Growing Characteristics of Rose Sucker Shoots
Are you curious about the growing characteristics of rose sucker shoots and why, in spring, roses produce suckers but fewer and fewer flowers? Here are some small experiences in green plant care. If there are any mistakes, please feel free to correct them!
In previous articles, it was mentioned that for a rose to rejuvenate, it must produce suckers, and it was also mentioned that rose suckers are a necessary condition for updating the rose plant. I believe many flower enthusiasts have heard the saying: big suckers will surely bring big flowers.
Many flower enthusiasts have heard this, so when they see thick sucker shoots growing on roses, they get very excited and spend all their time watering and fertilizing, almost checking on them three times a day, until the suckers suddenly shoot up half a meter tall, only to realize that the rose is looking uglier and uglier.
Growing Characteristics of Rose Sucker Shoots
When roses have sufficient fertilizer and water, they easily produce strong new shoots from the base, which is close to the roots. We call these shoots suckers.
Sucker shoots grow very fast because the rose will divert most of its nutrients to support the growth of the sucker shoots, which is why we can see that rose sucker shoots can grow a lot in just one day.
The growth of rose sucker shoots is very strong and will consume a lot of nutrients. Therefore, if we do not handle the rose suckers and let them grow unchecked, two problems will eventually arise.
1. The Rose Plant Loses Balance
The growing characteristic of the sucker shoot is that it grows too fast. Often, a single sucker shoot can grow much taller than the original rose plant, and the flowers it produces are indeed larger.
This is easy to understand. For example, if there are three children in a family and all the good food and drinks are given to one child while the other two only get enough to survive, then the child who eats well will be stronger.
Because the sucker shoot grows too fast and is much taller than the original rose plant, it will eventually result in a single dominant shoot, which destroys the harmony of the entire potted rose plant.
2. Fewer and Smaller Flowers
The rose sucker shoot consumes most of the nutrients, so the other rose branches can only get very little, which naturally leads to smaller flowers or even blind shoots.
Methods for Handling Rose Sucker Shoots
When roses produce sucker shoots, we must pay close attention and take timely action to prevent the above two problems from occurring.
Therefore, once the rose sucker shoot grows to a certain height, we should promptly pinch the top to remove the apical dominance and encourage the sucker shoot to produce secondary branches.
The position for pinching the top of the rose sucker shoot should be determined based on the condition of the plant. If it is a cutting of a young plant that has not yet developed a shape, you can pinch at the desired branching position, and the rose will produce its first branch at this pinched position in the future.