Overwintering Rose Cuttings

 Can They Take the Cold?

🌿 Plant Talk | by Guy Saldiveri | February 05, 2026

I love to propagate my plants—especially my roses. I do it as much as I can. Sometimes I wonder why, since I give most of them away. 

I do it mostly for the fun of it. I find giving them away and making someone smile because they just got a new plant (for free) does hit a spot…

In any case, it’s just one of those things I do. I get lots of questions about it, though:

• “How do you do that?” 

• “When is the best time?”

• “What do you do in winter?”

Generally, I point them to my blog post for propagation—“Propagating Plants.” But I wanted to talk about something else here. It has to do with roses specifically, and overwintering them. It really goes to the third question in those bullets, “What do you do in winter?” My answer is—pretty much nothing. 

The cuttings you see in the above image were taken and set last year in late September or early October. They’ve been sitting out in those little four-inch nursery pots since then. They had time to root before we got the first frosty weather, but I never did anything for them except maybe make sure they had a little extra water before a freeze. The water helps keep them warm when the temps drop—even as it forms ice, it releases a little heat during the change.

Roses, along with many other plants, will do just fine down to single-digit temperatures. It doesn’t matter if they are new plants or well-established ones. These have handled temps in the mid-teens so far this year, and they’re actually putting out new growth right now. They have sat there just like that in those little pots for the last four months.

Believe it or not, I have three pallets loaded with pots just like these that are doing just as well. Roses for sure can handle the cold. Other plants I have are Confederate rose, Confederate jasmine, and Celeste figs. Now, I will say, I’m in the Deep South, so my area may not get quite as cold as yours, but low- to mid-teens is pretty darn cold, and they all do just fine.

The hard part is getting them rooted; once that’s done, you’re pretty much set.

So, if you ever get an inkling to propagate some plants—especially roses—as you're heading toward winter, don't let it worry you. They will handle it. Get them rooted, keep them watered, and wait it out. You will be pleasantly surprised come spring.

If you have any questions, drop a comment, and I’ll be happy to yap for a bit—but the coffee is on you. I don’t make the rules, I just pass them on.

Happy Gardening 🌱