Mulching

• Roses will survive freezing winters with a foot of mounded mulch.rose bed. image by mdb from Fotolia.com
  
  The University of Vermont recommends mulching roses about a foot deep in regions where deep freezes occur or where there are large, fast fluctuations in soil temperature. You can use commercial mulch, peat moss, wood chips, clean straw or branches gathered from pruned evergreen trees.
  
  

Mounding

• Mounding soil or mulching around the plant helps to keep the soil temperature constant and dissuades heaving of the soil, which can dislodge roots. Apply loose soil mounds -- not heavy with clay -- about a foot high around mid-November, after the rose has had a chance to harden for the winter.
  
  

Climbing Roses

• Climbing roses have much longer canes than tea roses and need extra attention. To protect long canes, remove them from their supports, lay them flat on the ground, cover them with burlap and then mound soil over the burlap.
  
  

Considerations

• Pruning shears are a necessary tool for the avid rose gardener.taille image by Claudio Calcagno from Fotolia.com
  
  Always prune back dead or diseased canes, and remove any dead plant material from around the rose before mulching or mounding for the winter to avoid locking in fungus or other disease. Roses specifically designed for warmer, Southern climates may not survive Northern winters even with very good protection.