Will My Roses Die?!

Mid American Gardener has definitely said DON'T prune your roses in the Fall. Even if they look overgrown and even gnarly the winter will kill off some of the wood. If you prune now the dieoff will be lower. Some roses are grafted, so if you prune too much AND there is winter dieback, you will have the rootstock rose and not the rose that you purchased. You don't have to use a rose cone to cover, but if you don't like the look of your rose cover it with one of these. When you take it off in the Spring you will have new growth and can easily see what it dead and needs to be pruned off. I was worried last Fall about a new rose that I put in late in September, so I covered it with a large, terra cotta pot that had a crack in it. I also stuffed it with straw. There was a big flush of new growth there when I took the pot off in April, so it doesn't hurt to cover. Remember to put a brick on top if you use a styrofoam cover. My put was heavy, so I didn't bother with using a weight to hold it down. Just remember to wear heavy gloves to protect against the thorns! I burn what I prune, but pruned off rose wood composts very well, too. Oh, DO prune off the rose hips and make some tea!

The downside of that is, that if we have a mild winter, sometimes nothing dies back, and you have a sprawling mess in the spring when the new growth starts, and you have to cut off that fresh new growth. Doesn't hurt anything but your sensibilities, I think, if you have to do that.