How to care for a home rose in a pot - a guide for beginner gardeners
The rose is considered the queen of all flowers. It is grown in open ground, greenhouses and even at home. Bengal, polyanthus and remontant varieties are usually chosen as indoor plants. However, some flower growers also keep roses grown from a donated bouquet in their apartment. Such plants delight the owner with long-term flowering for many years.
Indoor roses are capricious and demanding to care for. In order for them to develop properly, not get sick and bloom profusely, it is important to give them enough attention and provide optimal living conditions. We'll tell you how to care for a homemade rose in a pot in this article.
Optimal conditions for indoor roses
Indoor roses are sensitive to negative environmental factors.
Conditions for growing decorative roses:
- Temperature. In spring, summer and the first half of autumn, the optimal temperature for keeping roses varies between +20...+25°C. The plant will not be damaged by temperature fluctuations from +18 to +30°C. At the end of autumn and winter, the indicators drop to +10…+17°C.
- Humidity. Humidity should be high - 75-80%. Dry air causes leaves and shoots to wilt, and also increases the likelihood of infection by diseases and pests. Hot, dry air is especially dangerous if a flower pot is placed near a heating device.
- Lighting. To ensure that the bush rose receives enough light, it is placed on a southern, southeastern or eastern window sill.If the plant is on a south-facing window sill, the window will have to be shaded with translucent tulle from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is not necessary to use additional lighting sources.
The rose does not tolerate sudden changes in temperature. Before you take the plant outside, bring it indoors, or send it to a room with lower temperatures for the winter, it is important to let it get used to it. To do this, the flower bush is placed in new conditions, first for half an hour, then for an hour, two, etc. Every day the time is increased until it reaches a day. After this, the rose is left there forever.
Drafts are detrimental to a flower. In the cold season, you should not open the window on the window on which the plant stands. Also, the rose is not kept under air conditioning.
Hot dry air is dangerous for indoor roses. If it is standing on a window sill, under which there is a working heating device, place a damp cloth on it, and make a side of insulation on the window sill with a foil side.
Note! At the beginning of spring or late autumn, when the heating is on, but the plant is not overwintering, it is important to use air humidifiers. These can be special devices or containers with water placed near the bush.
Requirements for container and soil
To grow a healthy, well-formed plant, it is important to choose the right container. You cannot immediately take a large pot - in this case, the roots will form incorrectly, the plant will begin to fatten, and flowers will not form on it.
If the plant is purchased in a store, it is transplanted into a container whose volume will be 200-400 ml larger than the previous one. The rooted cuttings are first planted in a container with a volume of 300-500 ml, and then as the pot is filled with roots, its volume is increased.
Clay and ceramic containers are best suited for indoor bush roses. They absorb moisture through their walls, which prevents stagnation of liquid and drying out of the soil. Air also penetrates into the soil through the pores in the walls of such pots.
Plastic containers are also used. However, they do not have the same advantages as ceramic ones.
It is important that there are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. They will prevent stagnation of moisture and rotting of the roots. The containers are disinfected - doused with boiling water or soaked for 30 minutes in a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.
Soil for flowering plants is suitable for roses. Experienced gardeners do not recommend using a universal soil mixture, since it usually contains a lot of high-moor peat, which increases the acidity of the soil.
They also prepare it themselves. To do this, mix:
- garden soil - 2 parts;
- sheet – 2 parts;
- humus – 1 part;
- sand - 1 part.
Add 1 tbsp to the bucket of the resulting mixture. ash. Then the soil is disinfected by pouring a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate, an antifungal agent (Fitosporin), a solution of copper sulfate (1 tsp of the substance per 3 liters of water) or calcining it in the oven.
Note! White or gray sand is added to the soil for indoor plants. Yellow and red contain a lot of iron, which has a negative effect on plants.
In addition to soil and containers, to grow roses at home you will need drainage. Typically, broken ceramics, small crushed stone and expanded clay, shell rock or purchased filler are used. The drainage is disinfected with a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate.
