As the year draws to a close, encourage your roses to go dormant by leaving spent flowers on the plants and refraining from adding fertilizer until spring. Fertilizers stimulate new plant growth, which is something you want to avoid in the cooler months. Frost and low temperatures can cause damage to fresh growth, so it’s best to give young stems and leaves a chance to “harden off,” or develop a thickened layer of tissue that protects them from the cold. Let your plants rest and recuperate starting in the fall, and your garden will be back in full swing come spring!