Winter is often mistaken for an ending. Beds are bare, borders are quiet, and the garden appears to have paused. Yet for roses, winter is not an absence of growth but the moment when everything important begins. Beneath the soil and within each stem, the foundations of the coming year are already being laid.
The strongest, most enduring rose gardens are shaped in winter. Not through haste or heavy intervention, but through careful preparation, thoughtful planting and an understanding of the rose’s natural rhythm.
When roses are dormant, their energy is directed inward. Above ground, growth has slowed, but below ground the roots remain quietly active whenever the soil is workable. This is why winter is the ideal time to plant bare root roses.
Planted in winter, roses have time to settle into their new position without the pressure of producing leaves or flowers. Roots extend gradually into the surrounding soil, anchoring the plant and building resilience before spring growth begins. When warmer weather arrives, the rose is already established and ready to respond with strength.
Spring-planted roses can still thrive, but winter-planted roses almost always start ahead.
In winter, roses stand revealed. Without foliage, their structure is easy to read. This clarity allows you to prune with purpose, removing weak or crossing stems and shaping the plant for the season ahead.
Winter pruning is not about forcing growth but about guiding it. A well-pruned rose receives light and air evenly, reducing disease and encouraging strong, balanced flowering later in the year. The decisions made now determine not only how a rose flowers, but how it holds itself in the garden.
A rose shaped well in winter carries that form gracefully through the seasons.
Winter offers the best opportunity to improve soil without disturbing active growth. Mulching during the colder months protects the crown from temperature fluctuations, retains moisture and slowly improves soil structure as organic matter breaks down.
This quiet work feeds the soil itself, supporting the microbial life that roses depend on. By the time spring arrives, the ground is richer, more stable and better able to support healthy growth.
Good soil is not made in a moment. Winter allows it to be built steadily and well.
Winter invites reflection. Without the distractions of active growth, it becomes easier to see the shape of the garden and imagine what it could become. This is the season to consider spacing, repetition and balance.
Roses planted in groups or repeated through a border create cohesion and rhythm. Winter planning allows time to choose varieties that suit the space, whether planting a single focal rose or building a garden around several.
Decisions made now are rarely rushed, and roses benefit from that restraint.
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Roses are not fragile plants. They have been bred and selected over centuries to withstand cold, frost and periods of hardship. Dormancy is part of their strength. Allowing roses to experience winter fully helps regulate their growth cycle and encourages healthier performance in the long term.
Protecting roses does not mean sheltering them from winter altogether. It means working with the season rather than against it.
When spring arrives, the garden responds quickly. Buds swell, leaves unfurl and growth accelerates. At that point, much of the work has already been done. Roots are settled. Soil is prepared. Structure is in place.
The success seen in spring and summer is the result of winter decisions.
The best rose gardens are not built in haste. They begin with patience, preparation and an understanding of timing. Winter provides the space to do this well. By planting, pruning and preparing during the quietest season, you give roses the conditions they need to thrive for years to come. What appears still and dormant is, in truth, full of promise.
The finest displays of summer often begin in the coldest months of the year.
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Why the Best Rose Gardens Begin in WinterWinter is often mistaken for an ending. Beds are bare, borders are quiet, and the garden appears to have paused. Yet for roses, winter is not an absence of growth but the moment when everything important begins. Beneath the soil and within each stem, the foundations of the coming year are already being laid.
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A Year in Bloom: Looking Back at 2025There are years when the garden feels especially alive and full of stories. In 2025, at David Austin®, we saw moments that reminded us why we spend our days among stems and buds. Beginnings that feel full of promise, flowers that arrive ahead of expectation, and new roses introduced on some of the most celebrated stages in gardening.
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Winter Solstice: Marking the Garden’s Midwinter PauseThe winter solstice arrives quietly, the shortest day slipping in with little ceremony. In the garden, everything feels suspended. Frost holds the edges of fallen leaves, the soil settles into its long exhale and even the familiar shapes of roses seem to rest. This stillness is not an ending but a pause, a moment when the year hesitates before turning back toward the light.
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Roses at Christmas: A Winter Bloom Through HistoryRoses and Christmas may seem unlikely companions, yet the flower has held a place in midwinter traditions for centuries. At a time of year when daylight is brief and the garden lies still, the rose has often stood for continuity, memory and the promise of renewal. Its presence, whether symbolic, preserved or coaxed into late bloom, has long brought a touch of grace to the festive season.
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How to Make a Foraged Rose Hip Christmas WreathA winter walk often reveals more than you expect, especially when you start gathering what the season gives you. For generations, people have stepped out into the darker months to collect what the hedgerows have to offer: evergreens, seedheads, berries and, of course, rose hips. A wreath made from these finds feels honest and seasonal, shaped by the garden and the landscape rather than by anything store-bought. It is a small way of bringing winter’s character indoors.
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Roses of Christmas Past: Memories from the Victorian GardenIn the stillness of December, when frost feathers the garden and bare branches trace strong silhouettes against pale skies, it is easy to think of another age. A Dickensian Christmas feels close at hand: lantern light on cobbled streets, mist in the air, and behind brick walls and wrought-iron gates, old roses resting through the cold. Though they are bare now, many of the varieties we grow today were already cherished in Victorian times, rooted in gardens that knew the same cold, the same darkness, and the same deep anticipation of return.
