By the duration of flowering, beauty and pleasant aroma of roses take the first place in the list of ornamental plants. This garden culture became known to man almost simultaneously with wheat. “The Queen of Flowers” called the rose in the East.
General view information
Her story has more than a dozen centuries. Archaeologists in the Middle East have discovered frescoes with rose ornaments dating back to the second millennium BC. In the sixties of the last century in our country, there were more than five thousand varieties and hybrids grown in open ground. Today this number has increased almost four times. All of them belong to the genus Rosehip.
Recently, the floribunda rose has become very popular. Acropolis, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffles, Carte Blanche, Niccolo Paganini, Blue for You and many others are all representatives of this family of abundantly flowering. That is how the word "floribunda" is translated from Latin. This name is fully true. The species was bred in 1952 by Danish breeders. In the course of ongoing ongoing cross-breeding experiments, a large number of different-colored petals and the shape of the buds of varieties were created. All of them correspond to the name "floribunda" or "plentifully flowering".
The most striking and by far the most common representative of this species is the Acropolis rose, a photo, a description and growing conditions of which are presented in this article. It was bred in France at the beginning of the millennium by the Meyang rose plant. “Peculiar” - that is the name of the author of many books about these amazing flowers by E. Pisarev, the rose Acropolis.
Description and photo
Born by crossing a nutmeg, tea and polyanthus species, its “parent” floribunda combines all the best qualities. The shape of the buds and their size, a rich palette of shades, she borrowed from hybrid varieties, and cold resistance and excellent immunity - from polyanthus. Today, many of its varieties are bred, but perhaps the most peculiar and most beautiful representative of this family is the rose Akropolis. The encyclopedia of roses characterizes this variety in this way: a medium-tall floribunda with a unique color of petals. The fact is that at first they are painted in a delicate pink tint, however, as they begin to blossom, they change and become coffee with a greenish tint.
In general, the Acropolis rose, which is also called the "chameleon", is extremely decorative. She has brilliant light green foliage. Her magnificent buds can be of a classical type, as well as in the shape of a cup or goblet. Petals are also original. They are terry, and sometimes the most ordinary. Flowers resemble balls. They hold for quite some time. Culture very quickly "goes" to re-bloom.
The bush of this rose can grow from sixty to eighty centimeters in height, although in some regions it reaches even one meter. Inflorescences are large enough, up to six to eight flowers in each. They have different sizes: each bud can reach a diameter of four to six centimeters.
Benefits
Acropolis (Acropolis) - a rose that is very resistant to cold and various diseases. Her cut flowers look incredibly beautiful in a bouquet. No less beautiful culture in the garden. When cut, the Acropolis rose retains its freshness for a long time. If in the garden there is at least one bush of this representative of the floribundov family, then you can admire its beauty for a long time - until the onset of the fall season. The fact is that instead of fading buds, others immediately bloom, so the plant looks almost irresistible almost all summer (throughout the flowering period).
In landscape design
Rosa Acropolis looks great in hedges and borders, it is often made out of garden paths. In a single landing, she also looks irresistible - always elegant and impressive. This floribunda also feels great after the cut, so with its help florists today often make all kinds of bouquets - holiday and even wedding.
Landing: dates and place
The optimal time for placing this rose in the open ground is from mid-May to the end of June, although gardeners in the warm regions of our country can plant it in September or even by mid-October. To do this, select the correct location in advance. It should be calm and lit for most of the day. In this case, one very important nuance must be taken into account. Although the site selected for landing should be bright, however, the Acropolis rose should not be kept in direct sunlight all the time. Otherwise, it can simply burn out. Therefore, light shading is required. And then the rose of the floribunda Acropolis will bloom lushly and for a long time, delighting the owner with its incredibly beautiful flowers.
The soil
No less important is the composition of the soil. If clayey soil predominates in the garden, then before planting the rose, it is necessary to dilute it with river sand or compost. In addition, bone meal and superphosphate at the rate of forty grams per hole should be added to the earthen mixture. And with sandy soil, you need to do the same: dilute it, making half the clay with humus. You can pre-cook the desired composition and put it in the pits. To do this, you should take equal proportions of sand, peat, garden soil, humus and clay, adding superfosphate and bone meal to a handful of it. The pits for the Acropolis roses should have approximately the following dimensions: diameter - fifty, and depth - thirty centimeters.
Care
The cultivation of this floribunda is not distinguished by any complexity. If you loosen the earth in time, remove weeds and do not forget to mulch, then very soon you will see the fruits of your labor. Rosa Acropolis prefers plentiful watering. With the onset of the summer season, it is necessary to pour ten liters of water under each of its bush. This should be done once a week, and with the arrival of the hottest days - twice.
The best time for watering roses is considered to be evening or early morning, under the sun this should not be done. It is especially important to saturate the plant with moisture during budding and after the first flowers appear. With the onset of the fall season, watering should be reduced, especially during the period when the rains begin.
For the winter, the bush must be covered, before that, cutting off all the buds, removing the foliage with unripened shoots. After this, the plant must be treated with Bordeaux liquid, and plant fragments collected and burned.
Pruning
The main emphasis in the care of Acropolis should be done on pruning, especially spring. It is she who is the main. Thanks to spring pruning, a bush is formed. This procedure is also important in the sanitary plan. As for summer pruning, it is aimed exclusively at stretching the flowering period of this rose. But in the fall this process should not be carried out, since it can weaken the bush before the upcoming frosts. It should be borne in mind that the weak and poorly growing rose Acropolis should be pruned much stronger in order to activate its vitality and provoke the growth of new shoots. When trimmed, the bush of this variety of floribunda should remain approximately thirty or forty centimeters high.
Top dressing
As for fertilizer application, during the active growth of the plant, it will not be superfluous to feed it with mullein (once or twice) and a nitrogen supplement. By the end of the summer season, around the last days of August, this floribunda can be fertilized with a potassium-phosphorus mixture, for example, nitrate, superphosphate, potassium sulfate or ammophos.
Top dressing is introduced as follows: grooves are formed around the bush, which are filled with water. After absorbing moisture into the ground, it is the turn of applying liquid fertilizers. Then the grooves are again filled with water and filled up with soil. You need to know that in the first year after planting in open ground, the plant does not need to be fertilized.
Rosa Acropolis: reviews
The most amazing thing about this variety of floribund is that in one huge inflorescence all the flowers can be of different colors. Judging by the reviews, the beauty of the bush is amazing. Apparently therefore, many gardeners are very fond of this rose. When some flowers have almost faded, while others are still just blooming, the culture looks very elegant, somewhat reminiscent of a kind of mosaic. As many amateur gardeners say, they did not regret their choice at all. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is better to pick off faded buds, in addition, after heavy rain, shake off drops of moisture from branches and flowers.
Many regret that it is impossible to grow this stunning rose indoors. The fact is that in the room it stretches out in length and does not give flowers.
Rosa Acropolis, reviews of which are mostly only positive, loves light and warmly. It does not respond well to severe drafts, although caring for this floribunda is not very different from growing ordinary representatives of this genus. Judging by the reviews, knowing the basic agricultural rules, even a novice amateur gardener will be able to grow this beauty. The main thing is to buy healthy seedlings.