Rules for caring for a rose in a pot
Regardless of the color of the buds, the size and variety of the bush, caring for a rose (hibiscus) is the same.It is important to regularly take care of your indoor flower, providing it with proper watering, fertilizing, shaping and replanting.
Watering
To water roses, use settled water at room temperature. Melt and rain are especially useful. Water the plant early in the morning or in the evening when the sun is not active. Otherwise, burns will remain on the leaves.
In the warm season, the rose is watered as the top layer of soil dries. Usually this is done once every 2 days. Watering should be frequent, but not abundant.
In winter, the amount of watering is reduced. The soil is moistened on average once a week.
To provide the plant with optimal humidity during the warm season, it is sprayed every other day with warm, settled water. The procedure is carried out in the morning or evening. This will prevent spider mite infestation.
Once a month, wash the rose in the shower with warm water or wipe the leaves with a damp cloth. In this case, it is better to cover the soil in the pot with film.
Advice! To prevent waterlogging and drying out of the soil, use bottom watering. To do this, water is poured not into a pot, but into a tray so that the earth absorbs the required amount of liquid.
Feeding
Fertilizers are applied from spring to autumn. Organic and mineral complexes are used. In the store you can buy special compositions for roses and flowering plants or prepare fertilizers yourself.
The list contains several popular recipes:
- Mullein solution. Mullein is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:2 and infused for a week. Then dilute with water in a ratio of 1:15. For one adult plant in a pot, use 0.5 liters of fertilizer.
- Chicken droppings. 1 part of the litter is diluted with 2 parts of boiling water and infused for 4 days. The resulting concentrate is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:25.
- Mineral feeding.30 g of superphosphate, 15 g of ammonium nitrate and 20 g of potassium sulfate are dissolved in 10 liters of water.
- Ash. Dilute 1 tbsp in 5 liters of water. ash. Before use, the product is infused for 24 hours.
- Food waste. Fill the container 1/3 with vegetable and fruit peelings. The rest of the volume is filled with warm water. The ingredients are allowed to brew for a week. Before use, dilute with water in a ratio of 1:3.
Once every 2 weeks it is useful to apply foliar fertilizing. Usually they use special fertilizers (for example, “Cascade”), diluted according to the instructions.
To prevent burns on the roots, the day before applying fertilizer, water the soil with warm water. Feed roses when the sun is not active.
Trimming
Pruning is carried out twice a year: in spring and autumn. The technique differs.
In the spring, branches directed towards the inside of the bush are removed. Dried shoots are cut off, as well as damaged parts with signs of infection by diseases and pests.
During the entire warm period, faded buds are removed along with the shoots on which they are located. Pluck off yellowed and dried leaves.
In autumn, the plant is pruned so that 3 to 5 buds remain on each branch. The trimmings are used to grow roses from cuttings.
Autumn pruning rejuvenates the plant. If this is not done, the rose will bloom later. The bush will be less neat.
Transfer
The plant is replanted as the container is filled with roots. The younger the rose, the more often it needs transplants. So, in the first year (if the rose is grown from cuttings) at least 2-3 transplants will be required. Older flowers are replanted once a year.
To transplant roses, the transshipment method is used. The day before the procedure, the plant is prepared by watering it generously with warm water, allowing the liquid to be completely absorbed.
The rose is removed from the pot along with a lump of earth, being careful not to damage the roots. They are being examined. If rotten and very dark roots peek out from the coma, the soil is removed and the damaged areas are removed. Healthy roots are treated with a solution of copper sulfate (1 tsp per 3 liters of water).
If the roots are healthy, only the drainage layer is removed. It is also recommended to remove a layer of soil at least 2 cm thick at the top.
A layer of drainage is poured into a new disinfected container. The rest of the volume is filled with soil, compacting it. After replanting, the soil is moistened with warm water.
The pot with the bush should be kept in a dark place for 24 hours after the procedure. Then it is moved to the windowsill. To reduce stress from the procedure, the plant is sprayed with a growth stimulant, for example, Epin.
