Hey, everybody, it is deadhead time at the Rose Corral. No, I am not talking about a gathering of slow-thinking people. Nor am I talking about followers of a famous rock group, or about delivery trucks that travel without any cargo. I am talking roses—specifically, roses that are getting tired and trying to go to seed.

By December most of our rose bushes are fading. They are producing fewer blossoms and dropping yellow, brown or black leaves. It is time to clean up the garden as we close it down for the winter.

As brief as winter may be in Napa Valley, we still need to prune back the roses. For most of the year, we are merely deadheading, which means removing the spent blossoms to keep the bushes flowering. But now we need to prune the canes and stems much harder to prepare them for winter.

Napa Valley is in USDA Hardiness Zones 9a and 9b. That means we seldom have hard freezes. That is nice for us, but our rose bushes think they should keep on blooming. Although they can do that and look pretty good if we leave them alone, the bushes will not store enough energy in their roots for spring growth.

By pruning the bushes back to two to three feet, we can encourage the behavior we want. Pruning allows the bush to store energy in its roots rather than spending it on new blooms.

Even gardeners don't always fully appreciate that all living things go through a life cycle. If roses aren't deadheaded, the spent blossoms grow seed pods known as rose hips (photo 1). If the hips are pollinated and drop to the ground, they can potentially produce a copy of the parent bush, a process that happens in the wild. Photo 2 shows two swollen hips split open, revealing seeds. Alternatively, the seeds might get eaten by birds before they have a chance to drop and sprout.     

In controlled environments like our Napa Valley gardens (I use the term “controlled” loosely), we generally like to keep rose blooms on the bush. To keep the blooms coming, we deliberately stop the life cycle by removing the tired blooms—deadheading—before the seed pod develops. We use small hand shears to do the job.

In cold parts of the country, rose bushes go dormant in winter. But given our mild winters, we need to help matters along. The Master Gardeners who manage the rose garden in Napa's Fuller Park follow an aggressive pruning protocol in January, reducing bushes by as much as two-thirds. For most of the bushes, that means a final pruned height of two to three feet.

In essence, we are forcing winter dormancy with this hard pruning. The good news is that our tough approach leads to plentiful blooms by May.

For winter pruning you need either a hand saw or sharp loppers that can cut cleanly through canes that may be an inch or more in diameter (photo 3). The pruning process also involves removing any remaining leaves on the canes and stems by hand.

If you would like more guidance on winter rose care, plan now to attend the online course offered by Napa County Master Gardeners on January 11. The online course will be followed by a hands-on class at Fuller Park the following week. See registration details below.

Remember to toss rose leaves and pruning debris into your city compost bin and not your own compost pile. The municipal compost reaches temperatures high enough to destroy any bacteria or fungal spores; a backyard pile typically won't get that hot.

Napa County Master Gardeners are usually working in the Fuller Park rose garden on the first Sunday and third Thursday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and noon, weather permitting, February through November. We hope to see you there.

Library Talk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a Napa Library talk on “Growing Peppers” on Thursday, January 2, from 7 pm to 8 pm via Zoom. Let's parlez peppers—hot, sweet and mild. Learn the basics of starting peppers from seed, plus growing tips and usage ideas for your eventual harvest. Click here to register!

Rose Pruning Workshop: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a workshop on “Winter Rose Care” on Saturday, January 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, via Zoom. Learn pruning techniques for all types of roses along with everything you need to know to make your roses a success in 2025.  Attendees will be invited to a hands-on pruning workshop at Fuller Park Rose Garden on January 18 to practice what they learned. Register here.

Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am until 1 pm at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description