Building up a strong framework of basal shoots is very important for increasing quality flower production. Young plants should not be allowed to flower immediately after planting. The pin sized flower buds are to be removed without removing the leaves. To build up a strong root system, maximum leaf area is required. Number of new shoots are to be encouraged which can produce marketable flowers. To reduce the apical dominance, growers bend down the shoots.
Soon after planting within 1 to 3 weeks depending on temperature 2 to 3 eyes per branch will sprout, which will grow until flowering in 5 to 6 weeks. This first growth will usually be no longer than 20 em, since the plants do not have many roots to start with. Some of the first growth may be blind shoots. These blind shoots must not be cut or bend, but left upright. Other shoots do form buds. When most of the buds'.show colour, these buds are to be plucked off.
The blind shoots may also sprout as well. After plucking off the buds, the second growth will produce flower again in 4 to 5 weeks. By this time the plant growth will be around 50 to 60 em in height. This growth is important in order to have enough growing speed in the plant and to have enough foliage for bending. When majority of the branches will show big buds and colour, just at that time bending operation has to be started.
Bending is a major operation for polyhouse roses, which is necessary to get good cut flowers. It should be kept in mind that bending is not breaking. Proper bending is important. The branch which arise from the main shoots of the plant, leaving two healthy leaves, the portion above is pressed hard so as to split the inner stem portion, then again pressed with thumb and bent smoothly towards the path side of the bed with thumb and index finger. This process is repeated. By this process stronger shoots are selected and weak ones left as pinched stems to provide leaf cover.
The main idea is to encourage the plant for healthy framework at bottom which will give lengthy stalks. By bending treatment, the dormant buds below the bend get extraordinary inputs, through reduction of apical dominance and thereby produce long shoots with flower. The utility of bending is, however, questioned by some rose growers. A minimum of 4 stems, either flowering or blind shoots must be bend for each plants.
When bending, it is important to remove the flower buds and for blind shoots the growing tips are to be removed, to avoid the new growth on the top after bending. These bends should be as close as the original bush as possible, maximum 5 cm, without breaking the branches. To avoid breaking, it is advisable to do the bending in the afternoon and to create two 45° bends rather than one 90° bend.
The bending should be such that the tops of the stems are laying below horizontal. After bending it is possible that on the bend branches, suckers starts growing. These suckers are to be rolled at least twice a week to avoid diversion of energy into these suckers instead of into the bottom breaks. The bend stems should not be removed during the whole first year of cultivation, since the foliage of the bend stems helps in additional assimilation and growing capacity to the plants.
Soon after bending, the first bottom breaks will start coming from the base of the plant. These bottom breaks are most important for the life time of the plant, because they will carry the production of flowers. For second and third crop, the bottom breaks are cut. Then the sprouting will start again very soon, generally with 2 to 3 sprouts. These sprouts will become flowers again within 6 to 7 weeks after cutting the bottom breaks and will give the first good quality production in roses.
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1. Roses like intense light and moderate weather conditions
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