Why are potted roses prone to mineral deficiencies?
Today, the editor will explain the experience of plant maintenance related to mineral deficiency, the specific content is as follows:
In previous articles, the common diseases and pests of roses were introduced. In fact, besides diseases and pests, potted roses often have problems with mineral deficiencies. Today, let's focus on the issue of mineral deficiencies in roses.
What is mineral deficiency?
Mineral deficiency refers to the lack of trace elements. In addition to the three major elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, plants also need many trace elements, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, boron, zinc, etc.
Here's a simple example: People with children at home should have heard that children with poor appetite and dislike for food may be deficient in zinc and need to supplement zinc. The mineral deficiency in roses is similar to the lack of trace elements in humans.
Why are potted roses prone to mineral deficiencies?
Potted roses easily develop mineral deficiency symptoms, while roses grown in the ground do not easily have such issues. This is mainly because the potting soil is not properly prepared and fertilization is not done correctly when growing roses in pots.
The soil mix for potted roses often consists of no soil or very little soil, with a single substrate, which naturally does not have rich nutrients. Therefore, it is always emphasized that the potting soil for roses should be complex, using more decomposed leaf soil, compost, and organic fertilizers.
Besides the single substrate, if sandy soil is used for planting, it is also easy to cause mineral deficiencies in roses, mainly because sandy soil has good drainage but poor fertility, and after repeated watering, some trace elements can easily be washed away, causing poor growth of roses.
The above two are mineral deficiencies caused by unreasonable potting soil preparation, and improper fertilization can also cause mineral deficiency symptoms in roses.
Last year, a rose enthusiast in the reader's group encountered a mineral deficiency in roses caused by improper fertilization. Due to frequent use of "Flower More 2" during the germination period of roses, excessive phosphorus and potassium fertilizers caused the growth points of roses to necrotize.
Excessive phosphorus and potassium fertilizers caused the absorption of calcium elements to be obstructed, leading to mineral deficiency symptoms, indicating that reasonable fertilization is very important.
To learn detailed fertilization methods, you can refer to the article on shallow buried fertilization or take an online rose cultivation course.
What are the manifestations of mineral deficiencies in roses? How should they be dealt with?
Different elements lacking in roses will show various symptoms. Here are some of the most common mineral deficiency symptoms.
1. -- Nitrogen Deficiency --
When roses lack nitrogen fertilizer, the leaves will turn light green or yellowish, the branches will become weak, and the growth will also weaken. The new leaves at the top will gradually become smaller, and it is easy to have leaf fall.
Generally, nitrogen deficiency does not occur if a balanced fertilizer is used. If nitrogen deficiency occurs, just apply a quick-release nitrogen fertilizer in time, and the symptoms can be quickly alleviated.
Note:
Except for long-term no fertilization and excessive application of a single fertilizer, nitrogen deficiency usually does not occur. In fact, we often encounter excessive nitrogen fertilization in cultivation.
2. -- Phosphorus Deficiency --
Why are potted roses prone to mineral deficiencies?
When roses lack phosphorus fertilizer, it often leads to the failure of bud formation or abortion, severely affecting the blooming of roses.
Phosphorus deficiency is often caused by excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer, resulting in roses growing tall, leaves becoming large, but few flowers, or flower buds drying up halfway.
If the above situation occurs, you can apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in time and stop applying nitrogen fertilizers.
3. -- Potassium Deficiency --
When roses lack potassium fertilizer, the tips and lower edges of the old leaves will turn yellow. In severe cases of potassium deficiency, the leaves will curl and deform, the new shoots will grow weakly, the branches will become shorter, and the root system will deteriorate.
For potassium-deficient roses, we should apply sulfate potassium or other potassium fertilizers in time for correction.
Note:
Too much potassium fertilizer should not be used, as excessive potassium can hinder the absorption of calcium and magnesium elements, causing abnormal growth of rose buds.
The above introduces the deficiency of the three major nutrients. In addition to these elements, there are also some medium elements that are prone to deficiency.
4. -- Calcium Deficiency --
Calcium is a medium element in roses and is also easily deficient.
When roses lack calcium, the branches will become soft and the terminal buds are easily damaged, resulting in many blind branches. The young leaves will also turn yellow, the edges will curl and scorch, and the leaf tips will often be hook-shaped.
When roses show calcium deficiency, calcium fertilizers should be applied in time, the simplest method being to spray the leaves with diluted gluconate calcium.
5. -- Magnesium Deficiency --
Roses deficient in magnesium also occur frequently, and it is worth noting that magnesium deficiency in roses is very similar to iron deficiency, both showing interveinal chlorosis, so it should be distinguished.
The main manifestation of magnesium deficiency in roses is that the interveinal chlorosis starts first in the old leaves, and as the magnesium deficiency worsens, it spreads to the new leaves, the mesophyll turns yellow-green, the veins remain green, and color spots appear between the veins.
When magnesium deficiency occurs, you can apply sulfate magnesium or nitrate magnesium to the roots, or spray on the leaves.
Note:
No fertilizer should be overused. Excessive magnesium can also hinder the absorption of potassium and calcium in roses.
Proper fertilization is the key to ensuring the normal and healthy growth of roses. To prevent mineral deficiencies in roses, organic fertilizers can be applied frequently, or a calcium magnesium phosphorus fertilizer can be applied every 3-4 months to effectively prevent mineral deficiencies.
The detailed explanation of what mineral deficiency is, why potted roses are prone to mineral deficiencies, and the manifestations and treatment of mineral deficiencies in roses shared above is for reference only.