Planting roses in potatoes? Sounds weird, but it has its advantages. We'll show you how to propagate roses using a potato.
Roses are an attribute of saints, such as the love goddess Aphrodite. Therefore, the flower is a symbol of love and is often given as a gift. After a few days, however, the flowers wither. To prevent this decay, you can plant the rose. A trick helps to make this happen: Plant the rose in a potato.
Potatoes contain nutrients and moisture. Therefore, they provide a good basis for helping roses to take root. This little garden trick is quick and easy to implement. These instructions explain how to do this and what you need for it.
How to propagate roses?
Nurseries usually propagate roses by grafting one variety. A robust wild rose is used as a base. The advantages lie in the quick and inexpensive implementation and the multiplication of large quantities.
In the private sector, on the other hand, it is easier to propagate roses from cuttings. Compared to grafted roses, these offspring are a bit smaller at the beginning, but this often changes after the second or third year in the garden.
Why should I plant a rose in a potato?
One trick is to plant the rose in a potato. The pre-drilled hole makes it easier for the flower to take root. In addition, the tuber provides the rose with even moisture.
Critics point out that a potato is not particularly root-friendly and the rose does not need its nutrients. Therefore, according to them, the flower can also be propagated with commercial potting soil. In addition, the potato often sprouts too.
The greatest advantage of a potato is its even supply of moisture. The solution is ideal, especially for rose lovers who forget to water the potting soil.
The Best Types of Roses for Propagation
Whether the cultivation of a rose cutting is successful often depends on the type of rose. Some roses are particularly good for this, such as
- Climbing Roses
- Shrub roses
- Ground Cover Roses
Hibitat roses and bed roses, on the other hand, have a lower success rate. It often takes a while for a cutting to take root. In addition, there are always failures.
Tip: It is generally advisable to take several cuttings. This way, the probability of success is higher. If you have too many roses, you can give them away.
If a rose is under plant variety protection, propagation is prohibited. It is also forbidden to pass on or sell these roses.
Best time to propagate roses
Roses are best propagated in July or August. At this point, the one-year-old rose shoots are already so lignified that they do not rot so quickly. At the same time, they are not too lignified to prevent rooting.
Planting a rose in a potato - this is how you do it
If you want to plant a rose in a potato, it is best to first prepare all the necessary accessories.
Utensils Required
In order to plant a rose in potatoes, you need a few things. Those are:
- poor potting soil
- Plastic Bottle
- sharp scissors or optionally a carpet knife
- Corkscrew or drill bit
- one potato
- a rose
- poss. a flower pot
Prepare and plant roses
If you have all the necessary tools at hand, you can start:
Step 1: Remove leaves without stems
First remove the leaves, but leave the stems for orientation. These become interfaces. The top sheet can also be left standing. This stimulates rapid growth.
Step 2: cut cuttings
Depending on the length of the rose shoots, several cuttings can be taken. They are called driver cuttings. To do this, the thin shoot tip above a leaf is removed. It is not needed.
Each cutting should be about four inches long and have at least two pairs of eyes. Three or four pairs of eyes are ideal. A pair of eyes is stuck into the potato. The roots sprout from this. The top pair of eyes in the air sprout.
Now cut the rose about one centimeter below a leaf bud at a 45 degree angle with sharp scissors or a box cutter. This increases the cross-section and thus the contact with the potato.
Step 3: Remove petioles
After that you can remove the styles of the leaves. To thisIt is a wise way to prepare your cutting for rooting.
Step 4: Prepare the potato
Now let's turn to the potato. Drill a hole lengthwise into this with a corkscrew or drill bit. It can reach about half of the tuber. The diameter should be slightly smaller than that of the cutting. This allows the style to be tucked in without wobbling.
Step 5: Plant rose with potato in pot
Then you fill the flower pot about five centimeters high with potting soil. The potato and rose stem are inserted into this.
Then fill the pot with soil until about three quarters of the pot is full. One third of the cutting should be above the ground. Of course, the rose can also be buried directly in the garden.
Step 6: Keep the rose cutting moist
After planting, water the soil. The potato now develops its potential and gradually provides the rose with moisture and nutrients.
You can improvise a miniature greenhouse with a bottle. To do this, cut off the bottom and remove the lid. Then you put the bottle over the rose. This serves as protection against evaporation and is particularly useful if you have not removed the top sheet.
The ideal location for the cuttings
At best, roses should thrive in a warm and bright spot with little direct sunlight. Alternatively, a semi-shady to shady outdoor location that is sheltered from the wind is ideal.
After about ten days you can carefully pull on the rose. If you feel resistance, roots have already formed. Then the time has come to remove the plastic bottle. The location should continue to be warm with plenty of sunlight. If you plan to transplant outdoors, you can harden off the rose. To do this, you can leave the flowerpot outside for a few hours from time to time.
The first winter should ideally remain frost-free for the self-propagated roses. In this way, the roses lignify and can mature. From May the following year you can then plant the flowers in the garden.