Roses; how indoor cultivation and care? Description of the type of plant, an overview of conditions and choice of location in the room, suggestions for transplantation, feeding, reproduction, and pest control. Rose (Rosa) belongs to the Pink family and is a member of the Rosehip genus. Only those representatives of this genus that humans cultivate are considered roses. Since time immemorial, the flower has always been a symbol of beauty – its delicate petals are so harmoniously combined with sharp thorns. Through hard work, breeders have already bred more than 30 thousand varieties of these beautiful plants. Can find the first mention of the rose in the annals of ancient Rome, where they began to cultivate it not only for aesthetic pleasure but with the active use of many valuable properties. At that time, about 10 varieties of representatives of the Pink family were already known. The ancient Greek philosopher Theophastus mentions in his chronicles the flowers of these plants, which consist of 5 to 100 petals. Today, the rose occupies a royal place in the world and is the most popular and sold flower. It is rather difficult to say where the name comes from, as it has its roots in the ancient Greek, Persian, Armenian and Proto-Iranian languages. But looking at the flower (in the classical form, the bud has 32 petals), it resembles the “wind rose” itself; perhaps this was the prototype for the plant’s name.
In shape, the rosebush acquires a narrow pyramidal appearance or spreads its clouds in different directions. According to descriptions, different varieties of roses are only similar in the structure of the leaf plates – their system is complex, pinnate, and contains 5 to 11 leaves. The length of the flowering stems ranges from 10 to 80 cm, and the diameter of the bud in the entire display can reach 18 cm (its “babies” are only 1.8 cm in diameter). The flowers of the rose are bisexual, blooming several times during the summer months. The number of petals in some varieties reaches 128 units per bud. One flower can grow on a plant, and the number of buds in flowering approaches 300. The color of the petals, as well as their fragrance, surprises with its diversity. There is only a pure blue shade, but a rose with green petals has already been cultivated. Still, so far, it is only of interest to botanists.
The favorable properties of the rose are because the flowers contain a large amount of essential oil, for which the plant is grown, and not only for making bouquets. This oil can calm the human nervous system, stimulating brain cells in the robot. But to get just 1 gram of this precious oil, you must process up to 30 kg of rose flowers. In Bulgaria, there is just a valley where a bush of Maslenitsa roses is grown. And the oil produced in Bulgaria is considered the most expensive and of the highest quality.
Fatty acids, which are present in the plant’s petals, are used for the production of cosmetics. With their help, you can restore the skin’s protective properties and remove inflammation and irritations. Based on active substances from rose flowers, preparations are made that inhibit pathogens.
After flowering, the rose ripens into nut-like fruits with a dense and woody shell. Ripening takes place from August to September. The number of seeds varies from 5 to 100 or more. Like the fruits of its offspring, the rose hips, “pink nuts,” are widely used in medicine. And although it is customary to grow roses in flower beds in gardens and squares, there are flower growers who prefer to admire the flowers of this queen of the park on the windowsill. But unfortunately, not every rose can grow indoors. Therefore there is a list of requirements for the successful cultivation of this plant.
Conditions for growing roses on windowsills
To please yourself with blooming roses, choose a variety that grows well in rooms or greenhouses – miniatures, floribunda, Bengal, and tea varieties. The flowering time can be about 170 days.
The height of the more miniature roses reaches 25-30 cm, which is very suitable for growing at home; floribunda plants stretch from 30 to 90 cm in height, while the Bengal variety varies from 50-60 cm. Tea roses can reach two meters in size, but it is a branches of low-growing plants that do not exceed half a meter.
