How to properly plant roses bought in a cardboard box

Rose is one of the most beautiful perennial plants that can often be found in summer cottages in central Russia. The key to health and abundant flowering of a rose bush is high-quality planting material. Recently, seedlings began to appear on sale, the root system of which is packed in a cardboard container and hidden from the buyer. Often inexperienced gardeners do not know how to plant roses bought in a box, but the decorativeness and durability of the plant depends on the correct choice of seedling and proper planting.

Selection and preparation of seedlings for planting

From the first days of February, colorful boxes with rose seedlings appear on the shelves of shops selling goods for summer cottages and planting materials. Decorated with photographs of flowers of incredible beauty, they, like a magnet, attract the views of summer residents. Often the purchase leads to disappointment, since the plant dies immediately after planting in the ground. This is due to the fact that the purchased seedling was initially stunted and sick, with weak rotten roots.

Unfortunately, the root system of the future rose sold in a box is closed from the buyer with a dense plastic wrap, and it is impossible to consider the condition of the roots when buying. In this regard, one can only hope for the best. But you can carefully examine the stems, new growth and the area of ​​plant grafting.

The seedling should have two or three mature lignified shoots with intact green bark. The root collar should be at least 8-10 mm in diameter.

Many inexperienced growers choose a seedling with long young shoots, believing that such a plant will bloom immediately as soon as it can be planted. This is fundamentally wrong. Thin numerous shoots only indicate that the plant was warm for a long time and without proper lighting.

Advice

Typically, the main shoots are treated with paraffin. This substance protects the plant from drying out and promotes rapid bud growth, therefore it is not recommended to remove it.

After the roots of the plant have been freed from the wrapper, they must be inspected, if necessary, cut off long and dry parts and lower the seedling for several hours in water. To make the plant grow faster with new roots, you can add Kornevin, Epin, Heteroauxin or another stimulant to the liquid. If bark damage is found on the root collar or stems, the sore spots should be treated with ordinary brilliant green or special fungicides.

Ground requirements

The rose bush has a very extensive root system that penetrates deep into the soil. Therefore, the planting site and soil substrate must be prepared in advance.

Before planting a rose, you should choose the right site. Here are some guidelines.

• A rose should be grown in a bright, sun-warmed and well-ventilated area.
• The plant should be protected from the north wind by trees, shrubs or buildings.
• It is better that the site has a slight slope to the south.
• If the site is located in a lowland, it is necessary to create drainage to drain excess moisture.
• The soil for cultivation should be light, rich in humus, good for air and water.
• The groundwater level in the place where the rose bush is planned to be planted should be at least 1.0-1.2 m.
• When growing roses, it is better to refuse to use loamy and sandy soils.
• To improve the structure and composition of the soil, peat, manure, sod and a little lime or wood ash must be added to the hole.

The soil, optimal for the normal development and abundant flowering of the rose, consists of 2 buckets of garden soil, 1 bucket of humus, 1 bucket of peat, 1 bucket of sand and a few grams of superphosphate.

How to store a plant and when to plant it in the ground

The period from late April to mid-May is considered optimal for planting rose seedlings in the ground. Roses in boxes appear on sale in early February, and by the time of planting, the range of goods becomes very scarce. Therefore, true flower growers try to buy seedlings in winter, long before planting.

Before planting a young plant, it must be preserved until early May. The easiest, but not the most effective, is to store the seedling in a box on the balcony. Firstly, even a slight frost will destroy the plant. Secondly, the shoots will be greatly weakened, as they will be left without an influx of nutrients.

The seedling will be perfectly preserved until planting, will develop the root system and strengthen the shoots, if immediately after purchase it is planted in a plastic container with soil. At the bottom of the pot, which will serve as a temporary shelter for a young plant, expanded clay or crushed stone must be poured for a drainage system. It is better to use coconut substrate and ordinary soil used for growing seedlings as soil.

After planting, in order to exclude the possibility of the development of fungal and bacterial diseases, the soil in the pot should be watered with water with "Fitosporin" dissolved in it. Such a seedling will fully develop and form new buds, waiting for the day of planting in a permanent place in the garden.

Planting rules for seedlings

Before planting a young plant, it must be hardened. To do this, a pot with a rose seedling is periodically taken outside for a while, since the plant must adapt to temperature extremes and the destructive effects of the scorching sun rays.

For planting a rose bush, an open, sunny place is chosen. The dimensions of the landing pit are about half a meter in depth and the same in diameter. Leave at least 60 cm between bushes of large varieties.

The roots of the seedling must be straightened and evenly distributed inside the hole. It is necessary to plant the future bush so that the vaccination site is 5 cm below ground level. Otherwise, next season, instead of a varietal rose, you can get a rosehip bush.

The ground around the plant is compacted so that no voids remain, and watered. Excess shoots can be cut with pruning shears, leaving the most developed ones with two or three buds.

You need to take care of roses, seedlings of which were sold in boxes, in the same way as for all other plants of this species. If you plant a rose bush correctly, loosen the ground in time, water, feed the flower and carry out preventive pest control, you can enjoy the beauty and aroma of a beautiful plant throughout the summer.