Should I cut the flower buds off the newly bought rose plant?
The core content of this article: Tips on rose plant care - Should I cut the flower buds off the newly bought rose plant? Please see the detailed introduction below.
Should I cut the flower buds off the newly bought rose plant?
Do we really have to cut off the flower buds that come with the seedlings?
Actually, whether to cut off the flowers of new seedlings depends on the situation.
Weak seedlings/small seedlings
If you buy a toothpick-sized seedling, the type that comes in a black nutrient pot, it is usually a recently rooted cutting. Although there are flower buds, the root system is actually very poor. In this case, you must pinch the flower buds when you receive the seedlings, otherwise, the flower buds will consume a lot of nutrients, causing the seedlings to become僵 and not grow.
If it's a small seedling in a v9 pot, the situation will be much better. Although the plant is not large, the root system is generally good, and the root damage from shipping with the pot is relatively small. In this case, from the perspective of raising seedlings, you should cut off all the flower buds and focus on raising the seedlings first.
But if you are worried about version issues, you can also keep one flower bud, let it bloom a bit, to determine if it's the right version. Some suggest keeping small flower buds, but my advice is to keep the largest flower bud and cut off the small ones.
Because the large flower bud takes less time to open, and once it blooms, you can cut it down. This process will not cause much consumption of the seedling. As for the issue of flower bud deformation due to transportation and potting, it is a probabilistic issue. Moreover, the small rose seedlings themselves cannot guarantee standard blooms, so I think it's more important to get the result we want in the fastest way.
Large seedlings in gallon pots
Compared to small seedlings, the seedlings in gallon pots have stronger root systems, and the root damage from shipping with the pot is also smaller. Of course, from the perspective of acclimatizing and raising seedlings, the flower buds should still be cut off. However, for many beginner flower enthusiasts, keeping them might be a better choice.
In fact, for experienced flower growers, whether or not to cut the flower buds, as long as the management is proper, the plants can still grow rapidly. Cutting the flower buds is more important for beginners.
Because, as beginner flower enthusiasts, what we lack the most is the skill of plant care. Not cutting the flower buds may cause the seedlings to become stiff after blooming, but cutting the flower buds also doesn't guarantee that the rose seedlings will grow well.
Although this may seem a bit demoralizing, it is a reality that beginner flower enthusiasts have to face. So, I think that for large seedlings like those in a 1-gallon pot, you can completely keep the flower buds. If there are multiple flower buds, it's best to remove the smaller ones, keeping only the largest one on a branch. This will not cause too much consumption of the seedling and also allow you to enjoy the flowers, which is a relatively perfect solution.
Keeping the flower buds is acceptable, but the care must also keep up, especially the timely application of fertilizer and water to ensure normal blooming and healthy growth of the roses.
Methods for handling the seedlings upon arrival
Here I only mention the handling methods for relatively strong v9 pot seedlings and 1-gallon rose soil-grown seedlings when keeping the flower buds. You can refer to the book "How to Raise Roses from Scratch" for the handling methods of weak seedlings and garden soil seedlings.
The first thing to do when you receive the seedlings is to find a suitable-sized pot for repotting. Pay attention to use a breathable pot, not the colorful ceramic ones that are popular among beginner flower enthusiasts but avoided by experienced ones.
When repotting, first add a small amount of rose soil to the bottom of the pot, then add an adequate amount of fermented organic fertilizer, usually 100g-150g of organic fertilizer for a 2-gallon pot, mix it with the bottom pot soil, then cover it with a 2-3 cm layer of rose soil, and then take the rose out of the original pot, place it in with the original soil, add new soil, and water it thoroughly after planting.
If you don't want to repot, you can mix 1 part fermented organic fertilizer with 1 part rose soil, add it directly to the pot, and fill the pot. This is done to provide the roses with their first dose of fertilizer after arriving home.
After adding the fermented organic fertilizer, spray once with carbendazim or zineb to prevent diseases. Roses that have traveled long distances are actually quite weak and prone to disease. Prevention should be carried out early.
Place the plant in a well-lit and ventilated area, and slowly acclimatize for 3 days, then start spraying foliar fertilizer. Since it has flower buds, it is recommended to use a lot of flowers No. 2, sprayed at 1200 times. After acclimatizing for 5-7 days, you can apply the lot of flowers No. 2 solution at 1200 times to the roots, then maintain spraying foliar fertilizer every 3 days, watering with fertilizer every 5 days, and applying pesticides every 10-15 days, and adding a layer of fermented organic fertilizer every month.
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