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Figure
1 (Above left): A red rose blooming during the hotter
period of the year.
Figure 2 (Above right): The same red rose in December
with more and thicker petals.
Figures 3 - 4 (Below left and right): This picture
was taken in Jan 2006 and due to the monsoon season, it
produced two blossoms. |
ROSE
SELECTION
I
still have this very strong belief that the trick in successful
rose growing is to choose the right one that can grow easily
in your area. Other factors like soil, watering and fertilisation
will be secondary. I have tried out some of the roses that are
available in Singapore and the easiest are still the reds. Yellows
remain top among the notoriously difficult and pinks are somewhat
in the middle. You can forget about growing the exotics as they
will melt in our climate. Below are two roses that I obtained
as cuttings from neighbours for a year now and are relatively
easy to grow, having survived the hottest period here.
Being
a Singapore skyrise rose grower, we have to be realistic at
times. You cannot expect your roses to have nice green leaves
when the temperatures have escalated to 35°C for the past few
days. Or the flowers will look as nice when you first bought
them. Roses like humans, do have their temperaments too. Leaves
will be yellower and in some cases turn brown at the tips. Flowers
will be smaller and may become single. Fragrance may be faint.
As long as your rose is still green and there are no signs of
pest infection, do not give up. My rose usually becomes 'botak'
during the warmer months and will usually spring up to live
again after rain.
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| Figures
5 - 6 (Above left and right): Brown edges and yellow
leaves are inevitable in roses grown in the tropics. |
LIGHT & TEMPERATURE
Roses
need at least 4 hours of full sun to grow and bloom well. Thus
if your area has little or no sun, you can forget about growing
them. Having sun is not the key to success to these plants.
If not, roses and not bougainvilleas will be planted along our
roadsides and overhead bridges. They prefer full sun in a milder
climate perhaps in the range of 20-28 °C during the day, a condition
which is not found in Singapore unless the sky is cloudy or
during the monsoon season. As a result, roses will be burnt
under full sun but are stunted under cooler but semi-shaded
conditions. They will look very sad during the warmer months
and the less heat tolerant ones will usually die during this
period. They will perk up once the rains arrive and will bloom
their heads off with no effort on your part. Thus if you manage
to find your rose, do treasure it and ensure its continuity
by giving cuttings to neighbours and friends.
SOIL
I
will recommend using equal parts of burnt earth and top soil
for most roses. However, I have seen roses potted in pure top
soil and they do very well. I have tried that myself and they
thrive well too. In fact, most professional rose growers swear
that the finest roses are grown in clay. Not mud but very well
drained clay, which I doubt is available in the nurseries here.
I feel that roses love moisture but detest wet feet. Top soil
will be the next best alternative as it retains moisture and
keeps the roots cool. Never use peat based mixtures as they
are difficult to be thoroughly wet when allowed to dry out.
I have used pure burnt earth before and the plant looks dehydrated
even it is well watered. When you do use top soil, make sure
the soil particles are crumbly and do not stick together like
a mould of clay. The quality of top soil differ slightly among
the nurseries and you have to be vigilant when buying top soil
for your roses. As a safety precaution, add some burnt earth
to improve the drainage.
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| Figures
7 - 8 (Above left and right): Note the vast difference
in the above rose that flowered during the hotter and cooler
months of the year. As you may have guessed, this one did
not last more than a year for me. These pictures were taken
on July 2001. |
WATERING
Water
everyday prefably in the morning even if it rains on that day.
Roses like to drink a lot and as long as your soil is well-drained,
it should be fine.
FERTILISER
I
personally do not believe in buying fertilisers specifically
for roses. For myself, I use any balanced chemical fertiliser
diluted at half stength. I also use osmoscote in case I forget
to fertilise them. For most of us who are living in HDB flats,
it is best not to overfertilise since the plant will be limited
in size in container gardening. Fertilise sparingly during the
warmer months (Apr - Oct) and more during the cooler months
(Nov - Mar) or rainy days. This is somewhat contrary to the
common belief that roses are heavy feeders in the sub tropical
regions since roses grow so easily there.
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| Figures
9 - 10 (Above left and right): I still do not know why
I could not have this beauty for more than a year as I saw
it growing very nicely in petrol kiosks and private gardens.
