is vital that you remove these leaves before they fall; otherwise, they will contaminate the soil. Similarly, make sure that you dispose of diseased leaves in your garden waste bin rather than your compost heap, otherwise they will infect your compost. 

Deadhead Your Flowers 

As you have been throughout the summer, make sure you are still deadheading your roses, once the flowers have gone over. This will give the rose time to put its energy into one more growth spurt before the weather turns cold.  

Want to know the best way to deadhead your roses?

Click here for our Rosarian’s deadheading advice

Collect your hips 

You can start collecting your hips in October, if your plant produces them, for use in teas, wines, jams and other products. You will know if your hips are ready to be harvested if they are soft and vibrant in colour. If they are still green around the edges, then they probably need a while longer.  

Alternatively, some people prefer to leave their hips on the plant, as they make a great winter food source for birds and other wildlife.  

If you would like to learn more about rose hips, click here  

Protect taller roses against the wind 

As the weather gets colder, the wind also starts to become stronger and more erratic, so our Rosarians recommend protecting your taller roses from the wind.  

To do this, you can either add more fastenings to further secure your rose back to the structure it’s growing on or you can cut your taller stems down to make them less vulnerable to the wind.  If you choose to trim your stems down, just remember not to do anything too drastic, as it is too early to do a hard prune. 

Need some more advice on how to care for your roses?