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maude80

Florist rose cuttings & superthrive

Maude80
11 years ago

Hi everyone,

For the last year or so, I have been taking cuttings from bouquets of florist's roses and have had only moderate success. The ones that actually did take have been doing very well in my garden, but still, the death rate of my cuttings was pretty high and the majority of them would turn black.

Recently I purchased a bottle of superthrive because I was going to be digging up and moving a small evergreen and I was hoping to ease the transplant shock. Normally, when I plant rose cuttings, I start by mixing potting soil (usually scotts) with perlite. Then, I water it. Now that I have the superthrive, I wet the soil with that (I believe one capful per gallon)..

Doing that seems to have made a huge difference, and now about 70 percent of my cuttings are surviving. I had always used powdered rooting hormone, but I think this new stuff is what gives them the extra push to form roots. Anyone else doing this??

Comments (15)

  • TNY78
    11 years ago

    Hmm...I havent heard of it before. Can you get it at stores like Lowes or Home Depot, or do you get it from a specialty nursery?

    I noticed a big difference when I switched from a powdered rooting hormone to Dip-n-Gro. Much much more success!

    Tammy

  • Maude80
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I got mine at a small garden center but it can also be found on amazon.com I believe.

  • strawchicago z5
    11 years ago

    Thank you Maude80 for the info. and the great picture. It helps a lot, much appreciated.

  • roseseek
    11 years ago

    Superthive has been around for nearly 80 years. Its scent reminds me of beef cooking. My dogs think so, too, so watch it with your pets. As long as the cuttings or other plants aren't too dry when it's applied, and you follow the directions, it can't hurt. Kim

  • bethnorcal9
    11 years ago

    Hmm, I have some Superthrive. I'll have to try that. I recently tried to root cuttings of the gorgeous florist rose CHILIS, but it was just too hot this time of yr I think. They turned black within a few days. I had used some old Dip 'n' grow. Might've been too old.

  • seil zone 6b MI
    11 years ago

    Walmarts sells Superthrive. I use it for a lot of things. Can't say how much it helps but it doesn't hurt.

  • woody64
    11 years ago

    anyone know where to buy in canada? Always cost so much to ship across border.

  • roseseek
    11 years ago

    Woody, do you have the big box stores like Home Depot or Lowe's close to you? It's very often on their shelves, too. Many stores like these are now using jobbers to keep their shelves filled so they don't have to purchase large quantities of product and store it. Superthrive is such a staple in garden chemicals, it should be fairly easy to locate a these and places such as Ace and True Value Hardware kinds of stores. If you have independent garden centers who offer chemical lines, I would imagine many of them would also carry it. Kim

  • woody64
    11 years ago

    thanks Kim will check it out over the weekend.

  • henry_kuska
    11 years ago

    I was under the impression that some/many florist roses are treated to last long in the vase and that this type of treatment works against root formation. I have rooted a few, but I did not have high expectations.

    Here is a link that might be useful: treated florist roses

  • Maude80
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I don't know if that is the case but I have observed that the florist roses that are already established in my garden do produce very long lasting flowers. When I do my cuttings, I always wash off the stems with luke warm water and then dry them before I use the rooting powder.

    I always wonder why Double Delight is not a florist rose. It lasts long in the vase, is gorgeous, and it smells sooooo good.. Any thoughts??

    Maude

  • seil zone 6b MI
    11 years ago

    Well my DD never gives me a good stem for one thing. They're usually short and crooked. Besides, it's notorious for that double center. which I'm sure is part of why it's called "Double" Delight, lol!

  • Kippy
    11 years ago

    I might have to look for that superthrive.

    We have had good luck so far with just the rooting hormone.

    Seil, I got some cuttings from the lady down the street. Most did not have anything too promising to root, so I ended up with one cutting that had 2 or 3 stubs, but it looks like it is going to make it. It will be interesting to watch as it grows.

    They are only in the soil about 10days, but I am hopeful! Now to find places for all those cuttings...lol

  • roseseek
    11 years ago

    Florist roses are selected for crop production, how many flowers per unit of space measure; how quickly they repeat; how many are produced with suitable length stems; how durable they are under refrigeration, handling, transportation, etc. The plants have to be suitable for growing under cover, and, if you haven't noticed, often with lower prickle count. Prickles not only rip up the workers, but also the foliage and flowers of surrounding stems. Eliminate the prickles and harvesting costs and time are reduced and the percentage of undamaged flowers goes up accordingly.

    Double Delight has strong issues with mildew, which can easily make it unsuitable for growing under cover. As has been mentioned, its stems are short and crooked, making them less suitable for a florist vase of flowers. Unless happy, its repeat can be slow, which would reduce the income of anyone trying to produce cut flowers from it. Even though it seems to last long enough in a vase, it blows through the "perfect stage" of partially open bud, pretty quickly. I agree it is a gorgeous and obscenely fragrant garden bloom, just not a good candidate for commercial cut flower production. Kim

  • Maude80
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Kim, I love reading your posts. You are so informative and you always sound so scientific:) I understand what you mean about that "partially open bud stage".. It's certainly true that my florist rose plants seem to produce flowers that remain in that unopened state for quite a while. This is a picture of one that I really love.

    Maude

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