At what point do I transplant my rose seedlings?

Question

I am propagating rose seeds. They are just about through their stratification period, and I’m supposed to bring them out to a warm temp of 70 degree. The seeds should sprout over the course of two to three weeks. Once they sprout I’m to transplant the rose seedlings into other pots; feed them, etc.

After that the article just talked about disease, pests, and allowing plenty of time for them to flower. It doesn’t, however, tell me when to put the seedlings into the ground. When will I know it’s time to do this?

Thank you — Pat O’Brien

Answer 1

It is best to transfer the seedlings to the garden areas when they have formed buds and bloomed once. The day before doing the transplant, water them all with some water that has Super Thrive mixed into it. Then after transplanting, water them with some water that has both super thrive and a root stimulator mixed into the same water. This goes a long way to helping with transplant shock issues. Once the seeds have sprouted and the plants have gotten several leaves, move them to the large peat pots set inside plastic pots with drainage holes. The plastic pots help add support to the peat pots that will become flimsy after a while. You do not want to move the sprouted seedlings too quickly as they need to get their little root systems going well, usually once they have gotten about 4 leaves going the root system is doing good.