In the 1970s, Soviet scientists discovered a plant that made roses bloom so abundantly that collective farmers called it “green doping.”
But the secret was buried in the archives - until it was declassified by the magazine Garden and Vegetable Garden in 2023.
We are talking about lupine, which was planted en masse in the USSR around the rose gardens of the Krasnaya Zarya collective farms.
The famous agronomist Pavel Trannua writes in his book “Roses without Mistakes”:
"Lupine roots secrete alkaloids that activate dormant rose buds."
True story: Oleg from Samara, on the advice of his grandfather, planted lupine next to roses - and the bushes, which previously produced 2-3 flowers, were covered with 20 buds.
Scientists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Floriculture confirm that lupine increases the availability of phosphorus in the soil, and its smell masks roses from thrips. But there is a catch.
According to the Journal of Applied Botany , yellow-flowered lupine varieties inhibit roses, while blue and white ones stimulate them.
An experiment by the Flower Kitchen channel showed that roses next to blue lupine bloom 2 weeks earlier.
Another piece of advice from the USSR: water roses with an infusion of lupine leaves (1 kg per 10 l of water).
“It’s like a hormone injection for the roots,” wrote Soviet plant breeder Ivan Shtanko in his diaries.
But lupine is not the only secret. In the archives of the collective farm "Rassvet" they found records about planting roses next to... rhubarb. Its huge leaves create a humid microclimate, and the roots repel nematodes.
British rose grower David Austin called the method "a stroke of genius" until he tried it himself.
"Rhubarb did what tons of fertilizer couldn't for my roses," he admitted on the Gardeners' Chronicle podcast.
The main rule is to plant rhubarb on the north side of the rose garden so as not to shade the bushes. But what you definitely shouldn't experiment with is dahlias.
A 1985 study conducted in Michurinsk proved that their proximity causes “laziness syndrome” in roses – the buds do not open.
Feedback from the community "Roses in the Moscow Region":
“I planted lupines - the neighbors think I’m doing magic!”
