Roses not blooming? They may have grown blind shoots

First, let's explain a bit of knowledge -- blind shoots. Put simply, a blind shoot is when a stem grows buds but no flower buds, or grows flower buds that fail to open normally and wither partway through. There are many factors behind roses growing blind shoots, including external factors and internal factors within the plant itself.

Roses growing blind shoots is a perfectly normal phenomenon, and it may be related to water, sunlight and fertilizer. But first, don't fret over whether you are watering enough, whether the sunlight you give them is sufficient, or whether you should apply more fertilizer. There are many reasons blind shoots appear, and you need to identify them carefully before treating the cause.

If your roses develop several blind shoots, first observe the leaves. If the leaf color is normal, not wilting or yellowing, and very healthy and thick, then the root system may have a problem. If the roots are underdeveloped, not robust, or obstructed, blind shoots will appear. In that case the fix is simple: "decapitate" them.

The specific "decapitation" operation is to cut off the top bud of the tallest blind shoot, cutting down to the point of the leaf below. Not long after the top bud is cut off, new buds will grow, and the new buds that emerge afterward are generally healthy buds that can bloom normally. The earlier the top bud is removed, the easier it is for new buds to sprout.

There is another case: the flower bud was growing perfectly well, but then could not bloom and wilted partway through. This situation has little to do with the root system; most of the time it is caused by external factors, such as overly strong or excessive sunlight, or drought and lack of water, or a sudden excess of fertilizer, all of which can cause flower buds to wilt. At this point, just cut them off, cutting down to two or three leaves below, to reduce the strain on the whole plant.

Some flower lovers will notice that certain rose varieties have a particularly high probability of developing blind shoots. Generally speaking, roses with large blooms and abundant flowers have a very high demand for nutrients, and when nutrients are insufficient, blind shoots very easily appear. At that point there are not enough nutrients to supply all the flowering branches, so some must simply be abandoned. In this case, you need to increase the amount of fertilizer applied.