Gardeners often associate the vibrant red or burgundy foliage of fall with deciduous trees and shrubs, but did you know some rose varieties also have red fall foliage?

Perhaps you are even growing these roses bushes in your garden right now and do not know it.

If you are thinking, how did I not know this? You are not alone.

I wish more gardeners talked about how the foliage color of rose bushes become more pronounced red and purple hues in the fall months.

As a gardener, I recently discovered that some rose bushes have rich red/purple foliage in the fall after pruning my own ‘Pascali’ rose bush in late summer.

I simply cut some long stem roses from my ‘Pascali’, knowing it would continue to push new growth and blooms until first frost.

Within 2 weeks of cutting my rose bush for flower arrangements, I began to see new growth with reddish deep purple leaves.

In looking into why this was happening, I discovered a whole new reason to grow roses – red fall foliage.

Let us delve into why and how roses develop fall color in their foliage.

 

Basic Considerations for Getting Fall Color Foliage with Roses

 

Fertilizing

While still their blooming season, you can get away with fertilizing roses at the end of summer around late August.

This timing would still allow for a slow-release fertilizer to nourish the plants but dissipate by winter.

During winter, you do not want to confuse plants by fertilizing them.

Roses are deciduous shrubs that want to go dormant in the winter.

Pruning

Gardeners are used to being told to only prune your roses in the late winter/early spring.

However, to encourage fall blooms, roses can be pruned in the late summer/early fall.

This will promote a fall flush of new growth and blooms.

Cleaning up leaves affected by insects, powdery mildew, or black spot will also rejuvenate the rose bush going into fall.

When pruning, you should cut back the stems down to right above at least the first five leaflet branch.

If you need to shape your shrub, a helpful lesson from the gardening community is that a new stem will grow in the direction of the five leaflet below your cut.

 

Watering

Water deeply at least once a week or if you have not had rain in more than a week.

Mulching the base of the shrub can help stretch your time between watering.

Mulching options are flexible.There is leaf mulch, bagged mulch, wholesale m.

 

USDA Heat Zone

If you are in USDA Zone with a hotter fall, you might not get to enjoy the changing of the leaves of rose bushes.

The fall foliage color of roses is due to cooler temperatures of the fall.

 

Why Roses Develop Red Leaves in the Fall?

Seasonal Changes 

Just like other deciduous shrubs and trees, roses go through seasonal changes.

As fall approaches, the temperature drops, and the days become shorter.

This triggers changes in the rose plant, including the breakdown of chlorophyll (which give plants their green color) in the leaves.

As chlorophyll breaks down, other pigments in the leaves become more visible, leading to the rich red and purple hues.

 

Natural Pigments 

The red and purple colors in rose leaves come from natural pigments called anthocyanins.

These pigments are responsible for the wide range of red and purple shades seen in various plants during the fall.

 

Sunlight and Temperature

The intensity of the red coloration in rose leaves is due to sunlight and temperature.

The cooler temperatures of Fall cause chlorophyll to withdraw, allowing for the formation of anthocyanins to develop red pigments in the leaves.

You should already be planting your roses in full sun and with this sunlight the red and purple hues begin to really shine.

 

Rose Varieties that Develop Red Leaves in the Fall?

 

Pascali

The Pascali rose that is in my garden is a fragrant long stem rose with white flowers. 

It grows to 4-5 ft tall and 2-3 ft wide.

It is hardy is USDA zones 7-10.