- Description. Rose is very fond of warm and bright light. Suppose you put a pot with a plant on the windowsill, where the sun’s rays almost do not look into it. In that case, this will lead to the fact that the flower begins to wither, its buds are crushed, and there is a high probability that pests will damage it. Therefore, it is necessary to place a flower pot with a rose on the curtains of windows facing southeast, south-west, and only if there is no other option for south-facing windows. It is necessary to arrange shade there, during the hottest hours of the day, from gauze curtains or thin golden cabbages, but still, the plant can be too hot there. With the arrival of autumn, we should add flowers with unique plants or flowering lamps. The distance from the light to the plant should not be less than 30 cm. Also, one prerequisite is the inflow of fresh air; frequent ventilation in the room where the rose is located is necessary – this will help the plant avoid overheating. It is essential to protect the plant from drafts or put a screen to protect it from cold glasses in the autumn-winter period. When spring comes, as soon as the night temperature allows, it is preferable to keep the rose on the balcony or terrace, take it out into the garden, but make sure that the place chosen for the “holiday” of the plant is lit and protected from drafts.
- Rose content temperature. Although the flower queen loves warmth, overheating will lead to her death. Therefore it is necessary to withstand summer temperatures not higher than 25 degrees. Otherwise, the root system of the flower will overheat. The arrival of winter can lower temperature indices to 10 degrees, and the so-called “hibernation” period begins. Protect the rose from the dry and hot air of central heating batteries and heaters, as it may not tolerate this and die.
- The moisture content of the home rose. For the plant to grow well and not be affected by pests, it is necessary that the humidity in the air does not fall below 60% or that it is maintained at a moderate level. When the summer heat comes or as soon as the heating in the room is turned on, you need to regularly spray the plant with soft water (up to 2 times a day). When a rose blooms, it is essential to keep track so that moisture drops do not fall on the petals. When there are no flowers, you can provide frequent (daily) showering procedures, which will wash the dust off the leaves and promote increased humidity.
- Water the rose bush. As soon as the rose is peppered, its watering becomes rare or moderate. Here it is essential to focus on the soil condition in the pot – when the top layer becomes completely dry, moisture forms. During the winter season, flooding the pot will cause the plant to die quickly. As soon as the rose begins to show signs of new growth – the appearance of young leaves, swelling of the buds, the humidity increases slightly. With the arrival of the summer months, the watering of the rose will be heavy and frequent. However, any excess moisture should be removed as glass from the pot to the stand immediately. Moisturizing is done carefully; water is poured directly under the plant’s root. Use only soft, concentrated water for this operation. You can filter and boil tap water, but collecting rainwater or making melted snow is best. The temperature of the water for irrigation should be room temperature, not cold at all,
- Use of packaging for the rose. For the plant to grow well, it is necessary to apply fertilizers, as they are used mineral complexes with nitrogen compounds. Regular dressings during flowering are weekly and in other periods (autumn-winter) only a few times every 30 days. You can not only apply fertilizer to the soil but also use extraordinary compositions to spray the bush. The rose also responds well to organic fertilizers, for example, mullein solution. It is necessary to do it alternately with a mineral bandage. Do not fertilize if the pot is dry. Before the operation, the substrate must be well moistened with clean, settled water. Otherwise, the root system may burn. It is also not recommended to carry out top dressing as soon as the plant has been transplanted. They wait up to two weeks for the rose to adapt.
This type of care is essential when growing roses at home. There is light, medium, and vigorous pruning.
- Light is the one where the branches of the plant are cut by 2/3. If such pruning is carried out for several years, the bush will stretch firmly, and the flowers will not bloom well.
- With average pruning, the bush branches are cut almost to half; if the shoot is sick, then even more.
- If vigorous pruning is required, the branch is cut from the base to the height of the third or fourth bud. The length of the remaining shot is measured at 15 cm. This pruning is applied to bushes of newly planted plants.
As for transplanting a home rose and preparing the soil, these are critical conditions for growing a rose indoors. As soon as the plant has been purchased, no transplantation is carried out; the rose is given a chance to adapt for 2-3 weeks. Young roses need an annual transplant, and as soon as the plant reaches 4 years old, the pot and soil are changed as required. Should choose the container from thick-walled ceramics.
1 cm of drainage is poured into the bottom of the pot if there are holes in the container to drain excess moisture. In their absence, the thickness of the drainage layer increases to 4 cm. The container for transplantation is chosen considerably more than the previous one. Otherwise, the rose will bloom poorly. The pot is increased by 5 cm in width and height compared to the previous one.
The flowerpot with the plant is turned over, the rose is held with the hands, then the pot is tapped slightly, and the lump of soil with the root system of the flower is taken out. Without destroying the ground, it is placed in a new prepared container; the pot is filled with soil along the edges to the center; it must be well compacted and watered with soft water. Then the substrate is supplied from above and moistened again. After transplanting, the plant cannot be wet for some time but can only spray only the leaves. After a day or two, can place the rose pot in a place of constant growth.
Also, for the substrate during transplantation, a particular purchased soil “rose” is used, characterized by moisture and air permeability, or the soil mixture is assembled independently of the following ingredients:
- Sod land, humus soil, coarse sand (in proportions 4: 4: 1);
- Clay-sod soil or garden soil, humus soil or compost (balances are taken 1: 1);
- Garden land, peat land, humus (in the ratio 1: 2: 2) with the addition of a small part of river sand.
Tips for growing roses indoors
The methods of cuttings, planting seeds, and grafting are used to get a new plant. But for indoor propagation, cuttings are the best way. This method of getting a fresh rose is the simplest and can be done any time of the year.
Also, after the planned cutting, pieces of cut clouds are used for reproduction (over time – this is the beginning of the spring months). If cutting branches from a bush, you should choose a healthy and well-developed shoot. With the help of a sharp knife, cut off a stem about 13-15 cm long, where there are already 3-4 living buds and at least a few leaf plates. The cut is made slightly diagonally under the lower bud – this is done so that the cutting surface of the cut increases in area, and the amount absorbs nutrients and moisture with it. If the uppercut is straight or at a slight angle, the condensation drops will roll off it. Complex leaves are removed so that no more than 4 leaves remain on the branch. It is essential that if there are buds, they must remove altogether.
Then these branches are placed in clean boiled water at a temperature of 20-23 degrees. You can add the drug “Kornevin” to it, which increases the probability of early root formation. After a few weeks, the cuttings should have roots; they should grow up to 1.5–2 cm. Then they are planted in a 200-300 ml container with prepared soil with added phytohormones so that the rose twigs take root better. A layer of nutrients should be poured into the bottom of the pot, followed by a layer of moistened and sterilized coarse sand, perlite, or similar material. It provides more nutrition for roots growing through sand or other material. But you can do without this by planting cuttings in sand or perlite.
The branch is placed in the substrate slightly at a depth of 1.5-2 cm. The planted cuttings must not touch or shade each other. Next, pots with plants are covered with plastic film or placed under a glass jar. It will help maintain the required temperature and humidity. It is necessary to ventilate the mini-greenhouse regularly so that condensation does not accumulate and moisten the soil only if it has dried a little from above. The thermometer should not go beyond 22-27 degrees. It is recommended to place pots with cuttings on the curtains of bright windows, but not in direct sunlight.
You can also get a plant from a bouquet of roses. To do this, cut a stem 15-20 cm long, and remove all buds and leaves. The stem is moistened with water, and both cuts are caulked with potassium permanganate. For one day, it is placed in a lower canal in a solution of potassium permanganate. Then the twig sits in the prepared substrate to the depth of one bud. Next, the cutting is planted in a ready pot with a substrate and covered with a plastic bag. Think of him in the same way as described earlier.
Problems in growing roses and pest control
Most often, all roses grown at home are affected by the red spider mite. They can help in the early stages of the disease by spraying with folk remedies – oil, soap, or alcohol solutions, as well as manually removing pests with a cotton swab moistened in this way. If this method does not give results, it is worth applying modern insecticides.
The rose can also be susceptible to mildew sugar. In this case, all leaves affected by the disease are cut off and destroyed, and the plant is sprayed with sulfur (but this method is rarely used indoors). You can carry out the treatment with a soda solution – 2 tsp. Dissolves in 1 liter of water. Before the procedure, the pot and the soil are covered with a plastic bag. The duration of treatment is one and a half months with regular intervals of two weeks.