8 Common Mistakes Killing Your Roses and How to Avoid Them

Recently, many florists who purchased rose seedlings asked me, “Are roses good to raise? Why can’t I keep them alive?” I believe that many novice rose growers have similar confusion, and therefore paid a lot of “tuition”. Today, I will analyze for you, why you are easy to raise roses to death, and how to avoid these common misunderstandings.

8 Common Misconceptions About Rose Maintenance

Actually, roses are a relatively easy flower to grow. If you often raise roses to death, it may be because you accidentally stepped on the following 8 “pitfalls!

1. Choosing varieties that are not suitable for novice growers

There are tens of thousands of varieties of roses around the world. Although I can not remember the names of all varieties, but in the choice of varieties, I have some suggestions.

For the novice florist, it is recommended to choose some classic and easy to care for varieties, such as the “Nightmare in Heaven”, “Monet”, “Princess of Kent” and so on. Try to avoid varieties with strange flower shapes or rare colors, as these varieties are usually less resistant to disease and weaker, making them easier for novices to care for.

White cut-flower varieties, while beautiful, do not bloom easily to a standard and can easily frustrate a novice. Choose the classic varieties, they grow vigorously, resistant, even if poor care is not easy to die, more suitable for novice beginners.

2. Breathless potting soil

After choosing a variety, the choice of potting soil is also very important. Never use cheap universal nutrient soil, or it will easily lead to root smothering and moisture, triggering root rot.

When potting roses, it is best to use loose and breathable soil. You can mix pine scale, peat soil and leaf litter in a 1:1:1 ratio. This recipe is simple and easy to use, with good permeability and drainage, and is ideal for novices.

3. Lack of light

Roses are very light-loving plants. If they are left out of the sun for a long period of time, roses are prone to illness, spindly growth and even gradual wilting. Therefore, don’t be afraid to let your roses get sunlight, adequate light is the key to healthy growth. Make sure you get at least 4 hours of light a day, even during the blooming season.

4. Overwatering

In addition to light and ventilation, many flower lovers like to water their roses daily. However, potted roses require little to no daily watering except for the summer heat when they may need frequent watering. Overwatering is one of the main causes of rose death.

So, how often should you water? Actually, there is no set watering interval. The frequency of watering for each pot of roses should be based on how dry or wet the potting soil is. Even two pots of roses of the same variety will have different watering intervals if the potting soil is different. Roses do not tolerate either drought or flooding, so watering should be done on a “water through dry” basis.

If you are not sure when to water, you can remove 2-3 cm of soil from the surface before each watering, and if this part of the soil is already dry, it is time to water.

5. Do not use chemical fertilizers

Many flower lovers wish to use only organic fertilizers, believing that it is more environmentally friendly. However, for potted roses, it is difficult to provide enough nutrients with organic fertilizers alone. The amount of organic fertilizer is difficult to accurately control, too much will lead to fertilizer damage, too little will lead to poor growth of roses.

It is recommended that chemical fertilizers be used wisely when potting roses. Chemical fertilizers are fast-acting, controllable, and relatively clean. Of course, the best fertilization program is to combine organic fertilizer and chemical fertilizer together.

6. Fertilizer concentration is too high

Improper control of the concentration of fertilizer is also one of the major causes of the death of roses. Many florists do not know how to configure the concentration when using water-soluble fertilizers, and as a result, fertilizer damage occurs after fertilization, resulting in roses struggling on the brink of death.

For the novice, fertilization should follow the principle of “rather thin than thick”. For example, if the recommended concentration is 1,000 times, you can use a diluted concentration of 1,200 to 1,500 times. Because the roses maintained by novices are usually not strong enough to grow, and have a weak tolerance for fertilizers, it is safer to use thinner fertilizers.

7. Superstitious disease-resistant varieties

Diseases and pests of roses, especially red spider and black spot, are a common cause of wilting. Even if you’re growing a more disease-resistant variety, you shouldn’t take it lightly.

Disease-resistant varieties are only relatively less susceptible to disease, which does not mean that they are completely immune to it. Therefore, it is very important to prevent pests and diseases on a regular basis and not neglect management just because a variety is resistant to diseases.

8. Improper pruning

Roses need to be pruned every time they bloom, and they need to be pruned again during the winter dormant period. However, pruning is not arbitrary. Many novices prune roses during the growing season, resulting in weaker growth or even death.

During the growing period, roses should not be pruned heavily. After blooming, only the flowering branches need to be properly pruned back, usually cut off 1/3-1/2 of the flowering branches can be, retaining most of the leaves for photosynthesis, so that roses can grow more and more vigorously.