A quick guide to Cutting and care of Roses in a Vase
A beautiful array of cut roses in an arrangement or a vase is one of the pleasures of Summer. There is no reason why you can’t have a great supply of cut roses from your own garden. Save pounds on florists prices and have all the pleasure.
Here are some key tips for success:
About the Plants:
Cutting long stems from plants will not harm the donor plant, so long as you leave 5cm or more of the stem on the plant. It will shoot from this and give you more flowers later. If you do cut them hard they will need extra food and water to replace the growth that you have taken away. That seems like a fair exchange!
Look at the Harkness Selection of varieties, using this link, to see the roses that we think will be most successful at providing cut flowers from your own garden. Some are big flowers, some smaller, some flower in clusters, some with one flower on the stem. You can select the ones you like. There is lots of perfume in here too, having the rose aroma wafting around the house is unique joy.
Apart from this, care for the plants in exactly the same way you would any other rose.
About Cutting the Flowers:
If you treat the flowers properly when you cut them you will get better results, longer lasting flowers in your home.
When to cut the flowers:
There are two aspects, time of day and the stage of the bud.
It is best to cut in the evening or early morning. It really will help the flowers if they are cut when the temperatures are lower and the sun hidden. If the flowers are wet when they are cut it is likely that the water in the flower will cause the petals to rot, so avoid cutting flowers when it is wet.
After cutting get them into deep water (that will come half way up the stems) as quickly as you can, and place the bucket of flowers in a cool place out of direct sunlight for up to 12 hours. This period helps to get the stems taking water up, and the more water the stem takes up the better the flowers will be.
Different varieties are best cut at different stages. There are some roses (Alexander for example) which you can cut as a really tight bud, the outer green sepals will all be open and the outer petals just curling away from the bud, and this variety will open really well from that stage. A little bit of practice and experience and you will soon recognise the ideal time to cut a flower. If you gently squeeze a bud with your finger and thumb and the bud is hard it is too soon to cut it. If there is some give in the bud it is about ready to cut so long as the sepals are open and the colour showing. As a rule, flowers with fewer petals can be cut as a tighter bud than flowers with a lot of petals.
We hope you enjoy the glory of home grown roses in your home.