These pictures were taken on Dec 2000. |
PESTS & DISEASES
If
you have chosen the right variety placed in a sunny location
with good air circulation, there will be fewer pests. As a rose
grower, you have to live with pests. Even the most pest tolerant
variety will have some diseases. Do not forget that they are
not your Bougainvillea. Occasionally there will be some
red spider mites infestation but it will be under controlled
even without spraying pesticides. I advocate the use of a universal
pesticide that is harmless to both humans as well as the beneficial
insects ie water. Spray the underside of the leaves with water
to wash away the mites. Try not to remove all the leaves or
prune the plant. Roses are prone to red spider mites infestations
during the warmer months and are best discarded as it is not
easy to eradicate them unless the weather turns cool. Gardening
should not be just combating with the mites for more than nine
months in a year.
Besides
mites, roses are also susceptible to fungi like black spot and
mildew, which can be prevented by spraying Physan (Triconsan
20), or other fungicides, which is available in most major nurseries.
Do take note that fungicides can only help to prevent fungi
from growing on a healthy plant. It cannot be used to kill fungi.
Remove infected parts and spray as a preventive measure.
REPOTTING
I
will repot them unless the pot is too small or the soil is not
as well drained as before. Always repot during the cooler months
as your rose can take the shock better. If your rose is doing
well despite being years in the pot, loosening the caked soil
on the surface will be sufficient.
PROPAGATION
Roses
that have acclimatised to the Singapore climate root very easily
from stem cuttings. Normal soil will do the job.
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| Figures
11 - 12 (Above left and right): Cuttings of the red
and orange rose were taken on 30 Jan 2006. If they were
to take root, I will give them some for you to grow. The
success rates have been very encouraging. |
ROSE BUYING TIPS
1.
It is best to purchase them during the hotter months of the
year from July to September. Roses, which are in bloom during
this period, are the most heat tolerant.
2.
Avoid peat potted roses as they are imported from non tropical
regions which will fare poorly in our climate.
3.
There is a rose nursery in Singapore at 92 Lim Chu Kang Lane
3 where acclimatised named roses are grown. Most of which have
a very nice fragrance.
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| Figures
13 - 14 (Above left and right): This is the only miniature
rose that survived for me when the monsoons were over which
I bought from Cameron Highlands. These pictures were taken
in May 2001 |
MINIATURE ROSES
I
still remember that the year when I saw miniature roses were
on sale in the local nurseries was in 2000. Six years ago, I
was so enchanted with the little roses that I bought pots of
yellow, pink, red and orange for Chinese New Year. Given the
same favourable conditions, the miniatures are more free-flowering
as new shoots sometimes appear even before the flowers have
faded. Pruning is not even required. However, their basic requirements
remain the same. So far, only the orange (Figures 13 and 14)
had survived during the hot spell here though its fragrant 5
cm large flowers had changed to the size of a 10 cents coin
during this period. Others just melt away with the heat.
In
May 2001 while going on a trip to Cameron Highlands, I was surprised
to see the orange miniature rose again. I grabbed it immediately.
Though it continued to bloom despite the hot weather, it was
soon infested with red spider mites. I sprayed the upper and
under sides of the leaves with water twice a day and managed
to reduce the population. As the infection was so bad, I pruned
off most of the leaves which later proved to be a mistake on
my part. The rest was history then. This year, I am surprised
to see it on sale again in a nursery during Chinese New Year.
Who knows? I may get it again since it thrives well under filtered
sun.
CLIMBING
ROSES
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| Figures
15 and 16: An impressive portrait of the climbing rose.
By now, you should have known why I choose red over other
colours. |
Having bitten by the rose bug in 2000, I pursued my rose adventure
by purchasing a bare rooted climbing rose from a reputable nursery.
It has always been my dream to have a rose climbing on the aluminium
grilles of my balcony which I can show proudly to my neighbours
who have only bougainvilleas on theirs. I chose the one with
the biggest bud union and the most number of green stems which
are thicker than a pencil. As I bought it in Dec 2000 where
the weather was very cooling then, it grew very fast and rewarded
me with metre long stems which I could happily tie them to the
grilles. My happiness was short-lived. It stopped growing which
I believed could be due to the limited root space in the small
10 inch pot. Spider mite infestation was minimal. Due to space
constraint, I had to discard it which I still regret after five
years had passed.
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| Figures
17 - 18 (Below left and right): These pictures were
taken in Jan 2001. Notice the HUGE bud union on the right. |
