Since February, almost all major stores offer seedlings of a variety of crops for sale. In bright packages on the shelves, planting material of raspberries, gooseberries, honeysuckle, clematis — in general, there is a lot of interesting things for gardeners and flower growers. These plants are quite inexpensive, so there is a demand for such a product.
I, for example, regularly buy rose seedlings at such sales, which we then plant in the country. At the same time, I am often approached by gardeners or summer residents who do not know the technique of choosing and storing such planting material, and quite sincerely try to warn me against wasting money. Who is right?
Imported roses won’t survive? It’s time to stamp out prejudice
Sometimes you just wonder how many prejudices people have! Among them is not only the fear of acquiring plants in winter or early spring, but also concerns about the country from which the planting material was brought. Once, in the queue at the checkout, a lady looked at my rose from a Serbian nursery and, shaking her head sympathetically, said: “Imported roses… They won’t survive here, they’ll freeze out in the winter.”
And how can you be so sure that they will freeze out?! We have been buying imported roses for five years in a row, and they have a survival rate of about 90%! And our site is not in the south, but in the middle lane.
In fact, if you properly prepare a rose for winter, that is, timely apply potassium-phosphorus fertilizers, hoe it in September — October, remove the unripe shoots, and then cover it with a spruce branches, and on top with a spunbond in two or three layers, then it will withstand frosts and will not die. But it can even get rid of it. Therefore, it is very important to inspect the site in winter and early spring, to notice where the snow blows away, and where water accumulates in the spring, and not to place roses there.
These plants like sunny places protected from the winds with rich soil, preferably somewhere higher. Plant, fertilize, and you will succeed!
People are also afraid to buy roses on which the buds have already started to grow, because, allegedly, they do not live to land in the open ground. But this is also a deep misconception. When roses in stores are covered with paraffin, it is extremely difficult to assess the condition of the stems, and the roots — even more so.
How to choose a strong and healthy plant?
It is precisely because the paraffin-coated stems do not give a clear picture that I always take plants with awakened buds. I choose those where there are a lot of them, it is better if there are already pronounced sprouts.
But, again, roses should be plump and strong, do not take skinny and long “starvation”. A rose with straight, long and often drooping shoots, as a rule, also woke up under the influence of excessive heat. However, without sufficient light and nutrition, it will quickly exhaust its strength and will not grow well in the future.
A plant brought home with sprouts will perfectly survive until summer on a glazed balcony or terrace, where the temperature is kept above zero and there is enough light. For example, my balcony is not insulated, but the glazing is double, so when there is a slight minus outside, the temperature on the balcony varies within +6…+14C. And this is very convenient, because the roses bought in winter can not be stored in a heated room, where it is not only too hot, but also not wet enough.
The rose should be immediately transplanted into a special soil with a neutral reaction.
Choosing a container for the transfer
For seedlings, you should choose a suitable pot: for miniature roses-at least 2 liters and a diameter of 19 cm, and for others-even more. Narrow and high containers are suitable, and you can safely use plastic ones. In general, when choosing a container, focus on the volume of the roots, then everything will be fine.
We transplant the rose into a new soil
When transferring, be very careful. When removing the transport soil, do not remove it completely, so as not to damage the new roots that have already grown. If the transport was carried out in the ground (peat), and not in sawdust with sand, it is better to soak the rose in water before transplanting. Then deepen the seedling so as to slightly cover the grafting site with earth.
Where to settle and how to take care of the rose before disembarking
These tips will help you keep the seedlings until they are planted in a permanent place in the flower garden:
- Do not put the rose near the window or on the floor, it can be cold there. It is better to place it on a shelf or table.
- Under the pots, it is advisable to put a sheet of thick corrugated cardboard or bubble wrap.
- Paraffin from the stems at first is undesirable to remove, because you risk damaging undeveloped buds. That’s when the new twigs grow well, and the paraffin turns pale and begins to peel off, it can be carefully cleaned off.
- In winter, water your roses very moderately, do not allow stagnation of moisture. Cold and moist soil provokes the development of fungal infections.
- With the onset of heat, make sure that the soil in the pot does not dry out, fertilize the plants and harden them, opening the balcony, and on sunny days do not forget to shade — and then by the beginning of summer you will bring to the dacha an already well-formed bush, which in the same year will be able to please you with flowering.
I wish you all good luck!