Developmental Stages of Single-stem Cut Rose Production

Abstract

Commercial quality cut-roses were produced in a single-stem production system from single node cuttings. A significant advantage to single-stem rose production is that specific environments can be used for specific developmental stages of rose growth. In stage 1 (propagation), cuttings were treated with a 5-second dip in 500 ppm IBA/250 ppm NAA solution, placed in growing media in 8-cm pots, and placed under intermittent mist (5 second every 5 minutes) with growing medium temperature of 35°C. In stage 2 (axillary budbreak and stem development to visible pea size flower bud), rooted cuttings moved to benches (200 stems/m2) in a greenhouse at 14 to 16°C night, and plants received 12 hours supplemental light at 80 to 100 mol·m–2s–1. In stage 3 (stem elongation and flower bud development), small rose plants (30 to 35 cm tall with a pea-size flower bud) were moved to 100 stems/m2 in a greenhouse at 14 to 16°C night with ambient light. Through seven sequential crops of rose cuttings grown from Feb. through May 1995, rooting required a mean of 16 days, flower buds were visible in 42 days, and flower harvest required a mean of 58 days. Accumulated radiation and average temperatures through the spring had significant effects on the number of days in each developmental stage of rose growth.