I'm a bit confused about "autumn" for roses... what is happening to the plants right now as the temps get cooler?

Are you supposed to feed them?

I've heard varying theories: no because you have to let them go dormant, yes but only quick-release, and just the other day an expert told me, yes, this is precisely the time to fertilize and suggested manure in pellet form and that the plants need feeding to make it through the winter....

I'm so confused!

Also, for the rebloomers, do you tend to deadhead after this last hurrah or do you leave the spent blooms?
What do they prefer?

I'm in Tuscany, Italy and lately temps have been in the teens - we've been getting quite a bit of rain and fog but also some nice days of sunshine with temps up to 22. But it's definitely fall and the plants are all acting differently from what they were a month ago.

Can someone shed some light on what's happening out there? And should I feed the roses now?

Thanks so much!!
Annalyssa

My first frost often occurs in very late November. As a result, for example, if the roses receive a food that is designed to last three months, it is given in late August, 3 months prior to the projected frost date. I do not want to do anything to encourage growth when it becomes cold, so nothing after that August feeding in this example, except for water as needed, because we still have to water here but infrequently .

Lynn

If you expect the weather to allow your roses to grow and bloom through the winter, then you should keep fertilizing through fall and winter, but at a reduced rate. Otherwise, you should stop fertilizing 5 or 6 weeks before you expect them to stop growing and blooming. Plants cannot use fertilizer unless they have undamaged leaves that are actively doing photosynthesis. When fertilizer is applied at a time it cannot be used, some of the nutrients will be wasted by leaching into the deep soil, which is a form of pollution.

This is so interesting! Why is there a difference between the once blooming roses and the repeat bloomers in terms of deciduous vs. evergreen?
It's like the repeat bloomers have mini generators in the basement?
And I guess the real question is what is "dormancy" exactly? What is "semi-dormancy"?
Michael I feel like you can explain the science... Please help?

So if I understood you correctly, for the repeat bloomers, the feeding, if not used up before the plant goes "semi-dormant" when the temps reach -4C, then this excess doesn't harm the plant in any way, but is just wasted?
When you say "pollution" do you mean harmful or wasteful?

One more question... When the hard frosts and consistently low temperatures come along and the roses are bare, is something happening at root-level? Growth? Or nothing at all?

Thanks!!
Annalyssa

2. In full deciduous dormancy, roses load their stems with antifreeze, drop their leaves, and shut down until mid-spring. In semi-dormancy, roses have stopped growing because of drought or cold damage, but they will start growing again whenever conditions temporarily improve.

3. Waste nutrients can be harmful pollution when nitrates leach down into the water table, which can make water unfit for drinking, or when phosphate-laden soil particles wash into surface water, where they can over-fertilize a lake and cause algae blooms, etc. Also with useless fertilizing, we are wasting non-renewable resources.

4. Gardeners speak of root growth during winter, but actually nothing much happens once the soil temperature falls to around 3 C. Also plants are not taking up significant amounts of nutrients unless photosynthesis is happening and healthy leaves are pumping water up through the plant.

This morning I walked past where I just planted "Old Blush" (chinensis), "Roxburghii Plena" (roxburghii), "Jacques Cartier" (Portland) and Rose de Rescht (damask?) and I now see four very different animals!

Thanks!
Annalyssa

Oh and I have a question you might be able to answer but i'll post in another thread...

:)
Annalyssa

I assumed that your soil was properly amended and you were referring to chemical feeding. In August I revitalize the soil for roses with organics or in the past have used a granular fertilizer on established roses. After this feeding, nothing is done except for the addition of mulch, but I have been amending this soil for close to three years; twice annually, and some areas at least had compost that was added previously. Protocols in different regions vary, and you wrote that your temperatures are already in the teens for the low, 22 for the high, so, it is already cold where you are. I know in many regions here, when it becomes cold, people just make sure their roses are protected if they are a variety with that need, and let them be until sometime in the Spring.