Rose hips or wild roses have been around for millions of years. Under natural conditions it can be found in warm and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Botanical description
Most of the time it grows as a shrub, varying in height from 1 to 2 meters. The crown of the plant can be made up of upright or declining branches.
It is true that among briar varieties there are bushes with long clinging or stalking shoots. There are also quite compact low species, which look like bunched cushions.
Green leaves consist of several slightly elongated leaflets with sharp teeth on the edges. The rather large, aromatic flowers can vary in width from 1 to 12 cm. They can be arranged either one by one or in inflorescences of different shapes and sizes. The coloring of simple flowers, each of which consists of five petals, can vary from white to dense crimson and red. In some species of briar there are semi-flowered and, even macerated flowers with a large number of petals.
The flowering time of various species of rosehips growing in temperate and cold climates occurs from May to July.
Strong roots of this crop can go down to the depth of up to 5 meters, but most of the root system is located in the upper part of the ground (30 cm).
Scarlet or red-brown fruits fully ripen in August – September. Inside the fleshy shell formed from the enlarged peduncle there are a lot of nuts with angular ribs and a rather sharp top. They are located among the long hairs with which the inner surface of the shell is covered.
The various rose hips are most often used as grafts for cultivars. They also serve as material for creating new modern varieties of the “queen” of the garden.
Choosing the place and planting
The optimal place for a rose hips or wild rose is a well-lit area that should be closed from cold air currents. The depth of groundwater should not be less than one meter.
For the rose hips are best suitedNutritious, water-permeable, well-moistened soil with a small proportion of clay in its composition. The acidity of the soil must be between 5.8 and 6.5 (i.e. slightly acidic).
The soil at the planting site is prepared in advance. It is recultivated with previously applied fertilizers (organic and mineral) to a depth of at least 0.4 m. Usually spread about 40 grams of superphosphate, 20 grams of peat soil or leaf mulch, about 300 grams of ash, and decomposed manure (20 g.) and sand.
The size of the planting holeThe size of the root system of the seedling directly depends on its size. Usually 0.6 m in depth, width and length. The roots of the plant are carefully and evenly distributed in the hole and covered with garden soil or a mixture consisting of fully decomposed compost and turf soil (1:1).
Then water the rose hips with plenty of water, and after shrinkage add soil around the plant and mulch fine chips or bark (preferably pine). The height of the mulch varies from 5-6 to 8-10 cm.
When planting, the bush is placed so that the root neck (the place where the roots end and the trunk begins) is at a depth of about 5 cm.
The best time for planting rosehips is autumn (from September 10-15 to October 15), but it must be finished before the first light frosts, so the seedlings were able to take root and survive the winter well.
When planting in the fall, immediately create a winter sheltering of bushes. To do this, piles of soil at a height of 20 to 25 cm are raked on the bush.
Care
Rose hips need regular watering, feeding, pruning, and also loosening and removing weeds.
In the first year of lifethe formation of the bush takes place. To do this, the strongest branches are slightly pruned at the ends. The most common way to prune a wild rose is in the spring. At this time, all dead, diseased, broken and frankly weak shoots are cut out. Also shorten the branches damaged by severe frosts and trim the fruits left over from the fall.
After spring pruningThe soil around the plant is recultivated with fertilizer. To do this, use a complete fertilizer consisting of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Approximate dosage per 1 m2 can vary from 30 to 50 grams, depending on the brand and composition.
Also in this interval of time to introduce and organic. This can also be fully decomposed manure, compost and biohumus. The second time briar is fed during the emergence of buds. The third feeding is carried out after the end of flowering.
It is worth knowing that nitrogen fertilizers can be used only until mid-summer (July). Later, plants are fed with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers with the addition of trace elements. Do not forget that before and after each feeding, make sure to perform abundant watering.
When growing rosehips, you need to know that plants especially need sufficient watering during the growth of the ground part, flower formation, mass flowering, fruit ripening, as well as during the period of shoots’ arborization.
A little about the diseases
Rosehip affects quite a few diseases, many of which can lead to the death of the entire plant.
Let’s start with diapotrophic branch cancer, which appears in the form of red – purple spots. They gradually wither and turn grayish in color. The center of the spots fails, and there are sores with a red – brown border, on which black dots of spores appear. Affected stems rather quickly wither away, and if you do not take any action, the bush will die after 2-3 years.
To combat and prevent this disease, it is necessary to carry out timely pruning, cut branches treated with paint on natural olive, spray bushes before the start of vegetation with Bordeaux liquid (1%).
Cytosporosis branchesAffects shoots bark, which first becomes brownish-brown, and then gray-brown tubercles with fungus spores appear on it. Over time, the bark dies off, the fungus penetrates the branches, and then the shoots begin to dry out.
Control and prevention methods are the same as for diaport rust.
Rust is even more damaging to the wild rose, which appears on the ends of young green shoots, leaves and branches. The diseased parts of the bush burst and orange-yellow spores begin to sprout from them, instead of which brown sores appear quite quickly. Also, rust appears on the leaves, which eventually begin to fall off. Affected branches dry out and die off.
In the first place in the sick bush remove all the diseased shoots, as well as collect all the fallen leaves near the plant. Then the treatment of the ulcers is carried out with a solution of copper sulfate (3%). And while the plant will grow leaves, it should be periodically sprayed with Bordeaux liquid (1%) or such means as Abiga – Peak.
It’s also worth remembering about the rosehip striping virus, which appears as brown rings on leaves and brown-green spots and streaks on the shoots. Diseased bushes hardly bloom and do not develop well.
The whole fight against the striping virus consists in the timely removal of the affected parts of the plant and their destruction. As prevention, it is necessary to carry out spraying against sucking pests (e.g. thrips) with such preparations as actelik, fufanol, actara and others.
