Rose from the florist

[milkdribbly]

Hello everyone,* I have a question that maybe someone here can help me with.* On Valentine's Day, I received a rose that my coworker bought from the florist.* I stuck the single rose stem in a bottle of tap water and let it be.* Well it hasn't died yet and actually it's grown three new stems, two buds and is now starting to root.

My question is, should I bother to plant it in a pot of soil?* Or do I simply leave it in it's happy little bottle?

If I were to plant it, do I risk killing it all together?* What's the best way to go about doing that?*** And what kinda vitamins does a rose need?* One of the leaves is yellowing, so I'm wondering if it's from malnutrition or simply the leaf is getting old.

I live in Japan so gardening stores are not so common.* But if anyone can direct me to what kinds of materials or soil I might need, I'll try to do my best for the little rose.

Any help is appreciated,
-Natalie

[Newt]

Hi Natalie,

Wow, I've never heard of a rose from a florist blooming and then rooting before.* It would be best if you could put the cutting into some type of rooting medium.* If you can get some perlite, insert the stem into the pot, add the perlite and then water well.* You could also use a mix of potting soil and perlite.* Let the water run through.* When the pot gets full of roots you can repot it in potting soil or plant it in the ground.* Maybe these sites will be helpful.* You won't need to cover the pot will plastic since you already have roots.* What you want is for the root system to get large enough to support the plant.
http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/hulse.html

Newt

[milkdribbly]

Thank you so much for your response.* I'll do my best to find some perlite and follow your directions!

-Natalie

[Newt]

Natalie, you are very welcome!* If you can't find perlite where you are, see if you can find some type of rooting medium or well draining potting soil.* Even orchid potting medium should work if it's bark chips.* It would allow for drainage but still stay moist enough for the roots not to dry out.*

I forgot to answer your question about what the roses need.* I'm thinking you will be planting this rose outdoors, correct?

Newt

[milkdribbly]

Unfortunately, I live in a matchbox apartment and have no yard to plant it in.* It will have to remain in a pot outdoors on my window rack.* My only concern is that this window receives strong morning sunlight.* Should I try to keep it in shade?

Orchids are very popular here, so I think it should be easy to find some potting soil for it.

Thanks again,
Natalie

[Newt]

Natalie, you gave me a giggle with the description of the size of your apartment!* :)* Strong morning sun for a rose is great!* You can keep it outside once it's rooted enough for you to pot it up.* Since it has been growing indoors try not to put it out in the sun all at once, but get it used to the sun slowly or it can get sunburned, just like humans do.* Here's how to move plants from indoors to out and back again.* Depending on your hardiness zone you might be able to leave it outdoors for the winter so it can go dormant.* Here's a hardiness zone map.* Let me know if you can figure out yours.
http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pb...JapanHZMap.pdf
http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1454.htm

You can use either an organic fertilizer like fish emulsion or better yet, fish emulsion mixed with seaweed or kelp.* If you can't find that, any bottled fertilizer that you can mix with water will do.* It's best if all the numbers are the same.* Look for something with numbers like 20-20-20 or 10-10-10.* Don't fertilize until your rose has been in a pot for at least 2 weeks so the roots can get established.

Don't hesitate to ask more questions.* If you need sites on how to pot up your rose once it's well rooted I can get that for you.

Newt