complete guide to growing, propagating and taking care of rose plant at home

Rose is the king of flowers. No doubt it is my favorite flower too. Maintaining a rose bush or a rose plant in a pot is extremely important so that it keeps on blooming healthier. Rose is a nutrition consuming plant, it grows best in day sunlight of 6-7 hours.
Every flower plant grows good in sunlight and as rose is easily expected to get fungus or spider webs. It is preferential to keep it in sunlight throughout the season. 

Type of soil that is good for rose plant

Rose is a flowering plant and loves acidic soil.I add potassium permanganate ( fitkari ) to my rose plant once a month and I avoid adding it in the monsoon season because then the soil is already acidic. It will help the fungus to stay away, keep the soil citrusy and give the plant healthy flower buds.

Pruning a rose is most important and I prefer pruning my rose plant in the monsoon season or during month of March. After a flower life ends, I generally cut the buds instead of waiting them to dry and seed. 

propagation of rose the right way will give sure success

Best time for rose propagation is October or February. Also if you’re located in an area that receives good rainfall then you can propagate the  rose sticks during monsoon season too. Propagation is possible in both soil and water. I normally cut 5-6 inches healthy stems, take away the leaves and then make a 45 degree angle cut.

 I soak my cuttings in aloe water for sometime like almost an hour. It is a rooting hormone and helps the plant to root better. We can also dip it in honey or apply cinnamon powder to the cuttings. Cinnamon powder is very good option to prevent root rot due to fungus and promotes fast rooting of the plant. 

Then I take a pot with a hole. Fill it with new 50% soil and 50% sand. I cover the underground section of my cuttings with coconut shell and secure them with a thread tightly . then I place them to the soil directly. I water it till the water starts draining from hole. Coconut shells avoid fungus.

When we are propagating rose we should be careful to place it in a spot where it is humid, and only indirect sunlight comes there.
We can check weekly about keeping the cuttings moist. Rose cuttings love drizzle so watering with a spray is better option. It is advisable to not touch the cuttings again and again and to not over water the pot. 

If everything goes well the cuttings will root in 40 days. We may see a few leaves coming out in between but we shouldn’t try to check if it is rooting or not and let the plant cuttings grow on their own for 3-4 months to be assured because many times even if it roots but to disturbances the plant gets shocked and stop growing further.

Fertilizer which I prefer to feed a rose plant –

1. Leftover tea leaves from kitchen waste, I wash them after making tea and then dry and powder. I add it in 15 days a month and During summer I add it top layer of my plant to keep the soil moist.
2. Banana peel fertilizer for potassium.
3. Bone meal
4. Cow dung fertilizer during winters.
5. Potash rich contents like neem leaves ash or cow dung ash. 

Happy Gardening. If you like the post share your reviews with me. Also when you get healthy rose plants, try the gulkand recipe. You can also use the recipe in modak filling.