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GREEN MATTERS

Patience pays: Roses are toughest when it comes to nourishment and call for lots of care and concern.

Eulogies apart, a rose is the toughest flower to please when it comes to nourishment. Indeed, cultivation of roses requires tonnes of patience and huge amount of time. This is the reason why many gardeners are flinching from nurturing the queen of flowers nowadays. Instead, they prefer seasonal plants which grow and bloom in a jiffy and allow the gardener scope for more experimenting once the season gets over. There are, however, a few inveterate fans of the rose who go through year long rigours to have one glimpse of their favourite blossom.

The market offers a platter of hybrid varieties of roses. Confidence, Gladiator, Double Delight, Superstar, Peace, Sentimental, Edward, Calcutta 300, Bajajo, Srinivas, Gold Medal, Neptune, Topsy Turvy, Misty Twilight, Brandy, Julia Child, First Prize, Jayant Rao Tilak, Black Lady, Paradise… the list is unending. Choice in most cases depends upon the colour and size of the flowers.

“There is no way of ascertaining the breed of the rose in local nurseries. The best one can do is to see the plant when it is in bloom. People particular about the pedigree may obtain the saplings from Bangalore,” says K. Prathasarathi (Ph: 040-27804892), a legal consultant and renowned rose cultivator. He is known to grow about 250 varieties of roses on his terrace garden.

Many beginners think that a rose stem, when planted and nourished, grows roots. This is true only of wild roses and not the hybrid ones. One may go for hybrid plants grafted with wild rose saplings which are readily available in all commercial nurseries. However, the mother sapling should be severed once the graft develops roots.

“Many people wonder why the plant is not blooming even after full growth. They least realise that it is not the graft, but the mother plant which is growing,” says Mr. Prarthasarathi. Proper drainage system aids the plant to survive and grow healthy. Soil should be loose to allow proper aeration and easy penetration of roots. Container filled with two layers of sand underneath will help better drainage. Roses love the sun and chill alike and hence should be kept in the open. Dominant colours should be preferred as milder ones will blanch in Hyderabad’s climate.Unlike seasonal plants, roses require yearlong care for the three to five months of blooming period. Chemical fertilizers such as Growmore should be supplemented with organic manure such as caster cake, neem cake and bone meal. Abundant supply of micro nutrients will aid the flower in radiating its genetic flavour to the full. Usually, once established, the plant will bloom for ten consecutive seasons.

Roses should also be watched for pests throughout the year and during the flowering season in particular. Pesticides and fungicides should be applied at regular intervals to avoid diseases such as Black Spot, Powdery Mildew, Scales, and Thrips. “Prevention is always better than cure. Once a plant develops disease, the whole garden will be affected within no time.

Half the season will have gone before the disease is brought under control,” explains Mr. Parthasarathi. He warns that roses need constant attention and have huge claim on one’s time. One should go for these exquisite plants only if one nurtures a passion for them.

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