Winterize roses for a healthy new year

Go ahead and winterize your hybrid roses, as there have been several hard freezes already at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Cut back the rose canes to about 18 inches and mound the roses with 12 to15 inches of compost or mulch for the winter. Do not use grass clippings, which 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 roses do not require this special treatment for the winter.

• Remove frozen plants from containers and hanging baskets, and replace them with evergreen boughs, branches with colorful berries and interesting seed heads from perennials and ornamental grasses. Garden centers will have lots of options to choose from for decorating your containers if you do not have materials available in your garden.

Push ends of the stems into the growing medium in the container as it works well to support the branches. You may need to move the containers to a warm space to thaw out the growing medium, as you will not be able to insert branches into frozen soil.

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

• Turn off water to any faucets that are not frost free and disconnect garden hoses from the house. Frost-free faucets have a valve inside the house that shuts off the water and prevents the line from freezing so they can be used during cold weather.

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