Growing roses for cut flowers
Soils rich in nutrients are best suited for roses, sandy loam with sufficient calcium (pH 6,5—7,0). The accommodation should be located in a sunny place, quiet, sheltered from northeastern winds. When growing cut-flower roses, first of all, it is necessary to carefully prepare the soil before planting the bushes. The field must be deeply cultivated and in the autumn fertilized with manure in the amount of 7-10 q / a. In spring, before planting roses, it is not recommended to use too large doses of mineral fertilizers, because roses are plants that are extremely sensitive to too high a concentration of soil solution, at least in the first period after planting.
Planting. The most suitable season for planting roses is spring - March-April. Place, on which the roses are to be planted should be marked with a marker or pegs. The spacing depends on the strength of the growth of individual varieties and the fertility of the soil: for strong-growing varieties, a spacing of 30-40X is used 80 cm, 25-30 x 60-70 cm for weak growers. Immediately before planting, each bush should be carefully examined, remove damaged shoots and roots; if the roots are too long, they should be shortened to 20-25 cm, to avoid bending. When planting, we try to place the roses so deep, so that the spot of budding is approx 2 cm below the ground.
The planting technique itself is simple and does not differ from the rules generally accepted when planting shrubs. After carefully placing the roots in the dug hole, cover them with soil, we knead, cut the shoots 10-15 cm long and water them. In order to better accept the roses, it is recommended to cover the individual shrubs with soil, creating small mounds around the base of the shoots.. These mounds should be scattered as soon as new shoots are knocked out.
Nursing after planting. After planting, the roses require watering; it is best to do it 2 or 3 times a month from May to August. Watering can be done with rubber hoses or by distributing the water through grooves dug along the rows of shrubs.
Mulching the roses is one of the most desirable treatments, for which both well-decomposed manure and peat mulch can be used to good effect. This treatment protects the soil against excessive drying out, inhibits the growth of weeds and increases the quality of increasing the amount of cut flowers obtained. Other treatments such as weeding, watering, cutting out shoots and fertilizing should be performed throughout the cultivation period.
Cut flower roses should be fertilized annually. The most commonly used is a mixture of mineral fertilizers consisting of 5 kg superphosphate, 3—4 kg of potassium sulphate and 3-4 kg of calcium ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulphate per ar. This amount can be used once in the spring, but better results are obtained when decomposing it over 2 doses; the first one is used in early spring, the second after the first flowering in June - early July. In addition, additional fertilization with calcium nitrate is used (2—3 kg/ar) or calcium ammonium nitrate. However, it should be remembered, that nitrogen fertilization promotes growth, so it can only be used until mid-July. After this date, rose plantations fertilized with nitrogen usually winter very badly.
Fertilization with organic fertilizers in the form of well-decomposed manure is usually applied every 2-3 years in the spring. The manure layer is usually spread between the rows of plants after the spring cut and dug shallowly with shovels.
In order to maintain adequate acidity, it is recommended to fertilize the rose quarters every 3--4 years with quicklime in the amount of 6-10 kg per hectare..
Cutting. Cutting is one of the most difficult care procedures in rose cultivation. We usually make them two weeks after removing the winter protection. During this treatment, first of all, we remove old shoots, chore, frozen over, ingrown to the center of the crown. In large-flowered roses - depending on the vitality of the bush and the variety, is usually left from 3 do 8 shoots, shortening them like this, so that they only have from 2 do 4 mesh.
It is almost impossible to give detailed recommendations on how to cut roses, because almost each variety needs to be cut differently. However, a general rule can be given, which should be followed during these procedures. Well, strongly growing shrubs should be cut less, less radical (i.e.. leave more stitches), whereas shrubs with weaker growth must be cut intensively]. Strong bushes, cut too short, give little, thick, non-commercial flower shoots and vice versa, weak plants cut for too long produce small flowers on short stems.
In addition, in order to obtain large and well-formed flower buds, all side buds growing in the leaf axils should be systematically removed throughout the growth..
When harvesting flowers, flower stems are usually cut above the lowest, well-developed and healthy leaf.
Growing roses in flower beds
In urban green areas, in flower beds and parks, multi-flower roses are usually grown, which are characterized by long-lasting and profuse flowering and branching strongly). Their flowers are gathered in corymbose of various sizes. Multiflower roses are characterized by a very diverse growth force. Very low varieties can be found, the so-called. miniatures 15-25 cm high, as well as very tall varieties reaching even height 1 m. However, the most suitable are medium-height varieties (40—60 cm) forming compact shrubs, long and profusely flowering.
The discounts for growing roses should be prepared in the same way as for roses grown in the ground, so well cultivated and fertilized with compost soil, decomposed manure and mineral fertilizers.
It is best to plant a rebate in the spring. When planting in flower beds, the spacing is most often used 30 X 30—40 cm.
All care and cultivation procedures are the same as for the cultivation of large-flowered roses in the ground. Only to ensure abundant and continuous flowering of bedding roses, remember to remove faded inflorescences on a regular basis.. When pruning after winter dormancy, the same rules apply as for pruning large-flowered roses.
Securing roses for the winter
In our climatic conditions, covering large-flowered roses for the winter is necessary. Winter protection should protect them not only from frost, but also against too much sunlight, against high humidity and strong winds.
We usually cover the roses before the first frost occurs in mid-November or at the beginning of December during dry and sunny weather.. Covering with earth is the most practical; the main shoots are covered with a hoe or ridger, creating mounds at a height of 15-20 cm. Roses protected in this way are only covered with a not too thick layer of leaves when the frosts are more severe, peat or other mulch. In order to protect the cover from being blown by the wind, it is good to put coniferous tree branches over it.
We start removing the winter protection of roses after the spring weather is established and after the ground is thawed and partially dried.. We usually do it in two "installments". First, we take the leaves off at the end of March or the beginning of April, peat and straw, i.e. the so-called. thermal protection, leaving only the branches of conifers to protect against too much sunlight. In early or mid April, we discover the roses completely. Immediately after discovery, trim the main shoots to a length of 2–5 sts. Shoots weak, We remove completely broken or frozen ones. Simultaneously with this treatment, it is recommended to carry out the first fertilization of roses with a complete mixture of mineral fertilizers.
It is best to explore on cloudy days or in the afternoon.