The next time someone gives you a rose, don’t throw it away after the petals have fallen.
Instead, stick it in the ground in a shaded spot, cover it with a glass jar and keep it watered. It may reward you with a plant.
Rose Propagation Through Cuttings
Propagating roses from cuttings is not at all difficult. In fact, it’s a rather fascinating experiment.
Cuttings may be taken anytime during the growing season.
Shoots with flower buds just about to open are fine, but experience shows us that stems taken after the petals have fallen also satisfactory.
The best cuttings are of hardened green wood, intermediate between soft and hardwood.
Here’s what you need to remember:
- Cut the stem 6″ to 8″ inches long so there will be 2 or 3 eyes or buds and about the same number of leaves.
- Plunge the slips in cold water for a half hour or more.
Sand and fine gravel are my favorite mediums to root soft-wood cuttings, but for the last few years, we have had good results with peat moss, and humus worked into the propagating bed.
We feel, then, that nourishment is supplied to the cuttings as soon as the roots form, and the need for disturbing the roots by early transplanting is eliminated.
After taking the cuttings, do the following steps:
- Remove the lower leaf but retain the upper ones.
- Dip the base of the stem in a rooting hormone before inserting it into the rooting medium.
- Make a hole in the soil with a stick and insert the cutting so that it is about 3″ inches deep and one or two nodes (junction of the leaf and stem) are buried.
- The soil should be pressed firmly about the slip and thoroughly watered.
Related: Growing Roses From Cuttings
In about 6 or 8 weeks, some of the cuttings will have new shoots.
The jar cover may be removed at this time, but we prefer to leave it on until the following spring when the tiny plant is moved to its permanent location.
It is important to protect the cutting from direct sunlight.
An adequate moisture supply is another “must” never permit the soil to dry out.
Propagating roses from cuttings is slow because it takes several years before a reasonably good rose plant can grow.
If you don’t mind waiting, try your skill at starting a few, you may find it quite fascinating.