A Detailed Guide to Rose Fertilization Methods and the Best Time for Top Dressing
Friends who like growing flowers and plants should be familiar with roses, and we often see roses at various festivals in our daily lives. As bouquets that express love, roses have always been very popular in the market. Growing roses is not simple, but once you master the methods it is still quite easy. In many regions of our country there are large-scale rose cultivation bases, and many friends also like to grow some at home. So the question of how to fertilize roses may have been encountered by everyone to some extent, so let us take a look at how to solve it.
How to fertilize roses
1. Nutrient requirements
Roses are different from other bouquets, and the fertilizers they need at different growth stages are not quite the same, so first of all everyone should buy enough fertilizer; nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are the foundation, and the amounts used are also the largest. Nitrogen fertilizer is an important nutrient for roses; when nitrogen fertilizer is sufficient, rose plants can grow with luxuriant branches and leaves, and when nitrogen fertilizer is insufficient, rose growth is weak and leaves turn yellow and withered, but if nitrogen fertilizer is excessive, the plant will grow excessively and make the flowers grow deformed, affecting yield. Phosphorus fertilizer mainly promotes the growth of the rose root system, and for roses, well-developed roots are a key point, because this can provide nutrients to the petals, branches and leaves, and can also maintain the quality of the roses.
But each growth stage has different requirements for these three fertilizers; in the early growth stage the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is 3:1:2, while at the flowering stage it becomes 3:1:3. In addition, besides these three main elements, roses also need trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, zinc and boron, and attention should be paid to adding them when planting.
2. Apply sufficient base fertilizer
What is base fertilizer? This is a question many beginners at growing roses will encounter. Base fertilizer means that before planting roses, we first fertilize the land; fertilizing the land is mainly to ensure the nutritional supply for the entire subsequent cultivation. Traditional base fertilizer is mainly organic fertilizer or compound fertilizer, and everyone can decide for themselves. If the soil is not given sufficient base fertilizer, it will be difficult to provide the proper help for the subsequent growth needs of roses. Generally calculated according to the amount planted per mu, 3000-4000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer is needed, and a certain amount of compound fertilizer also needs to be added. The application of base fertilizer is best done after leaf fall in autumn, and as early as possible; it is generally applied in furrows, so that the root system can sprout new roots and grow vigorously after the beginning of spring the following year. If base fertilizer is applied too late, it is unfavorable to the normal growth of the plant.
3. Timely top dressing
Top dressing is an indispensable step in growing bouquets or planting greenery, because during the growth period all plants need additional fertilizer to provide nutrients. At this time we should carry out top dressing according to the growth conditions of the roses. First, at the budding stage, when the temperature rises and the underground root system begins to grow and develop, compound fertilizer should be applied as top dressing to promote rapid growth of the plant's branches and leaves; the second time is at the flower bud stage, which is the gestation period of flower buds, when buds sprout and leaves unfold and root growth reaches its peak, so the fertilizer requirement is extremely large and fertilizer should be applied in time; the third time is at the full flowering stage, which is the key period for roses and is related to the level of yield and the quality of the flowers, but the plant's nutrients cannot meet the growth needs, so quick-acting fertilizer should be applied in time; the fourth time is after flowering, when branches and leaves stop growing and the flowers have matured and been harvested, while the plant's photosynthesis is still going on and a large amount of nutrients accumulates in the root system, so at this time whether to apply top dressing can be decided according to the condition of the plant.
That is the summary from Tuliu.com today on the question of how to fertilize roses. There are many beginners growing roses now, so everyone is advised to make good reference according to actual conditions, and not to add fertilizer blindly, because applying too much fertilizer may also cause excess nutrients.