How to grow roses in greenhouses

Added on 06 May 2020

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Roses are the country's national flower as well as the royalty of the home garden. Their reputation for requiring tender loving care makes it easy to think of roses as vulnerable plants requiring shelter and protection. Growing your favorites in a greenhouse has many advantages, including protecting the plants from wind, weather and pests, but indoor growing requires a gardener's active and regular involvement. Those tasks often left to or shared with nature, like irrigation, are left solely in your hands. For many gardeners, the joys of caring for indoor roses far outweigh any inconvenience.

Plant your roses in the fall in containers at least 9 inches wide across the rim. Spread 1 to 2 inches of small rocks or broken crockery in the bottom of each pot to ensure free water drainage. Fill each pot halfway with well-draining potting soil, ideally that designed for roses. Put in the rose plants and add soil to just below the graft point; if the rose grows on its own root stock, add soil to the faint mark on the rose stem indicating the soil level in its prior planting. Water well.

Move the containers to the greenhouse and place them in a sunny location. Indoors or out, roses need at least six hours of direct sun every day. Arrange the plants so that they do not shade each other. Space the containers at least 6 inches apart to provide adequate air flow.

Prune the rose bushes severely after planting. Trim each branch to about 3 inches from the main stem. Make each cut just above a lateral outside-facing bud.

Water your rose plants sufficiently to keep the soil moist. The amount of water necessary will depend upon the weather; sunnier, hotter days dry out the soil more than foggy, moist ones. Never allow the water to touch the stems or leaves. When new growth begins, fertilize with a water-soluble rose food every two weeks, applied according to label directions.

Maintain the greenhouse temperature at around 60 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 40 degrees at night. Mulch your rose containers with a 2-inch layer of compost or shredded leaves to help maintain soil temperature and humidity.

Things You Will Need

§ Containers

§ Small rocks or broken crockery

§ Potting soil

§ Garden clippers

§ Water-soluble rose fertilizer

§ Compost or shredded leaves

Tip

§ Choose your container rose varieties with an eye to your climate and the size of your greenhouse. Many compact roses grow well in greenhouses.

Warning

§ Although growing roses in a greenhouse is likely to cut down attacks by snails and slugs, indoor roses are subject to other pests and diseases. Select disease-resistant rose cultivars to reduce the problem and follow the recommendations of the Statewide Integrated Pest Management program to reduce pesticide use in the greenhouse.

Source: Homeguides
Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash