Question
I live in Maryland and purchased some knock-out roses this summer.  I have them in a stone bed.  They are not a year old and  and approx.2' tall. Can you help me with the care and pruning?  Can i cover the roots with some else besides dirt after the 1st frost.  Thank You for your support.  Janet

Answer
If you cover a rose bush too early in the fall, then you are making a mini greenhouse which will encourage the roots to make new growth. This new growth will get frozen when winter really gets cold. The ideal time to protect a rose bush is when it is completely dormant. To be totally dormant ,the rose must have dropped all it's leaves and drawn the sap down to the roots. This will be done when the ground is frozen and the weather cold. The rose will not die if allowed o do this. Covering a rose too early can actually cause dieback to the canes so I would wait until later before I used a mulch. You can mound the roses up to about 10 inches with soil, compost or any type of wood mulches you can get in your area. Take the mulch off when the weather will only cause frosts not days of hard freezing. Give the rose a handful of any type of rose fertilizer in the spring only, water well to keep the soil moist but not wet and the rose should do really well for you.