Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

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Tag: Propagation

I Bought Rose Seeds Online. Are They Good?

“I purchased rose seeds on [online] and didn’t know they were from China till they shipped (rose image above). I’d love it if you could tell me if they are or are not rose seeds. I’m new to roses, and knowing if these are or are not rose seeds will be very helpful. Thank you so much! :)” Question from Bradley of Cleves, Ohio

Answer: You can plant your rose seed, but they will not mature, as shown in the picture. Many misleading plants and seeds are sold online, and this is one of them. The rose shown in the advertisement is a rambling hybrid climber with beautiful double red roses. It is not seed-grown. All hybrid roses available today are specially bred varieties grown from rooted cuttings or cuttings grafted onto a rootstock (probably a bit too much technical information). To put it plainly, rose cuttings are snipped off stem tips taken from hybrid roses. These are then dipped in a hormone that helps them root, and placed in lightly moist soil until they root and can be potted up and eventually planted into the ground.

Growing roses from seed is rare unless you are a rose breeder. Seed-grown plants will be variable in appearance and take a long time to grow. There are a few reliable seed vendors that sell rose seed, such those of  ‘Angel Wings’ miniature roses from Renee’s Garden Seeds, but these sources are not common. Buy full-grown plants instead. They may be a bit more expensive but well worth the investment.

Choose Reputable Companies

Buying from a trusted seed or plant source means everything. Here are my four favorite rose growers proven to provide healthy, beautiful plants.

1. David Austin Roses – This English rose company is famous for selling some of the most beautiful, vigorous, disease-resistant roses. (They are the best!!!)

2. Star Roses – If you want attractive, highly disease-resistant shrub roses, this is the go-to source.

3. Weeks Roses – Weeks is a famous American rose company with excellent varieties. You can’t go wrong with their selection and quality.

4. Jackson & Perkins – This old-American rose company has lots of wonderful varieties.

For a little extra information about choosing roses and growing them organically, watch the video below.

Starting Roses from Seed

If you want to try starting your rose seeds, they need to be chilled to enable them to sprout. Plant them in pots or a small tray of vermiculite that is just moist, not wet. Place the pots or vermiculite in a plastic bag and then chill them in the refrigerator fr 10-12 weeks. Then remove them and place them under grow lights or in a sunny window. Keep the vermiculite just moist. Ambient room temperature is ideal. They may take several weeks to sprout. Placing them on a heat mat can encourage faster germination.

Happy rose growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

How Do You Start Raspberries from Canes?

How do you start raspberries from canes? Question from Deborah of Los Lunas, New Mexico

Answer: Raspberries are one of the easiest fruits to propagate from canes or cuttings because they readily root, even without the help of rooting hormone. In fact, if you let canes naturally weep to the ground in your garden, they will root as they touch the ground. In time a single plant can become a brambly thicket of rooted canes, which is why these plants need to be pruned and maintained each season.

If you have rooted canes, all you need to do is cut at least a foot of top growth from the rooted segment, dig up the root ball, and replant the berry wherever you wish. If you want to root cane cuttings, here’s what you need to do:

Rooting Raspberry Cuttings

Materials

  • Sharp bypass pruners
  • 1-gallon pots
  • Rooting hormone with added fungicide
  • Quality potting soil, such as Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix
  • Raspberry cane cuttings (these can be dormant or actively growing)

Method

Use your pruners to take tip cuttings from your raspberries. Make sure they are about 1-foot long and cut from fresh, healthy stem tips. If you like, you can hasten rooting and protect the cuttings from rot by dipping them in rooting hormone with added fungicide. Place the cuttings about 3 inches down in 1-gallon pots filled with OMRI Listed potting mix formulated for organic growing. You can add up to three cuttings per pot. Water the pots in, keep them moist, place them in a cool spot with filtered light, and the cuttings will root in a matter of weeks.

I usually wait for two weeks, and then give the cuttings a small tug to see if they are rooted. If they resist being pulled out, they have set roots. Once new leaves start to appear on your cuttings, and they have clearly rooted, you can separate the rooted cuttings from the pot and plant them where you like.

To learn more about growing happy raspberries and other brambles, click here to read an article about growing them. Be sure to amend the soil where you plant them. I suggest OMRI Listed Black Gold Garden Compost Blend as the best all-around garden amendment.

Happy raspberry growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold horticulturist

Dividing and Repotting Orchids with Pseudobulbs

“Can you propagate orchids? My orchid has another stem growing at the bottom and I am wondering if I cut it off if it will grow and how to do that?” Question from Krystal of Lincoln City, Oregon.

Answer: Orchids with pseudobulbs, like yours, can easily be divided when the plants reach a substantial size. These orchid types include lots of common household favorites, like Cattleya, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, Laelia, and Oncidium. But, based on your image, your orchid is not large enough to divide. A strong, flowering-sized division should have at least three to four pseudobulbs. (Click here to learn more about dividing orchids with pseudobulbs.)

Your happy orchid is producing strong roots that are growing beyond the pot, which is what it should do. When its roots greatly outgrow the pot (see image below), it will be time to replant your orchid into a large pot with fresh orchid bark and sphagnum moss. The best time to replant an orchid is when it is setting new growth, often in late winter. Never divide or repot an orchid when it is in full bloom! (Click here to learn more about repotting orchids like yours.) Once your orchid has at least six to eight bulbs, you can consider dividing it. I hope this helps.

Happy orchid growing!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

Repot your orchids when their roots have overgrown the pots.