You can buy roses in garden shops and florists. However, rather than taking a chance on a young new plant, it is much more worthwhile to take cuttings from an already grown shrub that is healthy and reliably flowering. So if you already have some roses at home, propagate them. It’s not as hard as it may seem at first. Plus, if you enjoy gardening, it’s fun too. Just never propagate plants:
- Too young
- Suffering from aphids and mites
- Mouldy
How to do it
Roses are really beautiful and will grace your garden until autumn. That’s why it’s definitely worth planting as many as possible in your garden. But before you get to work, make sure you study everything carefully and check the roses you choose for pruning. Take cuttings 20-30 cm long, using an oblique cut in frost-free weather, and only from the stronger, mature plants that have not yet budded. They lose their strength very quickly after cutting, so store them promptly in cool, moist sand.
Winterizing and planting
Carefully mark the cuttings and sink them deep enough so that only 2-3 pulling eyes protrude to the surface. Leave them like this until spring. Once the spring frosts have subsided, you can start planting. Place the cuttings slightly diagonally in the ground and cover them with soil up to the top eyelet. If you are not sure that it will not freeze again, it is better to cover them with a glass at night to prevent them from freezing.
Following care
Every rose loves warm, humid soil that is well supplied with nutrients and has plenty of moisture. But beware of waterlogging! The soil should be moist not wet. If it gets too wet, you run the risk of the rose suffering from root rot and fungal diseases, so be extra careful. Also, always choose sufficiently sunny areas for your roses and remove wilting flowers regularly. Failure to do this will sap the buds unnecessarily. Don’t forget to fertilise regularly. Roses can really appreciate it and will reward you with abundant blooms.
Fertilising roses
Do you have a well-drained compost in your garden? It’s absolutely ideal for roses. However, horse manure can also be a good alternative if you have it available or can source it. Both manure and compost provide the soil with a generous supply of heat and nutrients, and no other chemical fertiliser in the store can match that. However, before using manure, make sure it is well dried. When fresh, it can easily burn roses!