‘Don’t throw your banana peels away – they’ll save your roses’, gardening expert reveals – here’s how
THEY’RE one of the most popular flowers at this time of year.
And if you’ve recently planted roses, you can ensure they bloom as beautifully as possible by using discarded banana peels.
According to gardening expert John Dempsey, you should chop up some banana peel and pop it in the soil.
“Applying two or three banana peels to the soil will provide an advantage to newly planted roses,” the Housetastic pro told Express.co.uk.
“You should put a chopped banana peel in the bottom of the hole before inserting the plant and mixing the rest with compost and soil around the new plant.”
Apparently, the peel contains potassium which helps boost the immune system of roses.
It also stops the leaves from looking dull and weak, thanks to the other nutrients in the peel including calcium, iron, manganese and copper.
“Watering the soil thoroughly afterwards will aid in the breakdown of the peels and will support new growth,” John added.
“Putting a banana peel on the ground near the base of a rose plant is the simplest way to increase potassium levels.
“Chopping the peel first reduces the time it takes for the peel to degrade, allowing the potassium to reach your plants sooner.”
Make sure that you plant roses in an area where they can get between six and eight hours of sunlight a day.
And don’t cramp them by planting too near to other flowers – they need plenty of room to grow.
According to the experts at fertiliser brand Phostrogen, you should space the roses “approximately one metre away from other plants” and “around half a metre or more away from other roses to allow them space to grow”.