Japanese rose plants are also known as Kerria Japanese and they produce very beautiful yellow color roses. If you like yellow color flowers then this plant is perfect to grow. The good news is it is quite easy to grow and care for.
Japanese rose plants do not get affected by pests and common plant diseases. Moreover, it can be easily grown in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9. It is good to grow such plants that do not require much maintenance and can tolerate a little bit of grower’s negligence.
These beautiful yellow flowers bloom in the early days of spring and continue till summer. Sometimes the plant blooms a second time on hot days of summer. If grown in partial shade with proper care.
Let’s know more about the plant and its growing and caring steps.
Quick care guide
| Common Names | Japanese Rose |
| Soil | Well draining |
| Water | Moderate drinker |
| Temperature | Normal in 4 to 9 zones |
| Light | Partial shade |
| Blooming time | Early spring |
| Zones | 4,5,6,7,8,9 |
| Plant height | 3 to 5 feet |
| Flower color | Yellow |
| Botanical Name | Kerria japonica |
What do you need to grow a Japanese rose plant?
The Japanese rose plant can be grown in any type of soil except clay coil. Because clay soil has tight bonds. Plant roots need loamy soil to grow easily.
If possible, grow it in loamy well-draining soil. This does not mean you cannot grow it in normal garden soil. The interesting thing about this plant is it can grow even in less fertile soil. Because it demands fewer nutrients as compare to most of the rose varieties.
Just grow it in the proper place and it will grow healthy and bloom like crazy in early spring.
You can grow it from seeds or propagate it from cuttings, it is your choice.
Caring for Japanese rose plants
Below are the steps to care for and maintain growing Kerri Japonica.
Light
Like every plant, it also needs sunlight to make its food and energy. The question is how much sunlight it needs to grow from a seed to a big shrub. On normal cool days, it can tolerate full day sunlight. Because these days due to cool winds the sunray intensity gets lower.
But on bright summer days, it cannot tolerate the afternoon sun rays. This does not mean the plant cannot survive. I mean the flowers fade quickly and the plant drops them before their time.
So, choose a place in your garden where it gets shade in the afternoon and full sunlight in the morning and evening.
If you don’t have such a place in your garden then you have to use a cotton cloth to give it shade in summer. Use a long wooden stick around it and make a shed of cloth over the plant.
The Soil
Don’t worry about the soil it needs to grow. The plant grows without major issues in all kinds of soil except clay type soil. If your garden soil is less fertile you can still grow it in. But according to my experience with Japanese rose plants. Grow it in soil that is rich in organic material It produces a massive amount of big size bright yellow flowers in such type of soil.
And the bloom stays for a long time than the normal. Just add compost in the area where you want to grow it. No need to amend the entire garden with compost. If you are not a fan of gardening.
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Water
On cool days it needs less water and on hot days it needs regular water. Be careful while watering the Japanese rose plants. They need regular water but in less quantity. Give them water to keep the soil moist. Do not over water the plant because it will not push the plant to grow fast.
Shrub plants can tolerate a few dry conditions. Check the soil moisture before watering.
Fertilizer
It does not need fertilizer to grow and produce yellow roses. If your garden soil is highly fertile do not give it extra nutrients. But for less fertile gardens you need to give it little extra nutrients boost.
It must be in the form of any regular slow-releasing fertilizer. Again, if you amend the soil with organic material then no need to use fertilizer for this plant.
Humidity & Temperature
The temperature that we have on normal days in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9 is perfect for the plant. If the temperature is perfect this means the humidity is also in a good range. Because you are not going to grow this shrub indoors. Do not try to grow it indoors because some plants are made to grow outdoors. They grow and bloom well in outdoor under the direct sun rays.
Pruning kerria Japonica
Regular pruning is required because this plant spread aggressively in all directions. So, you need to be ahead of the plant growth. No doubt you need to remove the dead part of the plant. But you also need to prune it to control the overgrowth.
This shrub spread by suckering. You need to remove them to keep the plant in good shape. Now it depends on you how you want your plant to look like.
The best time for pruning is after the first bloom and that is after the spring.
Propagating the plant
Once you deice to grow more plants like the existing rose plant. Then you need to propagate them from plant cuttings. This is the easy method that gives new plants identical to the old plants.
To take a cutting first you need to choose the healthy branch. Use shear to cut the 5 to 6 inches long cuttings from the terminal end. Take cutting just at the beginning of the summer season. Then dip the cuttings in the rooting hormone.
Plant them in small size pots. Here you have to use perlite and sand in equal parts. If you like you can add perlite to the garden soil. Or you can use an all-purpose potting mix.
Place the pots under the indirect bright light with high humidity. The cuttings will develop roots in 4 to 5 weeks. Once you feel that the pots are small for the cutting and cuttings are strong. You can take them out of the pot and transfer them to your garden.
Note: Japanese rose plants are not toxic to anybody. Their flowers may contain harmful chemicals. But it only causes health issues if you consume flowers in a very large quantity. And nobody eats flowers instead of normal food.
Touching, smelling, and plucking the flowers is 100% safe.
