Thousands of roses end the same way: This bad decision in the autumn is to blame

Roses can be the pride of any garden – from a small cottage bed to a well-kept city park. With just one shrub, the space is transformed into a place full of colour and fragrance that attracts both eyes and bees. But anyone who’s ever grown them knows they’re not exactly unpretentious. Sometimes, despite all the care, some shrubs look tired, have weak flowers and look unhealthy. It doesn’t have to be bad soil or lack of sun. Sometimes the problem lies in one seemingly innocent decision – what you do with your roses in autumn.

Thousands of roses every year end up the same way: weakened, damaged and without a chance of full bloom the following season. Often because their owners make a fatal mistake – and it’s not a lack of care, as you might think, but rather an over-indulgence in giving them more than they really need. Many gardeners prune their roses heavily in autumn to prepare them for the winter, which paradoxically harms rather than helps them.

Why and how to prune roses in autumn

Every rose is different. They differ not only in flower shape, colour and scent, but also in their pruning needs. And autumn pruning makes sense, of course, but it must be done sensitively.

While a light trimming of excessively long shoots or the removal of faded flowers will benefit the roses, a substantial cut can already be a problem. The plant starts to fight back – instead of saving energy for overwintering, it wakes up to new growth. Young, fragile shoots that emerge in the autumn months will naturally be ‘burnt’ by the first frosts. As a result, the shrub wakes up in the spring weakened and often more susceptible to disease and pests.

Another common mistake is not taking varietal differences into account. Because what benefits bedding or miniature roses can be the undoing of climbing or orchard roses. While some species need only light pruning, others should remain almost intact until spring when a major cut can be made. The autumn period should be used for clearing and preparing for winter rather than drastic intervention in the shrub structure.

However, the greatest danger lies in the combination of pruning and weather. If the autumn is wet and rainy, fresh pruning wounds heal more slowly and present easier access for fungi and fungal diseases. In addition, exposed branches break more easily in cold and windy conditions and roots can be uprooted.

This is why it is increasingly emphasised in horticultural circles that pruning should be minimal in autumn and that the crucial time for most roses comes with the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

How to care for roses in autumn to survive the winter

If you want your rosebushes to offer a profusion of blooms every year, you need to give them conditions that will allow them to safely survive the coldest months.

That’s why the key to autumn care is not scissors, but cleanliness and protection. Remove dead flowers, diseased or damaged leaves and twigs – because these are the very things that disease and pest germs might otherwise be lurking on. Pay attention to the surrounding soil too, as fallen leaves can become another unwanted source of fungus.

Lightly prune only those shoots that could break in winter winds and damage the whole shrub. This not only protects the rose from mechanical damage, but also keeps it in its natural shape. Save any major intervention for after the frost has subsided and the plant is ready for new growth.

However, autumn is ideal for other tasks, such as new planting or transplanting older shrubs. This is because the soil is still warm enough for the plants to become well established, while still giving them enough time to take root before winter. Combined with adequate mulch and frost protection, this will lay the foundation for your roses to wake up in full glory in spring.

So if you want to avoid your roses ending up like thousands of others – weakened, diseased or dead – remember that significant pruning belongs until light and warmth have reawakened their vigour.