It's time to winterize your garden, tools

Some winterizing tips to get you through the cold season:

• Winterize your hybrid roses after there have been two to three hard freezes (temperatures in the teens), which typically occur in late November at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Cut back the rose canes to about 18 inches and mound the roses with 12 to 15 inches of compost or mulch. Do not use grass clippings, as they will mat down and hold moisture around the plants. It is best to clean up and remove any rose leaves that have fallen if you had problems with black spot, which is a common fungal disease. This disease will overwinter on infected foliage. Shrub or landscape roses do not require this special treatment for the winter.

• It is a good idea to sharpen and clean garden tools when putting them away for the season.

Sharpen spades with an electric hand grinder and put the bevel on the inside edge of the spades. It is important to wear ear and eye protection for this task as it is noisy and sparks will fly as the grinder works. Move the grinder steadily back and forth to create the sharp edge and avoid burning the metal. Well-maintained tools make gardening much easier.

Use pegboard on your garage walls to hang and organize tools. If your garage is unheated, it is best to store liquids inside. Have your snowblower serviced soon, as repair shops get backed up with repair and maintenance work once the snow season sets in.

• Clean out your gutters once all leaves have fallen. Leaves will clog up the gutters and be very difficult to remove once the water becomes frozen.

• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.