I wonder what flower, from a botanical point of view, was discussed in the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”? Surely there are different versions, but connoisseurs of beauty will say: “Of course, the fairy tale was about a rose!” One of the most beautiful flowers, combining an attractive aroma, tenderness, chic and regal appearance. Every lover of floriculture sooner or later faces the question of how to grow a rose so that it pleases the eye with both numerous flowers and glossy elastic foliage. So that you can successfully create a pink paradise at home or on your property, we offer a number of useful information about roses and tips for growing them.
To grow a rose, you need to spend time and effort.
Is it possible to grow roses at home?
Not everyone has a plot of land at their disposal, but every apartment has a window sill. It is this that can be turned into a blooming rose garden. For this there are several varieties of roses, which include a wide variety of varieties:
- Miniature : 10 to 30 cm high with dark green leaves. This beauty will bloom almost all year round, except for the winter months. The flowers are double and small.
- Tea : 40−50 cm, distinguished by a variety of shades and long-term flowering.
- Bengal : the most suitable roses for living in an apartment. The height does not exceed 50 cm. The flowers are very fragrant. The lush bush bears white, red or pink flowers.
- Polyanthus : 40−50 cm. Flower colors are mainly cream or pink. Abundant flowering over a long period.
It’s easy to choose a variety of roses, but only an attentive person who loves his mini-rose garden can take proper care of it.
Yellow home rose in a pot
Choosing boxes and soil correctly
Before you grow flowers on the balcony so that they don’t quickly wilt, you need to choose the right containers and, of course, the soil.
You can safely use any container as containers - plastic containers, ceramic pots, wooden boxes, the main condition is that the size of the container matches the size of the flower itself. For example, dahlias, zinnias, and chrysanthemums prefer freedom, while bulbous varieties (marigolds, marigolds, ageratum, celosia and impatiens) prefer density.
For convenience, flowers must be planted in containers, the minimum dimensions of which are: length - 100 cm, width - 20-25 cm, depth - 25 cm.
The bottom of each container should have a hole at a distance of 20-30 cm and a diameter of 1 cm, providing not only drainage of excess water, but also a kind of ventilation. After this, drainage is installed.
One of the presented options is suitable for this: shards, small crushed bricks, inverted plastic bottles, cut to 2-3 cm, with sand and expanded clay.
After this, the container is filled with nutritious soil, but not to the top, since when watering the plant with water, the soil along with the water will be washed out. Containers can be attached to the balcony parapet, placed on the floor and window sill.
Ways to grow roses
The rose you admired in someone else’s garden is not always purchased from a nursery. After all, most varieties of these wonderful flowers can be grown independently, albeit with some effort. This is how you can quite easily replenish your collection of the queen of flowers.
Roses are usually grown in the following ways:
- using seeds;
- using cuttings.
There are others, but they are less successful, so we won’t waste your time and focus on already proven methods.
How to grow a rose from seeds
Step-by-step instructions for growing roses from seeds:
- We disinfect the seeds: put the planting material in a container and pour 3% hydrogen peroxide into it for 20 minutes. This action is necessary to prevent the formation of mold. Those seeds that float to the surface are immediately removed. At the end of soaking, the peroxide is drained.
- After this, a long period of stratification is carried out - by recreating the natural wintering conditions of the seeds, we accelerate their germination. To do this, take a shallow container and line its bottom with a cloth well moistened with hydrogen peroxide. Seed material is laid out on it. The same damp cloth is placed on top. The so-called substrate is wrapped in polyethylene and placed in the lower vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for 1.5-2 months. Storage temperature - from +5 to +8 degrees.
- If you purchased several varieties of a flower, then the seeds are laid out separately, by variety, indicating the date of planting, stratification and name.
- Once a week, be sure to check the substrate and remove moldy seeds. They will no longer germinate and will become a source of mold growth.
