Bright red, yellow and pink, serene white or spotted and striped blooms, small and rose shaped but lacking pesky thorns – table rose, moss rose or 4’o clock plants (Portulaca grandiflora) can be found in every nursery in an array of colours. If you are a beginner gardener who wants something that grows as quickly as leafy plants like pothos or caladium do, with some colours, these flowers, which bloom throughout the day and fade in the evening, are the perfect choice.
Growing the plant
These plants are not picky about the soil but it is essential that the soil mix you use is well-draining. Soil containing equal parts of sand, perlite, and regular potting soil or a pre-mixed succulent or cactus mix works well for growing them in containers. Mix in a spoonful of neem cake powder to keep pests away while acting as a slow-release fertiliser.
Table rose plants are affordable. Once you bring home a plant, carefully remove it from the nursery pot without disturbing its roots and repot it in a pot that is one size bigger.
Picking the perfect spot
Table roses require full sunlight to thrive. A driveway, an open spot in a garden, or an east- or south-facing spot in your balcony is where they will thrive.
Blooms, blooms, blooms
To get the most flowers out of your table rose plants, water only when the topsoil feels completely dry to the touch. This causes the plant to be shocked into a burst of flowering. Avoid overwatering because this may cause root rot and quickly kill these semi-succulent plants.
They also do not need excessively fertile soil, so avoid fertilising except once during the growing season. Else, you will see a lot of foliage with not a flower in sight. Once a flower fades in the evening, pinch it off to encourage more shoots and flowers.
Make more!
Once you have a basket full of blooms, you will definitely feel the urge to line your balcony railings with many more! The good news is, these plants are one of the easiest to propagate. Here’s how:
Once a flower finishes blooming, cut a four-inch piece of the stem. Pinch the tip with the dead flower and pluck 3-4 leaves from the other end, while leaving 2-3 inches above it still having leaves. Then, plant the stem with the plucked side buried in the soil and water well. Repeat three or four times and plant them in the same pot. Keep the soil moist but not water-logged or completely dry and you should see new shoots in approximately a week.
Pesky pests
Perhaps the only con of table roses is the fact that they are a magnet for mealy bugs and aphids. If you get an infestation, spray it with organic mealy bug pesticide available online, or make your own with recipes that use neem oil, soap water and isopropyl alcohol.