long stem rose

[gferguson]

I would like to know if anybody can help me on this, it's kinda strange. My wifes nephew died and she took a long stem cut rose off of the casket and I put it in water until the petals fell off of it and then stuck it into a pot of dirt. A week or so later, it started to sprout and now it's huge with about 7-10 buds on it and I would like to know how to take care of it. Thank you, Greg***

[Newt]

Hi Gferguson,

I'm sorry to hear of your loss.* Often with roses it's difficult to say which type they are, as there are so many.* From this site:
http://www.backyardgardener.com/jmoore/Roses.html

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Hybrid Tea Roses - Many are fragrant and produce one semi-double or double blossom to a stem all summer long.

Floribunda Roses - as the name suggests, it has many flowers in clusters or sprays. Plants tend to be hardy, low growing and produce single or semi-double flowers. They are the most versatile of roses, as they can be used as a hedge, mass planted, specimen or an edging.

Grandiflora Roses - The rose "Queen Elizabeth", was the reason for creating this class. It is a hardy cross between a Floribunda and Hybrid Tea, has a long stem for cutting and produces clusters of blooms throughout the summer. They are best placed at the back of the border because they are the tallest of the modern roses.

With all that said, yours is probably a hybrid.* When you say it has "about 7-10 buds", I'm wondering if they are flower buds or leaf buds.* If they are flower buds then this is probably a grandiflora rose. You don't say where you live so it would be difficult to say if it's hardy where you live.* Most roses grown for the floral trade are grown in very warm areas such as California or South America, yet they don't do well as houseplants.*

Since it's in a flowerpot you could try planting the pot in the flower garden.* You don't say how large the pot is, but a gallon size is best and you will need to wait until the pot nearly fills with roots to give it a better chance of survival. If it's in a small pot, wait until it's nearly rootbound and then replant in a larger pot.* Moving up to a pot about 2" larger is best.* Then slowly get the plant used to the sun by setting it out in the shade for a few days next month when the weather cools a bit.* After it's gotten used to the shade outdoors, move it into the sun for a couple of hours each day until it can spend most of the day in sun.* This whole process should take about 2 weeks. Now you can plant it outdoors.* Sink the pot into the ground up to the rim.* Water and mulch well.* In the spring, before bud break, dig up the pot and plant the rose.

If it doesn't survive don't be disappointed.* I've not heard of many people having success doing this.

Newt

[gferguson]

The pot was outside on the deck, we live in Dayton Ohio so the weather here is almost unpredictable. The pot is about one gallon, or more and when I mean buds, it's flower buds. Three have already bloomed and died, with 4-7 more sprouting out. I have pictures of when I stuck it in the pot.* And thru out the growing process. I don't want to hurt the plant but it's getting so big now that I have to do something with it. Don't know how to send the pics to this site though, Thanks for the info.

[Newt]

You can attach pictures by clicking on 'Browse' at the bottom of the reply box.* Then upload them from your computer.* You may have to reduce them.* Something about the size of 800 by 600 should be large enough.

If yours is a grandiflora rose, they are hardy to zone 6.* I'm thinking you are in zone 6, so it should survive the winter.* Here's a zip code zone finder in case you don't know your hardiness zone.
http://www.gardenweb.com/zones/zip.cgi

Since it's so hot now I would suggest you don't plant it in the ground, but either repot to a larger pot or use the one it's in if it's not rootbound and sink the pot in the ground for the winter with a good mulch.* In spring, before bud break, you can pull the pot and plant it.* If you have been fertilizing, stop by September so the plant has a chance to harden off any new growth and there isn't a flush of tender new growth that can get hit by a sudden hard frost.

This site has lots of info on the different types of roses.* I suspect that yours might be in the 'Modern Shrubs' catagory.* Because the grower would want to keep harvesing the roses, I suspect it's a repeat bloomer.* Be sure to click on the FAQ's on the left side of the page from the drop down box under Resources Guide.
http://www.rdrop.com/~paul/hulse.html

You can even try and search for the name of your rose here.
http://www.everyrose.com/everyrose/index.lasso

Newt