- The sprouted seeds are placed one at a time in pots with moist, loose, nutritious soil. The place where the pots are installed should not be hot and without direct sunlight. You can fence off an army of tiny sprouts with foil from a heating radiator.
- Further care and growing of roses at home from seeds involves regular watering, loosening and fertilizing.
ATTENTION!
When purchasing a bag of Queen of the Garden seeds, keep in mind that 50% of success depends on the quality of the seed material!
How to root a rose from a bouquet
A true lover of these flowers will never throw away a bouquet of withered roses. This is a kind of challenge to the skill and diligence of the florist. Growing a rose from cuttings is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. Cuttings from donated roses produce the most beloved bushes, reminiscent of a pleasant event in the life of the owner.
You can root a rose from a bouquet in various ways.
How to cut roses correctly
Cutting a rose from a bouquet at home takes place in several stages:
- Recommended deadlines for work.
Nature has its own timing for plant reproduction. The most optimal period for cutting cuttings is the end of June - beginning of July. The cuttings that have taken root will have time to grow in the soil and prepare the plant for wintering.
Autumn cuttings are possible if you have a well-heated greenhouse with ventilation or a place in the house where young plants can grow stronger and quietly develop their root system.
- Selection of source material.
Not all roses take cuttings successfully. You should not waste time on climbing varieties with large flowers, as well as park and hybrid tea varieties.
We advise you to choose only green cuttings, no older than one year and without a flower, if you cut them from a bush . If you are cutting a plant from a bouquet, then take shoots at least 1 cm thick, but you will have to tear off the flower and cut off the foliage in half.
Inspect the shoots of the plant: axillary buds should be formed on the ones we need. Long shoots are cut in such a way that each cutting has 3-4 buds. The cut is made with a sharpened instrument, previously disinfected in any way. The leaves from below must be removed, and the top ones only need to be cut in half.
It is preferable to choose shoots 1 cm thick. Thin and very thick ones should not be taken, their survival rate is worse.
ATTENTION!
The top cut should be straight, the bottom should be oblique. The most optimal distance from a straight cut to the upper bud is 3 cm. An oblique cut is made immediately under the lower bud.
Appearance
Now the appearance of a hybrid tea rose is as follows: it is a bush or standard tree with long flowering shoots. Each resulting flower is a work of art. Its elongated bud with a sharp tip, opening, reveals numerous satin or velvet petals with neatly curved edges, curled in the center into a high cone. The variety of petal colors and scents is amazing. The flowers are either medium-sized or larger, beautiful, with numerous petals forming a clearly visible central cone. Usually the flowers are single or with several lateral buds.
This may be interesting: Why anthurium (male happiness) does not bloom
How to grow a rose from cuttings using different methods
Today, flower growers have tried many methods of rooting cuttings. We have selected the most effective ones.
Rooting in water
Some advise taking boiled water. However, such water is considered “dead” for the plant, and therefore useless. Therefore, for an antiseptic effect, it is better to use the old method - a piece of charcoal thrown into water. Such water will not bloom.
Rooting stimulants are added to a container of water before the cutting is lowered into it.
Cover the top of the container with either polyethylene or foil, leaving a hole for the cutting.
ATTENTION!
The vessel with water must not be placed in direct sunlight!
The water must be changed and topped up periodically.
The cuttings with roots are replanted after three weeks. The length of young roots is 5 cm. The most important thing is that planting must be done extremely carefully, since the roots that appear in the water are not adapted to the soil conditions.
Rooting in pots
You can grow a rose from a bouquet, just like from an adult bush, by rooting a cutting in a pot. In this case, the survival rate approaches 100%; the bush grown in this way blooms earlier.
A correctly prepared cutting is lowered with an oblique cut into the substrate diagonally and the soil is compacted around it. Caring for the cuttings consists of maintaining the level of humidity, watering and fertilizing. It is better to put a cap made of a plastic bag on the cutting. Once a day, the cap is raised for 10 minutes for ventilation. Watering is moderate, as the substrate dries. Fertilizing is done carefully, at the rate of 10 drops of fertilizer per 1 liter of water, once every two weeks. The soil around the cuttings should not be loosened. When leaves appear, the cap can be gradually removed.