A store-bought plant must be transplanted into a new pot. They don't do it right away. First, it is allowed to stand on the window in the apartment for at least a week so that it adapts to the new conditions.
When replanting a purchased rose, remove most of the old soil, being careful not to damage the roots. If complex fertilizer granules are visible in the root system, leave them.
Advice! Experienced gardeners recommend transferring plants to the growing moon.
Protection from diseases and pests
At home, roses get sick much less often than in open ground. Houseplants are affected by the following diseases and pests:
- Rust. The fungal disease manifests itself in the form of red convex formations, spots or streaks on the leaves and shoots. Over time, red powder begins to fall off them. This leads to drying out of the plant. To cope with the problem, the rose is treated with Fitosporin. If medications do not help, use fungicides.
- Powdery mildew. A fungal disease in which a whitish coating appears on the leaves. Over time, it becomes denser and darkens. The plant dries out. They fight the disease using Fitosporin or folk remedies. One of the recipes: 15 drops of iodine and 1 liter of milk per 5 liters of water.
- Spider mite. A pest that feeds on plant sap. Small bugs and cobwebs appear on the underside of the leaves. To get rid of the pest, plants are sprayed with folk remedies, for example, a soap-ash solution, or treated with insecticides.
- Aphid. Whole colonies of small green or black insects appear on rose bushes, feeding on the sap of the plant. They fight aphids in the same way as spider mites.
Reproduction
It is not necessary to buy a rose bush in a store. At home, the plant is propagated by cuttings, using trimmings obtained after formation, or stems of roses from a bouquet.
The cuttings should be 10-15 cm long and have 3-4 live buds. When receiving planting material, the lower cut is made at an angle, and the upper cut is even.
The cuttings are soaked for 30 minutes in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then they are dipped in a dry growth stimulator, for example, Kornevin.
The rose is being rooted in soil, water, sand and even potatoes. The most convenient option is considered to be soil. In this case, the cutting will not have to be transplanted into a new container when it takes root.
The shoot is placed in the ground so that it stands without support, and one bud is underground. The plant is covered with a bag or a cut bottle.
The rose is ventilated daily for 15 minutes. The soil is moistened as it dries, and the cuttings are sprayed with water at room temperature.
The leaves and shoots formed on the seedlings indicate their rooting. At this time, the duration of ventilation is gradually increased, up to a day.
If the cutting was rooted in the ground, it is transplanted into another container only after the root system has filled the previous one. If the rose was rooted in water, the plant is planted in the ground immediately after the roots appear.
Features of care at different times of the year
Different seasons have their own characteristics of plant care.
Summer
In summer, caring for the plant should be especially careful. On hot days it is watered daily or 2 times a day. Regular fertilizing, trimming wilted buds, and loosening the soil are necessary. It is important to protect the plant from heat. If its leaves begin to dry out and fade, the pot is moved to a shaded place. In order for the flower to develop evenly, it is periodically rotated in relation to the window. If possible, it is better to keep a rose on the balcony or in the garden at this time of year.
Autumn
When the nights become cold, the rose is brought into the house from the balcony or garden. It is inspected for traces of diseases and pests. Remove dry and damaged shoots. After the plant stops blooming, remove all faded buds and carry out autumn pruning. Gradually reduce the frequency of watering. When the top layer of soil dries, wait another 2-3 days before watering. Stop feeding. The pot is taken to a cool room where the winter will take place, gradually increasing the time spent there.
Winter
In winter, the rose sheds the remains of its leaves. The grower is required to moisten the soil once a week. The flower should be in a cool room at rest.Otherwise, it will not recover until spring, and flowering will not be abundant.
Spring
The rose is brought into a warm room. They increase the frequency of watering, begin to fertilize, and carry out preventive treatments and pruning. Transshipment of plants is done during this period.
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Conclusion
Growing indoor roses at home requires attention from the grower and compliance with the rules of care, since the plant is sensitive to adverse environmental factors.
To make it feel comfortable, it is important to provide it with proper watering, regular fertilizing and pruning, annual replanting and comfortable wintering, as well as protection from diseases and pests.