Hydroponic Roses

[Boner4Buds]

Im familiar with hydroponics and have had a few runs with it so my question is do you think i could grow roses hydroponically and how hard do you think it would be to do so??

[stinkyattic]

Cool... I'm so glad someone else brought this up!
I love roses and grow them outdoors in soil.
The weird thing about them is that most roses cannot be grown successfully on their own roots outdoors. This is because (and if you already grow them you might know this) there are soil nematodes- tiny, voracious worms- that kill roses easily. In the southern US states there is one type of rootstock to use, and in the North there is a different one. It depends on what species of wild rose has the best resistance to the local pests.
For example, if you live in New England and you want to grow a tea rose, you will likely find at your local nursery a tea rose which has been bud-grafted onto the roots of the local wild rose, r. multiflora, which is a SERIOUS pest in some areas. NOTHING can kill the damned things, which makes their roots ideal for growing sturdy tea roses.
SOOO... maybe by growing them hydroponically you have just gotten around the whole reason for grafting in the first place!
I imagine that roses could be grown beautifully in a flood-and-drain bed. I mean, most of the growing problems outdoors are (from what I've seen in Zone 5):
1. Black leaf spot mold and powdery mildew- well, the spores get splashed up out of the soil every time it rains. Take plants in side and spray neem- problem solved.
2. Fucking cane borers. Evil evil creatures. Never seen one in my house- another problem solved.
3. Aphids. I expect to still see the buggers indoors.
4. Spider mites. Also an indoor pest.
5. My neighbors 200 pound mastiff. If I see him in my basement, I'm gonna hook the big doofus up to a plow and use him to repair all the damage he did to my garden LAST year!

If I were to grow roses in hydro, I'd start with a completely dormant bare-root rose, soak it in a dilute SuperThrive solution, wash it off carefully, and put it in a flood and drain table in Hydroton. I would set the flood cycle for only once per day until I saw the leaves fully out and unfolded. For mite and aphid control I would use neem oil. I think this is a great idea and I might try it... The local PD has got a bad case of spring fever and everyone seems to be getting busted- why not practice on something else for a while!!
Good luck, let us know how it turns out!
SA

[karmaxul]

Brix and diamatious earth are great for nemotoid reduction

[stinkyattic]

The thing is, you can't even buy own-root roses in most places- so the nematode issue becomes moot.

[latewood]

I think if you find some issues of growing edge and maximum yield; You might find some answers to your query.lw