I apply compost 2" deep to rose beds toward fall...I also apply some uncomposted shredded leaves, twigs etc. on the beds around the same time...Works out good here...

I have a serious problem with voles thus I can't put any shredded leaves down until the soil freezes in December. No mulch either. Pouty face :(

Thanks for chiming in.

Jim: Do you mix the compost into the ground or just layer on top? How about those leaves? I have barks as mulch right now, do I remove the mulch, add the compost, then put the mulch back?

Christopher: wow, that's a lot of coffee ground you must collect! I do not think that's a workable option for me:(. But in the fall, my neighbors trees will drop a lot of leaves. I'll try to collect them for the bed.

Is it a good time to add composted cow manure also? You see, when I planted my roses last fall, I did not prepare the bed at all. I just removed the Indian Hawkthorns and put roses in. Needless to say, they are not doing well at all.

Kachana -- I'll explain it a bit, and why it works for me. I bought two 23-gal trash cans, and a wheeled cart. I left a can at Starbucks and asked them to fill it with grounds for me. I returned the next day with the other can and swapped them out, using the wheeled cart to get the filled can to my car. And I repeated that.

This particular Starbucks is in my town, and just a few doors down from where I work, so I'm already going there five days a week, anyway. On my days off, total time to travel there, get them, travel back, and spread the grounds in the garden is about an hour. For me, having a tiny bit to do daily is more workable -- and enjoyable! -- than having big projects a few times a year.

:-)

~Christopher

I'm talking about already established rose beds with roses growing in the beds. I just apply well done compost as a topdressing... Shredded leaves just get thrown on top of compost...I do not use a lot of shredded leaves so that they rot faster..

Out front is one of the only places I have wood mulch... I removed wood mulch applied compost then re-mulched. I do not apply leaves in that area.

Collect ideas and decide what might be best for your soil, roses & your area...

Christopher: wow, what a dedication! I bet your roses love and appreciate you, and reward you accordingly.

jim: thank you for your clarification. My bed is also an established bed, but I do not know what the former owner did with it. Existing flowers growing there seem to be doing well. It's some of the roses that I added last fall that are not performing. Maybe I'm just expecting too much of first year's bands:(

now if you were to add manure to the flower bed, when's the best time of the year to do it?

Thank you for your patience.

Manure is a spring thing... it could inspire a lot of late growth if you had Indian summer type weather.

There are years in which there is far too much water to have leaves around the roses--they turn into a soggy mess that can damage the rose canes--either via freeze/thaw mechanical damage or via galls or cankers. What works best for me is to remove all the leaves that have fallen on the ground and wrap the roses with burlap. The absence of cover gives owls and hawks a better chance at getting the voles. If the leaves are on the roses I leave them there.

I do manure every other year in the fall, then mulch (usually cedar chips). No covering of roses here, it is too wet and can get too warm in spurts.

I applied compost about 3 weeks ago or so...Scattered shreaded leaves but not a lot... The leaves have broken down and are almost gone already here... As Zack and Diane mention yes leaves around roses in wet areas can cause problems... Our area is wet and I have been there done that...I should of mentioned that..

I do not winter protect roses here... And we have no voles here. A few moles but no voles. Cats usually get most of the moles. Haven't seen one in awhile.

Ok best of luck with your rose beds! Just adapt whatever program works best for your area and you got it made! :-)

Just took these pics right now of part of one bed...Beds will go into winter like this... Mostly just compost left and whatever leaves fall off roses later...The fallen rose leaves do not seem to cause problems here so I do not bother with those...

Thank you all for sharing your experience. When I planted the bands last fall, I didn't winter protect, only added mulch. For this year, I'm going to add compost and mulch. I'll domthe manure in the spring.

Thanks again. You've all been very helpful.