Late February rose care: Pruning, feeding & tips for a stunning Autumn flush

It’s late February and its time to give your roses a late summer pep talk.

After months of valiant blooming through heatwaves, dry spells and the occasional neglectful gardener (no judgement), your roses are ready for their second wind. And if you play your cards, and your secateurs, right, that autumn show can be even better than spring.

Here’s how to give them their late-summer pep talk.

First things first: stop being polite about spent flowers and dead head like your really mean it.

Those crispy, browning blooms clinging to the bush are not “adding character”. They are energy thieves. If left to form hips, your rose assumes its life’s work is complete and begins winding down production.

Instead, snip with purpose. Follow the stem down to the first strong, outward-facing five-leaflet leaf and cut just above it. That’s your signal to the plant: “We are not done yet.”

Hybrid teas will respond with elegant long stems. Floribundas will cluster up enthusiastically. Even standards will perk up as if they’ve had a cold drink and a stern talking-to.

Be brave. A timid trim won’t do it. Roses respect confidence.

Roses are hungry little critters too. Not peckish. Hungry. So feed them.

By late February, they’ve burned through nutrients like a touring rock band burns through hotel rooms. If you want that lush autumn flush, you must refuel. Apply a balanced rose fertiliser or some nicely aged manure around the drip line (not shoved against the trunk –   roses dislike wet feet and smothered crowns). Water it in deeply.

If the plant looks heat-stressed, a seaweed tonic works wonders to settle it down and strengthen roots before the next growth surge.

And tidy confidently, don’t go full winter pruning yet. Now is about refinement, not reinvention – so put those loppers down.

You want to remove:
Dead wood
Diseased stems
Twiggy, weak growth
Branches crossing through the centre
Any suckers sneaking up from below the graft

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnFebWd1KlU

Open up the middle of the bush so air can circulate. Humid evenings plus crowded growth equals fungal drama, and nobody wants black spot season to escalate.

Climbing roses deserve a quick check too. Tie in long new canes horizontally, this encourages flowering along their length instead of just at the tips. Remove spent laterals but save serious restructuring for winter dormancy.

Patience now pays off later.

Late summer can be prime time for fungal mischief. If you see black spot lurking, don’t sigh dramatically and walk away. Fix it before it’s out of control.

Collect fallen leaves weekly. Dispose of infected foliage in the bin, never in the compost. Good hygiene now reduces reinfection cycles.

If needed, apply a suitable fungicide or an organic spray. Remember, consistency beats intensity, regular care is more effective than a single over-enthusiastic treatment.

Healthy roses are resilient. Stressed roses are susceptible.

Which brings us to watering. Even if temperatures are easing, hot winds can still parch soil quickly. Deep watering once or twice a week is far better than daily sprinkles that barely reach the roots.

Water in the morning. Damp leaves overnight are practically an engraved invitation for fungal issues.

Check your mulch too. If it’s thinned to nothing after summer, top it up to about 5 – 7cm thick, but keep it clear of the crown (the crucial junction point where the stem meets the roots). Mulch moderates soil temperature and keeps moisture levels steady, which roses appreciate enormously.

Hips or no hips – you’ve allowed rose hips to form, decide what you want.

Decorative hips for autumn interest? Leave them. Or, want more flowers? Remove them promptly. Hip production signals retirement mode. And we are not in retirement mode yet.

Late-summer growth can be surprisingly vigorous. Check stakes and ties, especially on standard roses. Replace tight ties before they bite into thickening stems. A broken standard in an autumn storm is a heartbreak easily avoided.
Do this now and, in six to eight weeks, you’ll be rewarded with something magical.

Autumn roses often have richer colour, better petal substance and longer vase life. Cooler nights intensify reds, clarify pinks and give whites that luminous glow gardeners chase all year.

Many seasoned rosarians will tell you, quietly, so spring doesn’t hear, that autumn in fact, is the superior season.

Late February is the hinge point. It’s not glamorous work. There’s no dramatic pruning pile. Just steady, thoughtful care.

But tend your roses now – deadhead boldly, feed generously, tidy wisely – and they will rise to the occasion. And you will enjoy seeing autumn arrive in a flush of colour.