Growing Roses in Finland

 The Finnish climate creates rather harsh conditions for growing roses. In winter, the temperature usually falls below zero degrees Celsius from November onwards, and it may at times go down to -20 C. Not before April will temperatures reach above the freezing point both day and night. During most winters, the ground freezes to a depth of 20-50 cm.  

The summer growing season lasts from May to September. In Finland this means very long days with many hours of daylight and a lot of sunshine that the roses love.

Naturally, these conditions create certain limits on which roses can be grown in our country, and what measures must be taken to ensure the survival of these roses through the winter. However, these conditions may be changing due to climate change, as we have recently seen extraordinarily high winter temperatures, with 6-10 degrees above zero in the southern half of Finland in January 2020. 

Also, the conditions within the country vary greatly. While the southern part has a fairly favourable climate with a growing zone corresponding to the US zone 5b, in the northern part of the country only a few roses can survive the winter cold. In the very far north the sun does not even rise above the horizon for a whole month during winter.