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Roses come in a wide variety of colors. Moreover, sometimes, for the sake of its originality, flower growers are ready to tolerate significant shortcomings of the variety, even if it is difficult to “neutralize” them on their own. Rose Dolce Vita belongs to the category of hybrid tea and is relatively easy to care for; it is not always possible to observe it in the most decorative form.
History of selection
Rose Dolce Vita, or more precisely Dolce Vita+, is a hybrid tea variety created by breeders of the Dutch nursery Lex Voom. It appeared on the public market in 2001.
The addition of a “plus” to the name was necessary to avoid confusion. The described variety has two namesakes. The French floribunda rose from the Delbar nursery (Dolce Vita 1) was created in 2012. In catalogs for specialists it is listed as DELcentoran.
There is another, the oldest hybrid tea variety with salmon-peach petals, which does not have any “additives” to its name. It was created by specialists from the Delbar nursery much earlier than the rose Dolce Vita 1 and Dolce Vita Plus: in 1971.It is known to professional breeders as DELdal, and to amateur gardeners as Niagara Pride.
Floribunda Dolce Vita is comparable in popularity to the described hybrid tea rose
Description and characteristics of the Dolce Vita rose
Dolce Vita Plus, unlike the rose Dolce Vita 1, is a variety that was originally created for cultivation in greenhouses on an industrial scale in order to obtain flowers for cutting. Therefore, its bushes are compact, 60-100 cm high and 40-70 cm in diameter. The stems are quite powerful, straight, and densely leafy. The spines are few and short.
The leaves of the Dolce Vita rose are large, glossy, and leathery to the touch.
The flowers of the Dolce Vita rose are mostly single, classic goblet-shaped, 7-10 cm in diameter, densely packed, densely double (50-60 petals each). Inflorescences-tassels of 2-3 pieces are possible, but extremely rare.
The buds are very dense and open within 12-15 days. The petals of the Dolce Vita rose are snow-white or creamy. There is a contrasting border along the edge. Depending on the type of soil and other growing conditions, it can be soft pink, very bright, crimson-crimson, much less often - lilac or purple-violet.
In the flowering of the Dolce Vita rose, two “waves” lasting 2.5-3 weeks are clearly visible. The first begins in the 20th of June, the second - closer to mid-August.
In the interval between “waves” of flowering, individual buds form on the bushes
Dolce Vita rose flowers cannot tolerate high humidity. It only takes a lot of fog or dew, not to mention rain, to leave dark spots on the petals. The “affected” buds stop opening, “pupate” and fall off.
With constant rainfall, the buds do not bloom at all
Rosa Dolce Vita can “boast” of good immunity. It successfully resists fungi that cause the development of powdery mildew and black spot - these are the most common and dangerous diseases for the crop. However, bushes are not completely immune from infection, especially if cool, rainy weather favorable for the activation of pathogens persists for a long time.
Advantages and disadvantages
Rose Dolce Vita has a very light, subtle aroma. It is characterized as tender, with sweetish notes. It is noticeable only in fully opened flowers, and intensifies slightly in the evenings and in cool weather.
Rose Dolce Vita is consistently “in demand” among florists involved in arranging wedding bouquets
Pros:
- a compact, non-spreading bush that retains its shape and does not “fall apart” even after strong winds and rains;
- high resistance to fungal diseases;
- relatively uncomplicated, standard care;
- wide possibilities of application in landscape design;
- classic flower shape, original two-tone color of petals;
- long repeated flowering;
- long shelf life of cut Dolce Vita roses.
Minuses:
- the inability of flowers to tolerate not only rain and dew, but also increased air humidity during fog;
- lack of pronounced aroma.
Planting and caring for the Dolce Vita rose
The Dolce Vita rose does not have any specific requirements for the planting site compared to other varieties. The site for the flower bed is selected based on several criteria:
- good illumination and “openwork” partial shade in the hottest time of the day;
- free air circulation combined with protection from cold drafts and sharp gusts of wind;
- at the same time loose and sufficiently nutritious substrate (loamy, sandy loam, gray earth);
- neutral or slightly acidic soil pH;
- groundwater lying at least 1.5 m from the surface of the earth.
When planted in a shaded place, the bushes form buds very “reluctantly”
The disembarkation procedure also follows a standard algorithm. The depth and diameter of the planting hole for the Dolce Vita rose is 45-50 cm. When transferring several seedlings to a flowerbed at once, maintain an interval of 50-60 cm between them, keeping the row spacing within 70-80 cm.
The root collar of the seedling cannot be left on the surface - it is buried 4-5 cm
Even a not particularly experienced gardener can provide the Dolce Vita rose with competent care. Necessary activities:
- Watering. The intervals between them are determined based on the weather outside. On average, 12-15 liters of water weekly is enough for Dolce Vita rose; in extreme heat and drought, water more often - every 2-4 days. The water is pre-settled or softened in another way; when watering, it should not fall on the plant.
