Best Tips For Growing Rose plant at Home

Everybody knows as well as loves to have this plant in their home gardens. It is a perennial bush plant which comes over the years. It is one of best addition to any home garden. Rose is available in all possible colors. You can grow rose at your home easily. Follow the below tips for successful growing.

Propagation

The best way of propagating rose is taking cuttings. Take semi softwood cutting in current growing season.  Make a cut just above a leaf node. Clip off all leaves but 1-2 at top. Dip the cutting in rooting gel or powder. You can use honey too for the same purpose. Make a 2-3 inches deep hole in potting mix with help of a pencil. Place the cutting in the hole and cover it with a plastic bag. Plastic bag saves the cuttings moisture over the time.  Check the soil for moisture whenever it gets dry, water it slightly. Keep the container in partial shade or out of direct sunlight.

Best time for starting bare root rose (rose plant without any leaves, brown roots and dormant stem ) is late winter.  Container rose can be started in spring (March- May).

Container

Rose generally grows as a bush so choose the container accordingly. If you do not want to have trouble of re potting again and again then go for a large sized container. Apart from size of container, ensure that your container has adequate number of holes. Rose doesn’t like standing in water. Put small pieces of bricks or stones on drainage holes to ensure this.

Soil

Rose will grow in any type of well drained soil enriched with organic matter.  Use compost, cow manure, dried leaves to enrich soil. Vermiculite will also increase fertility of the soil. 

Sun / Temperature

Rose loves light. It needs at least 6 hrs of direct sunlight. Morning sun is best but light afternoon shade can be beneficial in hotter areas. 

Watering

Rose like humidity, so mist the plant in morning alternate days or twice a week. Do not do this in afternoon as it will invite diseases. Water regularly and keep the soil moist always. Avoid shallow sprinkling as water doesn’t reach too roots and will invite fungus.  But do not over water it  as it will induce root rot.

Use mulch to conserve water and reduce stress.  Apply 2 – 4 inch layer of chopped, dried  leaves or shredded bark around the base of your plant , it act as mulch and maintain humidity around the plant.

Fertilizer

Feed your rose plant with slow releasing granular fertilizer or liquid fertilizer twice a month when it is blooming.  You can use special rose fertilizers or rose food available in markets too.House plant food like Epsom salt will encourage new growth on rose bush.

Pruning

Prune rose plant in spring. Take out all old or unhealthy looking leaves and twigs. Wear gloves while doing the pruning.  Generous pruning creates more flowers on the plant.

Overwintering

Overwintering is process of saving plant in winter for next season. Colder areas where temperature goes down in negative it is a must process. For this , do not prune rose in fall (Sept – Nov). Just cut off any dead or diseased twigs or branch.  Stop fertilizing in winter. Cover the rose base ground with straw, compost, dry wood chips etc. 

Caring

Rose is prone to white flies and mealy bug attack. Use soapy water to control it.

Below are real time pictures of growing rose at Design Green India.