Method for rooting roses in a pot
Germination in a potato tuber
How else can you plant a rose from a bouquet? We answer: using potatoes. Medium or large healthy tubers are pierced to the center and all eyes are removed. The cuttings are lowered into the recess of the tuber and planted in the ground outside or in a pot at home. Potatoes protect the emerging roots from drying out, and at the same time nourish the future rosette.
Growing in a bag
The cuttings are placed in a bag strewn with disinfected damp soil or moss. In order for humidity to be established in it, it needs to be inflated and put in a dark place. Roots will appear in 4 weeks. Then the plant is ready for planting.
The second method of growing in a bag is called "burrito". The cuttings are soaked in water for a day, and then placed on damp newspaper, which is then wrapped tightly and placed in a bag. The package is placed in a place with a constant temperature of 18-20 degrees.
Once a week, the bag of cuttings is checked to remove blackened material and moisten the soil, moss or newspaper.
Preparing the site and planting material for planting
When growing a rose in an apartment, you need to take into account that the flower is quite picky about where it is planted. The place for the flower pot should warm up well and be sufficiently lit. In the shade, the growth of the rose slows down somewhat, the shoots stretch out, and the buds grow small.
You should not allow waterlogging, as this contributes to fungi and other diseases. It is very important to properly prepare the soil or purchase a ready-made substrate from a flower shop.
The flower is quite picky about where it is planted.
Please note: black soil and light loams are ideal for planting roses.
The day before planting, roses should be placed in water for about 10 hours. Before planting, the roots need to be shortened to 20 cm, and damaged ones should be trimmed to healthy tissue. After this, remove all dried branches and trim the remaining ones a little. Strong shoots are left with 5 buds.
Planting a rose in a permanent place
From a cut rose you can grow a beautiful bush, which needs to be given a permanent place. We already know how to grow roses from cuttings, now we’ll figure out the further growth of the new plant.
In order for the transplantation of rooted material into open ground conditions to be successful, it is worth paying the utmost attention to this matter.
ATTENTION!
A newly transplanted rose requires regular soil moisture, which should not be confused with watering! Excess moisture will cause the plant to rot.
Prepare the soil in advance: light and nutritious soil is diluted with river sand or vermiculite. Mineral and organic fertilizers in the form of humus, added in advance and mixed with soil, will allow your bush to become a real queen of the garden.
Feeding in the first year is carried out in 4 doses. You cannot immediately add fresh bird droppings or manure; such substances must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 10.
Planting roses in the soil must be very careful
Rules for caring for planted cuttings
Roses in the garden always require care, which consists of several points:
- mulching and fertilizing;
- watering;
- pest control and possible diseases;
- trimming bushes.
The meaning of mulching is to cover the surface layer of soil with various materials to retain moisture, loosen the soil and enrich it with useful substances, and also as an obstacle to the growth of weeds. Mulch for roses should be selected in such a way as not to disturb the acidity level of the soil.
Needles contribute to soil acidification, and fresh sawdust takes up a large amount of nitrogen.
You can use last year's sawdust, dry grass and compost. The mulch layer gradually decomposes, so when the mulch material settles, we add a new one.
fertilizing no earlier than a month after planting in good soil. It is better to choose a complex fertilizer for roses. Further feeding is carried out every 3 weeks. The last one will be in August. It should be a nitrogen-free fertilizer with a high phosphorus content.
watered regularly. The main rule is that it is better to water less often and abundantly than often and a little. Water must completely reach all areas of the root system.
The rose is very responsive to irrigation in the morning and evening hours.
Pest control consists of mechanically removing aphids, slugs, caterpillars, bugs and treating the plant with insecticides.