- Mulching. An extremely useful event not only for the Dolce Vita rose, but also for any other variety. Allows you to avoid regular loosening and weeding of the flower bed, and helps to “retain” moisture in the soil.
- Feeding. Rose Dolce Vita is fed 4-5 times per season. In April, the “awakened” bushes are watered with a solution of mineral nitrogen fertilizer. Then, complex specialized preparations for roses are added every 4-5 weeks. The variety does not respond too well to folk remedies.
- Trimming. Rose Dolce Vita belongs to the hybrid tea category.Accordingly, its buds are formed only on the growth of the current year. Adult bushes undergo sanitary pruning twice a year; in the spring, the 3-4 oldest stems are radically shortened to 4-5 buds.
- Preparing for winter. In the southern Russian regions, the construction of a shelter can be neglected. In temperate and more severe climates, preparing the Dolce Vita rose for winter includes filling the base of the bush with humus (“hill” up to 25 cm high) and wrapping the associated shoots with covering material (3-4 layers).
When watering, drops of water should not fall on flowers, buds, or bushes.
Features of reproduction
Dolce Vita is a hybrid rose variety, so trying to plant seeds with the expectation that the seedlings will “inherit” the characteristics is pointless. Of the vegetative methods of propagation, only rooting of cuttings is suitable for it.
Obtaining new specimens from layering is impossible, since strong straight shoots cannot be bent to the ground without breaking. And dividing a bush is always a risky operation. Even if everything is done correctly, the gardener may lose the only copy of the Dolce Vita rose, and not acquire several new ones.
Rooting of cuttings takes place at the end of May and the first half of June. Planting material – tops of stems 10-12 cm long (without buds, with 2-3 pairs of leaves). They are cut obliquely from below and horizontally from above.
Before “planting,” the lower cut of the Dolce Vita rose cuttings is kept in a solution of a root formation stimulator for 2-3 hours. To speed up the process, you can sprinkle it with a powdered preparation. The area of the leaf plates is reduced by cutting them by about half.
Dolce Vita rose cuttings are rooted in peat chips, coarse sand, perlite, chopped sphagnum moss and any other substrate that combines looseness with moisture-holding capacity or in water, changing it 2-3 times a day. It is imperative to provide them with stable warmth by covering them with a plastic bottle or plastic bag and long (10-12 hours) daylight hours.
On average, cuttings produce roots in 2.5-3 weeks
The appearance of new leaves indicates that the cuttings have taken root. Dolce Vita rose seedlings can be transferred to the flowerbed in the fall of this season or next spring.
Diseases and pests
The presence of almost absolute “protection” against powdery mildew and black spot is one of the significant advantages of the Dolce Vita rose. In general, the variety is characterized by fairly good resistance to other pathogenic microflora, so to protect the bushes from infection, two fungicide treatments, including spraying the plant and the soil in the tree trunk, are sufficient.
Treatments are carried out at the beginning and end of the active growing season, as well as during the season with an interval of 15-20 days
Pests do not particularly distinguish the Dolce Vita rose from other varieties. However, the plant does not have “protection” from them, so in the event of a “large-scale” attack on the garden, it may well suffer.
Growing practice shows that most often the variety is attacked by aphids and thrips
Simple preventive measures from the category of folk remedies help prevent infection. If the appearance of pests is noted in your own or neighboring areas, it is recommended to preventively treat the Dolce Vita rose with a suitable insecticide. The same is done when infection cannot be avoided and the pests “settle” on the plants.
Application in landscape design
Dolce Vita rose bushes cannot be called large, so they are not very suitable for single planting. It is better to create a group of 3-5 plants. They will look very good against the backdrop of a well-groomed lawn.
Professional landscape designers often combine the Dolce Vita variety with the so-called English roses bred by David Austin. Bicolor coloring allows it to be used to create a harmonious “transition” between white and pink or red bushes. However, the Dolce Vita rose needs to be planted in the foreground so that it does not get “lost” among larger plants.
In general, you can choose not only roses as “companions”: a beautiful combination is obtained by planting next to the Dolce Vita variety any flowering plants in white-pink-red tones. For example, one of the latest trends in landscape design is a combination of roses and clematis.
The classic flower shape will fit into most landscape design concepts
Conclusion
At first glance, the Dolce Vita rose is quite a suitable variety for a novice gardener. Its decorativeness and unusual petal coloring are complemented by the relative simplicity of agricultural technology, good immunity and good frost resistance. However, you need to take into account the presence of a very significant disadvantage - the flowers’ categorical intolerance to water.
Reviews from gardeners about the Dolce Vita rose
