Planting rose stems in potatoes: Instructions

You got a rose as a gift? We'll show you how to use a potato to grow a vigorous plant in no time.

Queen of flowers and symbol of love - hardly any other plant has such a great symbolic meaning as the rose (Rosa). The rose is therefore also in great demand as a gift, but unfortunately its beauty does not last long. After just a few days in the vase, the rose gradually loses its splendor and soon hangs its head. But if you want to spend more than a few days with the beauty, you can use an ingenious trick. With the help of a potato (Solanum tuberosum), a new rose plant can be grown from the cutting, which can live in the garden for many more years.

As incredible as it sounds. A whole new rose plant can be grown from a cut rose and a potato with little effort. We reveal how it works.

Required Materials

It doesn't take much to get a cut rose ready for the bed. Actually suffice:

• One Rose
• One Potato
• Scissors and a knife
• A wooden stick
• One Pot
• Potting Soil
• Floor Activator
• A plastic bottle

Rose Stem in Potato: Instructions on how to do it

Unfortunately, to save the rose, you first have to sacrifice it: cut off the head about three centimeters below the blossom and then carefully remove all the leaves from the stem. However, the flower doesn't have to end up in the trash - you can use it as a beautiful decoration or dry it carefully. If the rose is an unsprayed fragrant rose, the blossoms can even be eaten or processed into rose blossom jam. You should bevel the lower end of the handle with a knife if you haven't already done so. Prepared in this way, the stem of the rose is perfect as a cutting that can develop into a magnificent plant.

Now the potato comes into play. Using a wooden stick, carefully poke a hole halfway into the potato. If this is too strenuous, you can also use a drill or a corkscrewUse drilling, but the hole should be roughly the diameter of the stem. The handle can now be inserted into this hole with the bevelled side down. Now fill a pot about halfway with soil and place the potato with the rose in it. To help the rose grow, it is worth adding a bit of soil activator, for example the Plantura organic soil activator, to the pot. The phosphorus it contains ensures better root growth, the plant is supplied with all the important trace elements and permanent and stable soil fertility is guaranteed. Now fill the pot up with more soil so that the potato is no longer visible. Now you should water the cutting well so that it grows optimally.

Build mini greenhouse

In order to create the best possible climatic conditions for the rose, it is advisable to build a small greenhouse for the rose. To do this, cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle and put the bottle over the rose (the lid should be screwed on). Feel free to press the bottle slightly into the ground so that it seals tightly at the bottom. Warm air with high humidity now collects under the bottle, which serves as the perfect microclimate for the plant to grow. But be careful: Even if roses like the high humidity, these air conditions also promote mold infestation. Therefore, ventilate the "mini greenhouse" regularly for a few minutes by unscrewing the bottle cap.

Care for the rose in potato

In a warm location with lots of sunlight, the rose will now grow by itself. The main reason for the good growth is the potato: Little by little, it releases both moisture and all the important nutrients to the rose and provides it with everything the rose needs to grow. After about 4 weeks, the first new leaves should appear on the rose. Now the rose cutting is no longer dependent on the additional protection of the plastic bottle and can grow without it. However, it is important that the rose continues to be supplied with enough water. Water the plant so that the soil never dries out completely. At the same time, however, there should be no waterlogging, which could damage the sensitive roots. In addition, the leaves of the rose should not be wetted when watering, otherwise the risk of infestation with downy mildew increases.

After another 12 weeksyou should provide the plant with some soil activator again so that it can continue to thrive under optimal growth conditions. In the meantime, the rose should have reached a stately size and will soon bear the first beautiful flowers. If you now want to put the rose in your garden, you should proceed slowly. First put the plant outside for a while each day so that it can gradually get used to the new conditions. If the plant is planted in the garden without this hardening, it can wither or even die.

Rose Stem in Potato: Summary

You want to grow a new plant from your cut rose and a potato? Here you will find all information step by step again.

1. Cut off the head of the rose about 3 cm below the blossom
2. Drop the stem and bevel at the bottom
3. Drill hole in potato with wooden stick
4. Put rose stem in potato
5. Fill the pot with soil, put the potato and rose in it
6. Add Floor Activator
7. Cover potato with soil
8. Water well
9. Cut off the bottom of a plastic bottle with a knife
10. Put the plastic bottle over the rose as a greenhouse
11. Water and air regularly
12. Remove bottle after 4 weeks
13. Add soil activator again after another 12 weeks

We at Plantura recommend the following products:

• Plantura organic universal fertilizer: Our universal fertilizer is 100% certified organic and contains only animal-free ingredients. Particularly suitable for herbs and ornamental plants as well as for all types of vegetables that have an increased need for potassium.
• Cuxin soil activator: The soil activator revitalizes heavy and sandy soils.
• Floragard Compost Soil: Special soil made from weed-free premium compost and selected peat qualities. It supplies your plants with all the important nutrients over a long period of time and evenly, and the high humus content makes light and heavy soil fertile.

Cuxin 10110 soil activator, 10 kg€20.49Details →Floragard compost soil 60 L€9.99Details →

Many thanks to Cuxin for the support!