PSA: I was over-trimming my rose stems for a full year

A new grower at the farmer's market in Portland told me to leave more leaves on for better water uptake. I tried it on a batch of fifty and they lasted three days longer in the vase. Anyone else have a simple tip that fixed a long-running habit?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley_hart1mo ago

Wait, you were cutting fifty roses at a time? That's a serious operation. I can't imagine having that many flowers to deal with. It makes sense that a small change would have such a big effect on that scale. I always thought more stem was better, but I guess the leaves do the real work.

the_jana1mo ago

Oh man, you think fifty is a lot? I once tried to do a hundred for a friend's wedding and ended up with so many thorns in my hands I looked like a pincushion. My whole system was just a bucket and hope. Turns out, leaving a few extra leaves on each stem meant I only had to change the water half as often, which saved my back. Who knew the secret wasn't more stem, but just not being lazy about the leaves?

lee.diana1mo ago

Hold on, the leaves actually drink water too, so more leaves means more thirsty stems.