Diseases develop in conditions of high humidity. Powdery mildew, gray rot, rust. The rose grower's arsenal should include fungicides, Bordeaux mixture, iron sulfate and laundry soap. Before treating a diseased plant, all its damaged parts are destroyed: buds, flowers, leaves and even shoots.
Spider mites attack only in dry and hot weather. The plant is treated with an insecticide at intervals of 6-7 days.
All unripe shoots, buds, and flowers are trimmed Cut the shoot obliquely, leaving 2-3 dormant buds, on a sunny, dry day at the end of October.
Design of balcony beds
Even country plantings today are usually decorated decoratively. What can we say about a vegetable garden on the balcony - you want to share photos of your home beds and show them off to your guests as a landmark of your home.
Ways to combine practical benefits with spiritual beauty:
- be sure to put the containers you use in order - paint the pots and boxes with bright paint (you can even use nail polish), decorate with a mosaic of ceramic shards or buttons, wrap with twine or textured yarn;
- to increase the usable area, use the principle of vertical beds - install open shelves, install a wooden shelf or a figured trellis net, make decorative fences;
- As a base, use all kinds of available materials - construction pallets, plastic pipes cut lengthwise or installed at the end, flower or household shelves.
The nuances of growing different varieties of roses
Varieties of garden queen have their own care requirements.
Climbing varieties
They require a sunny, ventilated place with the possibility of shelter for the winter. If you want to plant such a rose against a wall, then step back half a meter from it. This rose does not tolerate stagnant water. Climbing Clumber varieties are pruned for the winter, and Ramblers are winterized by pinning to the ground.
Climbing varieties of roses are good for decorating gazebos, arches and walls of houses
Ground cover
Their peculiarity is that there is no need for winter pruning. They also do not need to be covered if the snow cover in the place of growth is high. This beauty blooms very profusely, so it really needs feeding. Does not tolerate swampy soils and excess moisture. Pruning of the plant is carried out every 6-7 years in order to rejuvenate the bush.
Ground cover varieties of roses are used to decorate areas
Park roses
The most drought-resistant and undemanding. They prefer loamy soil, but without excess moisture. Light-loving, but tolerate shading for a small part of the day.
Park roses are unpretentious and require less watering
Floribunda
An unpretentious frost-resistant variety with a long flowering period. Wide variety of color shades. The planting site should be sunny and protected from drafts. Roses are demanding on nutrition, so they are planted at a distance of at least 40 cm from each other and fed well.
Floribunda roses are frost-resistant and bloom for a long time
Home varieties
Many varieties of roses are grown at home. The peculiarities of cultivation are that such flowers also need a period of rest. From the end of November it will lose all its foliage. The pot is placed in a cool room (from +4 to +12 degrees Celsius). Water moderately when the soil dries out. Home beauties awaken in mid-February.
Do not make the rose suffer near heating radiators!
Roses growing at home can be combined with each other
Winter protection requirements
During the winter, roses go into a dormant state, do not bloom, and accumulate strength for the spring surge. If you bring them into the house and allow them to develop as usual, they will shed their leaves and quietly wither away. Therefore, it is better not to argue with nature and think about how best to cover roses for the winter on the balcony, in their usual environment. For pots or containers, you need to allocate a corner, a large wooden box or a place near a “warm” wall.
There is no point in arguing about what temperature to store roses on the balcony. It is generally accepted that with good insulation, a flower can easily tolerate cold temperatures down to -10°C, but more attentive gardeners manage to preserve plants in more severe conditions.
The most important condition for wintering roses on the balcony is a warm “cocoon” that covers the pot with the plant on all sides. For multi-layer protection, thick plastic film, old padded jackets and jackets, cotton blankets and bags, fir branches and jute mats are used. Some craftsmen use all kinds of building membranes that create high-quality insulation.
Spring preparation of the plant
However, do not forget that the plant, even in a dormant state, requires care and needs to be watered at least occasionally. Closer to spring, you can renew the soil and treat the bush from pests.
