Spring Through Summer

• 1). Grow in full sun.
  
  
• 2). Apply organic matter followed by mulch to feed the tree rose and to help retain moisture. Water deeply and fertilize three times between spring and fall.
  
  
• 3). Deadhead blooms to encourage new bloom growth. Cut any suckers that may appear on the trunk. Spray, if needed, to control disease.
  
  
• 4). Stake the trunk if the weight of the blooms starts to bend the trunk.
  
  
• 5). Maintain the dome-like shape of the tree rose by pruning branches that grow well outside the canopy.
  
  

Fall

• 1). Stop fertilizing and stop cutting spent blooms in early fall.
  
  
• 2). Form a cage around the tree rose in late fall. The cage should reach about six inches above the top of the tree rose. Chicken wire or flexible Styrofoam can be used.
  
  
• 3). Fill the wire cage with straw and include a six inch layer of straw on the top. Straw is not needed for insulation if you are using Styrofoam.
  
  
• 4). Wrap the cage with burlap and tie or tape (duct tape) the burlap in place. Note: Another option is to dig up the rose, put it in a pot and keep it indoors during the winter in a cold, but non-freezing place where it will maintain dormancy. An insulated but unheated garage might be an option.
  
  

Winter

• 1). Pull back the winter protection to expose the top of the tree rose in late winter.
  
  
• 2). Prune back the top so the shoots are six to eight inches long (from the top of the trunk).
  
  
• 3). Re-cover the top with burlap or reshape the cage protection until temperatures remain above freezing.
  
  
• 4). Remove the winter protection when low temperatures are above freezing. Keep the protection to reuse the following winter.