Roses are the crown jewels of many gardens, but harsh winter conditions can threaten their survival. protecting these beloved plants can feel like a yearly challenge if you live in an extremely cold climate, .
Enter the Minnesota Tip method, a technique developed in the 1950s by Minnesotan gardener Jerry Olson and Master Grower Albert Nelson. This tactic protects roses from extreme cold, warm spells, breakage from ice and wind, and withering from dry air. Here’s how to use it.
Preparing Roses for the Minnesota Tip
You’ll need to prepare before winterizing your roses with the Minnesota Tip. Roses need to be in their best condition to survive the winter slumber. Follow these tips:
- Inspect plants and beds. Examine the roses’ leaves, stems, and soil for any signs of disease, pests, or abnormalities. Take note of discoloration, spots, and wilting in particular.
- Water often. Thoroughly water the roses for a few days if it’s dry outside. Soil and roots will become easier to work with.
- Prune and clean. Remove dead or diseased canes to prevent infections, but don’t prune too liberally. Your only goal here is to make the rose bushes more compact for easy handling. Take off any remaining leaves, and seal the cut ends of pruned branches with wax or white wood glue to prevent moisture loss.
- Apply protective treatments. At least one day before you tip the roses, treat the plants with a dormant spray or fungicide as one more layer of protection against disease. You can find these sprays at a garden store. Buy an organic variety to minimize environmental impact.
Doing the Minnesota Tip
If your roses are ready for the Minnesota Tip, here’s the method that Olson preferred:
- Bundle up. Bundle rose canes together with non-degradable twine, starting from the bottom and working your way up. Leave a long piece of twine at the end as a marker for locating the plant in spring. Be gentle, and don’t break the canes.
- Start digging. Dig a trench on one side of the plant. It should be long and wide enough to accommodate the whole rose bush and deep enough to protect the plant from freezes. If you can, plan the trench toward the side where the graft bud is attached, as this lessens the chance of breakage.
- Remove soil from the plant shank. Right before the roots branch out, the shank is just below the bud union. Carefully remove soil from the area to facilitate easier tipping. Be precise, and don’t damage the plant.
- Loosen the soil. With a garden fork, carefully loosen the soil around the other side of the rose. Try not to damage major roots.
- Tip the plant. Slowly tip the entire plant into the prepared trench, leveraging the plant’s natural flexibility. Be delicate so you don’t break anything.
- Cover up the trench. Cover the entire plant with soil, but leave the marker twine visible aboveground.
- Water again. More water settles the soil around the buried rose.
- Mulch. After the ground freezes, add 12 to 18 of leaves or mulch for extra insulation over the buried rose.
Once you’ve added a mulch layer, you can wait out the winter as your roses take a cozy slumber.
Spring Revival: Unearthing Roses
When the ground starts to thaw, around early April, it’s time to remove the leaf cover from the roses. As the sunlight warms the ground further, you may be able to remove the soil and stand your plants back upright by the middle of the month. However, don’t rush the process. If you try to remove them before the soil is thawed and loose, you’ll probably damage the canes while extract the roses.
Carefully remove the soil from the area around your twine marker. Remove the rose, and plant it evenly set back into the soil. Rinse off any remaining soil with a light spray of water, which can also help wake the plant up from dormancy.
Keep the roses well-watered in the following weeks. Fertilize them with a balanced rose feed so they’ll have the nutrients they need for the growing season.
Alternative Winterization Methods
The Minnesota Tip Method is highly effective but may not be the best technique for all rose varieties. Three alternatives are rose cones, mounding, and wrapping:
- Rose cones: These protective structures are a porous form or heavy cardboard, which helps insulate and shield the plants in the wintertime. Ventilate them so moisture can’t build up, leading to rot.
- Mounding: Mounding involves piling soil or mulch around the base of the rose bush, covering the graft union and lower canes to protect them from frost. It’s less labor-intensive than tipping but might not offer as much protection in extremely cold areas.
- Wrapping: Wrapping involves surrounding the plant with protective burlap. You can combine a wrap with mounding for more insulation. However, you’ll need to be careful not to cut off air circulation with this method.
Whether you use the Minnesota Tip or another method, plan your strategy and follow instructions. You’ll have beautiful and thriving roses in the next growing season.
