You might know all too well roses can take quite a long time to flourish and grow. While not as difficult to grow as new gardeners tend to assume, roses do take some patience.
So if you wondering how to get roses to grow fast, you’ll want to start by aiming to grow roses from cuttings, not seeds. This method of propagation usually works to get roses to grow fast. Your roses will need to be fed, watered, and placed in the correct position; ideally in a spot of full sun. Certain types of roses tend to grow more quickly – look for varieties such as William Morris. Prune frequently, and use gardeners secret rose growing hacks to understand how to get roses to grow fast!
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Grow roses from cuttings
If there is any advice of mine you will take away from this post, please, make sure it is this one! If you want to get roses to grow fast, growing your roses from cuttings, and not seeds, is basically a must.
Your instincts, especially if you are a novice gardener, might be telling you that raising roses from seeds is the best way to go about growing a brand new rose plant. While it is certainly a choice, growing roses from seeds is challenging, and quite a long process at that!
On this blog, we have an entire post dedicated to growing roses from seeds. However, if you want fast-growing roses, choose the propagation method. In short, planting roses from seeds just isn’t as simple as popping some seeds straight out of the seed bag into a planter, watering occasionally and forgetting about them.
The process of preparing rose seeds for growing involves several steps.
Cold Stratification For Rose Seeds
Rose seeds first need to go through a process called cold stratification. Cold stratification, simply put, artificially simulates a cold winter environment. This is usually achieved by refrigerating seeds to trick them into thinking that winter is occurring, and that the time to become a rose plant is fast approaching. Cold stratification can easily take up to four months of waiting.
This is not the end! Afterwards, seeds need to pass a germination stage. During germination, a seed becomes viable to grow into a plant. Depending on the rose sort at hand, germination can take anywhere from additional two months, all the way up to a few years!
With all this taken into account, growing roses from seeds is a method only for most patient of gardeners. On top of that, it is worth mentioning that even with all the waiting, cold stratification and germination are both processes prone to failing. Just ask the good folks over at David Austin Roses, who speculate that only about 5 to 10% of their prepared rose seeds ever get to the full maturity plant stage.
To save yourself time, choose to grow your roses from cuttings. A healthy, well-prepared cutting will take root in a maximum of two weeks. In order to additionally speed up the growth of the rose, make sure to use organic rooting hormones such as aloe vera, honey or cinnamon to maximise the rooting speed and quality.
Aloe vera works incredibly well if you soak your cuttings in it for 6 hours – you can read more about it in this post!
With propagation from cuttings, you can expect full roots to take after two months, by which time the cutting will already have started leafing and growing new shoots, sometimes even flowering, depending on the season during which you are propagating the cuttings.
Meet your rose’s basic requirements
Seems like the most common advice you can get from a seasoned gardener. Be as it may, it is so often overlooked in pursuit of more complicated tricks. But, there is no complicating here! To grow your rose as fast as possible, these are the three most important requirements for your rose to grow properly.
These are:
- amount and type of sunlight the rose gets
- amount and type of water and drainage system
- soil type and living space
Sunlight
Make sure your rose is getting the right amount of sunshine. Different roses do differently in different light conditions. Some prefer or thrive in darkness, some like morning over afternoon sunshine, some even prefer direct sun over dappled shade. You might even have to give your rose more than 6 hours of sunlight a day! The closer you get to meeting your rose’s ideal sunlight requirements, the faster growth you can expect from it. Ensure you research your particular rose variety to discover which light conditions it prefers.
Water and drainage
Find out what water pH your rose favours. Make sure it is watered often, keeping the soil moist, but not wet. The drainage system needs to be adequate, to avoid overwatering or under-watering, as both are the most common culprits in hindering growth.
Soil
Choose soils that are well-draining and geared towards roses specifically. Look for soils containing perlite, vermiculite or coco peat – you can even mix your own custom soil! Keep in check that your rose has plenty of space, as the rose roots tend to branch out far and wide. Not giving the roots enough space is sure to slow down growth. This might not be as important if you’re growing a rose garden, but if your rose is potted, get a pot with good drainage that is big enough to handle the root system.
How To Fertilise Roses To Get Them To Grow Bigger!
A rose likes to eat lots! Keep your rose well-fed and stocked with nutrients. The way to go about this is to choose your soil carefully and to fertilise regularly.
If you are just setting up the soil for planting your rose, mix in organic neem compost and cow dung compost to set up your growing rose for success straight off the bat. Both of these organic components will give a nutrient boost to the soil, increasing the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. All three of these encourage fast rose growth.
When it comes to fertilising, stick to organic fertilisers. As with soil, you can create your own natural fertiliser at home.
Simply combine 3 to 4 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of molasses, 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of kelp extract. Apply the fertiliser in the evening, after watering and reapply every 6 to 8 weeks to avoid over-fertilising. This combination will aid with fast growth and keep pests away.
You should fertilise your roses in spring, with the unfurling of new growths. Fertilise after each flush of blooms and stop fertilising 8 weeks prior to first frost.
Choose the right rose variety
When picking out a rose to grow, make sure you are choosing a right variety. As mentioned before, you don’t want to get stuck with a rose variety that takes years to germinate and a decade to reach full maturity. For this reason, choose sorts that grow fast and furious in a short span of time!
Some good suggestions on fast-growing rose breeds are:
- New Dawn
- Spirit of Freedom
- Reine des Violettes
- Teasing Georgia
- William Morris
- Baltimore Belle
- Clair Matin (semi-climber)
- Aloha (semi-climber)
Prune to get roses to grow really fast
Contrary to what you might think at first, cutting down roses when it is due time makes them grow back healthier and faster than ever. However, it must be done properly!
Aim to prune 20 to 30 days before flowering season. This will ensure not only fast rose growth, but also more blooms. Keep your shears sharp and disinfected as to not spread diseases.
Make angled and clean cuts just above the bud eye. This way, the plant will redirect energy straight into the bud eye, which will fasten the formation of a shoot in that location. Angled cuts also help water run off the wound, rather than pool – preventing mold and disease. Choose outward-facing bud eyes, which will grow branches outwards, instead of towards the centre of the rose bush.
Remove thin, weak, crossed, diseased, withered, blackened and dead canes. This will ensure improved air circulation, as well as help the rose redirect the energy better and grow faster. Remember to clean up around the base as well! Clean out dead leaves and stems and rake up the top layer of the soil.
Secret Gardening Hacks To Make Roses Grow Faster
Add Banana
For a touch more of phosphorus, chop up 2 to 3 leftover banana peels and bury them into the top soil. Alternatively, blend the peels with some water, shake well and spray directly onto the soil.
Add Mulch During Watering
Add mulch to the base of the rose to prevent water splash-back on leaves during watering time. In turn, this will act as a preventive against diseases targeting rose leaves.
Use Alfalfa Meal
For an especially nutritious soil, mix in alfalfa meal into soil during planting.
Eggshells And Tea
Mix equal parts of finely ground eggshell dust and fine tea leaves. Pour the mixture around the base of rose for additional nutrition!
You are all set to grow some roses – really fast! If you want to know more, why not learn how to grow them with bigger blooms as well?
Also, we’re curious – what’s your favourite rose growing hack!?