Breathe new life into your Valentine’s Day roses with this clever gardening tip.
If you were fortunate enough to receive a bouquet of roses from your loved one on Valentine’s Day last week (February 14th), you may have noticed that they’re already beginning to droop and lose their lustre in the vase.
While it might be tempting to discard the flowers now that they’ve served their purpose, one plant expert suggests there’s a way to rejuvenate your roses. In fact, if executed correctly, you could enjoy beautiful roses flourishing in your garden for years to come.
According to a TikTok user named Nina, it’s possible to cultivate an entire rose bush from just a few stems, transforming your wilting bouquet into a vibrant display of blooms.
Nina, who identifies herself as “the plant mum” online, advises first removing the heads of your roses, as only the stems are needed for this trick. The heads can be repurposed for other projects, such as flower pressing, or discarded if they’re too wilted to salvage.
Next, trim the base of the stems at a 45-degree angle. You should have done this when initially placing the roses in their vase, but if not, or if you wish to make a fresh cut, do so now.
Then, remove the lower leaves on each stem, leaving only the ones at the top intact.
To promote effective root growth, it’s recommended to peel away some of the stems at the bottom. Nina demonstrated this using a vegetable peeler, but small incisions can also be made with a knife.
To further stimulate root development, dip the stems in root powder. This can be purchased from garden centres, or alternatively, home remedies such as honey, turmeric, or aloe vera gel can be used.
In her video, Nina opted for aloe vera gel, utilising a fallen leaf from her own plant.
Once the stems are prepared, they should be planted in soil or compost within a pot, watered regularly and kept indoors until spring. As the weather becomes warmer, the plant can be transitioned outdoors, eventually resulting in a flourishing rose bush.
People were delighted to hear about the plant hack and took to the comments section to share their thoughts. One wrote: “I need results and updates.”
Another recommended: “AND, you can turn the old roses into beads and make it into a bracelet.” And a third gushed: “I just put the sticks straight into soil before winter and now they’re growing shoots.”
How to take care of a rose bush
Once you’ve moved your rose bush outside, here are some important things to remember about caring for the plant:
- Choose the right spot: Roses thrive best with 6-8 hours of direct sunlight a day, and prefer well-draining, fertile soil that’s slightly acidic. Keep this in mind when choosing where to plant your rose bush.
- Watering: Roses need about 1-2 inches of water per week. Water deeply at the base of the plant and avoid watering the leaves, as this could cause fungal diseases. You should also make sure you water the plant in the morning, as this will allow any excess moisture to dry during the day.
- Mulching: You should consider applying 2-4 inches of organic mulch, such as wood chips, bark, or straw, around the base of your plant. This helps retain soil moisture, keeps the roots cool, reduces weed competition, and improves soil health as the mulch breaks down.
- Fertilising: Roses are heavy feeders. You’ll need a balanced fertiliser for roses in the spring when new growth begins and a fertiliser rich in phosphorus to promote blooms in the summer. By late autumn, you should stop feeding the plant to allow it to harden for winter.
- Pruning: Roses need pruning to remove dead, damaged, or diseased growth. You should prune in late winter or early spring before new growth starts and cut at a 45-degree angle just above outward-facing buds. You should also regularly remove spent blooms to encourage new growth in a process known as “deadheading”.
