Florist Reveals One Vegetable That Helps Rose Cuttings Thrive This Winter for Lush Blooms in Spring
Roses symbolize everything beautiful. These flowers swing merrily in the breeze while their thorny bodyguards protect them from predators, both humans and animals. But these are not the only predators that threaten their lives. These pretty princesses are so delicate that just a little shift in wind or just a little more rain can cause them to freeze forever. Thankfully, for these beauties, there are beasts like potatoes. While roses are sensitive jewels, potatoes are firm tubers filled with a bounty of nutrients and plenty of water to keep the roses hydrated. Speaking to Woman & Home, flower specialist Angela DeMaio, revealed the unusual connection between potatoes and thriving rose plants.
“Potatoes create an ideal environment for rose cuttings to grow strong roots," said DeMaio. "Their natural moisture content keeps the stems hydrated, while the nutrients help the plant establish itself,” she added. Explaining the science behind this trick, Better Homes & Gardens Australia wrote “The theory behind this method is that the potato will keep the cutting moist and provide the plant with the nutrients it needs to thrive. As the plant grows the potato will break down naturally, nourishing the soil.”
One way to utilize potatoes to grow sprays of beautiful roses is to plant the rose stems inside potatoes, as if potatoes are the planting pots. However, this process requires the rose stems to feature a certain length. “Select a fresh stem from your rose bush that’s at least 20cm long," explained DeMaio and added, "Next, remove any flowers and leaves to prepare the cutting."
To begin with, carve a hole in the potato, a little smaller than the rose stem’s thickness. Trim the glossy green leaves. The next step, according to DeMaio is to “insert the base of the stem into half a potato and plant the potato with the stem directly into the soil.” Better Homes & Gardens suggested dipping the rose stem into a hormone gel or honey before engraving it inside the potato. The next step, according to them is to place the potato and the rose clipping on the ground with at least three inches of soil covering around it. Soon enough, the roots of the rose plant will start bursting and spreading underground inside the potato.
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Flower experts believe that unless a healthy, firm potato is there to protect a delicate rose, the rose is too vulnerable to survive under harsh weather conditions and environmental stress. “This is often the only way to grow a new rose as the environment might be too tough for new stems to grow naturally,” experts at Amaze Veg Garden told Bristol Live. Adding to the benefits, DeMaio explained, “This method also protects the cutting in environments where new stems would struggle to grow naturally. By using a potato, you’re essentially creating a nutrient-rich incubator for your rose cuttings, giving them the best possible start."
This potato-rose clipping is not the only way these golden brown vegetables help the roses thrive. Some experts claim that fertilizers made of potatoes and their peels can also be used to dress rose beds and flowering shrubs. So while the majority of the 376 million tonnes of potatoes produced worldwide are destined to be roasted, baked, fried, or mashed for humans, the rest of them are roses waiting to burst open and bloom in the wild.