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Blue rose help!
hp.hollyanne.price
Posts: 4
in Plants
Please help, i bought rose plant that was supposed to be blue and last year after saving it from bugs, disease and transferring it from pot to ground, i saw hope of a single small blue flower. This year however, i was really excited that my rose bush had grown tremendously and was growing loads of bulbs! But as they bloomed they were definitely not blue but pink and white dog roses. My dad told me that growers graft roses onto dog roses because dog roses are much hardier in the roots and grow easier and i would have to cut out the dog roses from the plant itself but i don't know where to start, can anyone help me?
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Your dad is right. Your should be able to see where the graft is at the base of the plant, anything growing from below that is a wild rose sucker. Anything above is your rose.
In the sticks near Peterborough
You should be able to see the graft union at the base of the plant. Any stems coming from below that need cutting off. Any above it need to be nurtured as that's your blue rose. If there are none of thses then your blue rose has either died back or been knocked or pruned off and you need to start again.
When planting roses it is now advised that the graft union should be buried 1 to 2 inches below soil level as this makes the plant stronger and allows the variety to put down some roots of its own for extra stability. Make sure you feed them generously every spring with some slow release rose fertiliser and, if possible, a mulch of well rooted manure after a good drink. You can buy it in bags in DIY and garden centres now.
I bought it from STAX, it might take me some time to find the blue rose stem as a lot of them are dog roses. I first used a mixture of chicken poo and compost to give it an extra boost with some rose fertilizer. Thanks for the help!
Pansyface is right, no such thing as a blue rose naturally, can be made by using dye in the watering solution on a standard white rose, they are usually sold by sellers in China via ebay and the like, I've even seen rainbow roses sold on there too. total codswallop!
it sounds like whatever variety they grafted on (if they actually grafted anything on and just sent you a dog rose) has either totally died or been overtaken by the grafted stock
Blue roses like 'Blue Moon' would be more accurately described as dirty mauve, though some people love them
In the sticks near Peterborough
Dig it up, discard it, and get another one.... probably get a half decent one from Aldi or similar for £2.. and put it down to experience...this one you have isn't worth bothering with I think...
That would be my assessment as well.
I googled STAX, it looked like a trade only builders merchant so maybe not the right STAX
In the sticks near Peterborough
I wont discard it because its still a nice plant but i might buy another one if i cant find the original stem.
If you still have any blue/purple stems they will be obvious. If not, ditch it and start again and buy form a good source.
STAX also does plants, furniture, toys, household products,etc. No food though.