Many gardening enthusiasts have been purchasing rose seedlings lately. The selection of seedlings is full of anticipation, but after receiving them, you may feel confused: how do these rose seedlings need to be taken care of? Should they be watered? Should they get sunlight? Should I change the pot? Should I fertilize? Do you need to give medication? These questions are in front of us. Today, we will focus on the issue of changing pots for newly purchased rose seedlings, hoping to help you.
Should I change the pot of the rose seedling I received immediately?
On the question of whether or not you should change pots immediately, we need to judge according to the specific conditions of the seedlings, and we cannot make a generalization.
1. Nutrient potting seedlings
If you have purchased a seedling in a nutrient bowl (also known as a toothpick seedling), then you will definitely need to change the pot after receiving it. These seedlings are cuttings that have not been alive for a long time and have a very fragile root system. Often sellers will ship them with the soil ball pinched very tightly, so it is recommended to transplant them into small pots immediately upon receipt.
Handling tips:
- If the soil mass is very tight and no roots are visible, you need to gently break up the soil mass until a healthy root system is exposed.
- If the soil is grainy, you can plant directly with the clump. Note, however, that nutrient pots for small seedlings usually use regular nursery soil, not high quality planting soil.
2. V9 pots or gallon pots for seedlings
For newbies, it is recommended to choose seedlings from V9 pots or gallon pots instead of nutrient bowl seedlings. These pot seedlings have more developed root systems and are easier to care for.
The choice of changing pots or not:
- If you receive them with a lot of new buds, you can leave the pots for now and wait until the flowers have finished blooming or the branches have turned green.
- You can also wait until just before summer to change into a larger pot.
- If you want easier management and faster seedling growth, you can change to a larger pot directly after you receive it. If it is a vine rose, you can choose to change it to a two-size larger pot directly, or plant it in the ground or in a planting box.
3. Extra-large seedlings
Many gardeners like to buy oversized vine rose seedlings that are more than a meter tall. These seedlings are usually categorized into two types: bagged seedlings and in-ground seedlings.
Bagged seedlings:
- In the case of the American planting bag seedlings, you can choose to continue growing them in the American planting bag, or you can transplant them into the ground or a pot.
- When transplanting, you need to take care of the soil clumps, which will be described later.
Ground-planted seedlings:
- If ground-planted seedlings are temporarily dug up from the ground, they usually come with only a small amount of soil. Such seedlings should be planted immediately upon receipt.
- During the rapid growing period like the end of March in spring, it is recommended that novices avoid purchasing this type of seedling so as not to make maintenance more difficult.
Specific instructions for potting new seedlings
For different types of seedlings, we have different methods of operation when changing pots.
1. Nutrient bowl toothpick seedlings
The first thing you need to do is to check the type of soil in which the plant is growing:
- If the soil is so fine and tightly knit that no roots can be seen, the soil mass needs to be gently broken up until a healthy root system is revealed.
- If the soil is more granular, you can plant directly with the clumps. However, it is important to note that nutrient potting plants are not usually planted with quality planting soil.
2. V9 pot or gallon pot seedlings
V9 pot seedlings and gallon seedlings have been cultivated for a longer period of time, the root system is more developed, and the substrate is more suitable for the growth of roses. These seedlings can be planted directly with the original soil mass when changing pots without breaking up the soil mass.
Caution:
- If the root system is coiled at the bottom, you can pull the coiled root system loose when changing pots before planting.
- There is no problem if planting directly without treatment.
3. Oversized seedlings
In-ground seedling starting:
If you are digging up seedlings from the ground, you need to trim the branches drastically when transplanting them, and the more you cut them, the better they will survive.
Bagged Seedlings:
If it is a bag seedling, before planting, you can use a high-pressure water gun to wash away the mud on the periphery of the soil ball until the healthy root system is exposed, and then prune it appropriately before planting.
Points of care after changing pots
No matter what kind of seedling you have, you will need to water it thoroughly after repotting, which is called “rooting water”. This is called “root fixing water”. Even if the potting soil itself is moist, root fixing water is still needed.
Placement:
After planting, the rose should be placed in a well-ventilated area.
If the branches are not particularly tender, they can receive full sun directly after transplanting in the spring. If strong light is a concern, you can give it half sun first, or avoid strong midday light.