Does anyone know how to start a rose from cuttings ?

Question

I have tried for many years to start roses from cuttings. Tried several different ways with no luck . Right now I have a bunch of cuttings in a jar of water to see if one will take hold. Also have a new shoot in water to see if anything happens. i have tried them in the ground with a glass jar over them , nothing happened ..? Please advise . I am going to try root tone again . Has never worked before ,tho. Thanks so much

Answer 1

I have successfully rooted rose cuttings to mature rose bushes. Some varieties I've tried are easier than others. I use two methods:

1. Take cuttings, perhaps pencil thickness and about 6 inches long. Strip off all lower leaves and leave one or two leaves on top. You can dip cuttings in a rooting horomone or not. I have not experienced any significance in using the rooting horomone or not. Put two or three cuttings in a pot of fine growing medium and water to keep moist. The big issue hereon will be fungal dieback. Try and keep out of the summer heat. You should begin to see some new growth. You should get perhaps 25% survival rate using this method. With hybrid musks I get a higher take. With native "Swamp Rose" I have gotten 100% take. Also near 100% from feral "American Rambler" and "Dorothy Perkins" [This method so far has NOT worked for me with my rose "New Dawn" and some of the older Damasks or Gallicas in my garden. "New Dawn" has self-layered and rooted a stem and that has been separated from the mother plant.] Set pots in the garden to overwinter. In the next spring new growth should come along and you can set new plants out. It takes three years growth for the cutting to become a mature and useful rose bush.

2. This way is the laziest but it works for me with some varieties:

Take cuttings from fall prunings. Cut to 6 inch lenths as described above. Dig a shallow furrow in your garden and put cuttings directly in the ground. Tamp in gently with the heel of your foot. Now forget them!
They will overwinter and in early spring form callus on the heel of the cutting and by June you should see new growth coming out. Keep an eye out and just dig up and plant out to mature as above. I have gotten as much as 80% take with my old rambler rose "Russelliana".

These are my experiences. I hope this helps.

P.S. The above is from personal trial and error and not cut out of anywhere. :-)

Answer 2

About two weeks before Christmas 2014 in Virginia Beach I had to trim back my rose bush, which is planted in a large pot.

On a whim, I took three long stalks that were about as thick as my index finger.

I located a section of stalk that had some 5-leaf clusters that had a little nub at the base of them, along the stalk. I carefully removed the leaf clusters and trimmed the stalk diagonally right next to a nub, and about three inches above the third nub I cut the stalk straight across.

I prepared the two other stalks the same way, and then I unceremoniously just jammed the diagonal ends about 4 inches into the dirt in the same pot as the parent rose bush and forgot about them.

They sat out naked, in the freezing rain and snow all winter long, in temps as low as 12 degrees F. Here it is now the third week of April 2015 and all three are growing.

I am now trying to decide when I should remove those three stalks and place them in their own pot. It would be a shame that they live through a harsh winter only to be killed by my hand because I don t know what I m doing!

Answer 3

Okay, I hate it when people just copy and paste a huge amount of info like it's theirs.

I have had good luck rooting roses with my January prunings only(SoCal). Some roses will never root for me though.

Make a cutting from a branch about the size of a pencil and maybe 12 inches long. Cut just below where two leaves were. Strip off all foliage. Dip cutting in ROOTONE. Use a dauber or stick to make a hole(or several) in pot full of potting soil. Carefully stick the dipped cutting into the holes in the pot. Pack the soil around the cutting. Water and wait about 2 months. I keep mine under a tree with dappled shade.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Cuttings from a cultivated rose will not start by themselves. You need to either root a wild rose cutting, then graft the cultivated cuttings to that; or, transplant a wild rose to the location you want, cut all of its branches back, and graft the cultivated cutting to it. If you are not familiar with grafting, you may want to visit your local garden store for books or advice on what works best for your roses in your area.

Answer 5

Air layer baby! It's about impossible to get a rose to start from a vegitive cutting.

I googled this for you...it's a good illustrated guide:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html


My dad managed an avocado nursery when I was a kid down in south Florida....he taught me how to do this when I was 6 years old and it works for almost any woody type shrub. Good luck.

Answer 6

My grandmother started a rose bush by putting the stem in the ground (east side of house) and a quart jar over them. They grew but ???? I never saw anyone else have luck with it.
I wish you good luck.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

ok my Nana taught me. Make sure u cut the rose on an angle. The get a vase with cold but not too cold water. put te rose in there. check the water every day. and you can also buy som like powder which is like a flower food and put it in the vase with the flower. Make sure it's in room tempature. but it needs sunlight.
But I put some more experienced info below.



Propagating Roses

Rooting from Rose Cuttings
Rose cuttings are an easy and inexpensive way to propagate own root roses (as opposed to grafted roses), and the only way to obtain heirloom roses that are not available from nurseries. The best time to take the cuttings is in the dormant cooler months, when the roses are not blooming -- either late fall after blooming or early spring before blooming.

To take rose cuttings, use a sharp knife to make a 45 degree cut on a stem that has finished blooming or that has a swollen rose hip indicating that it will bloom. Make the cut directly underneath a leaf node, making sure the rose cutting itself is around 6 to 8 inches long. If you aren't going to "stick" the cutting immediately, wrap it in wet towels or otherwise ensure the stem doesn't dry out before you're ready for it, but the sooner you're able to stick your cutting the better.

Remove any leaves on the lower part of the rose cutting, but keep the leaves at the top of the stem. Dip the cut end of the rose stem in rooting hormone or willow water (a brew made of willow twigs boiled in water and left to steep overnight) -- this isn't necessary but will increase the likelihood of rooting and number of roots.

Method 1: Rooting Roses in Pots
Place the rose cutting in a pot which has a 50/50 mixture of potting soil and perlite. It should be stuck several inches deep into the soil, up to half its length. Firm the soil around the stem, mist the cutting and soil thoroughly, and place the pot and cutting into a plastic bag. Secure the bag over the top of the cutting, supporting it above the foliage with a stick or a wire framework. Alternately, place a large glass or plastic jar upside down over the rose cutting. This keeps the cutting moist and maintains good humidity. It's a good idea to label the cutting with the rose variety and date of cutting.

The pot should be placed in a warm and bright location, but not one that is too sunny -- baking the cutting in hot afternoon sun is lethal. A semi-shaded or bright shade location is ideal. After 5 to 8 weeks, depending on the location, the rose cutting should have rooted which it will signal by sending out new leaves. When you want to transplant the rooted rose cutting, make some holes in the top of the plastic bag so that the cutting can gradually dry out for a few days.

Method 2: Rooting Rose Cuttings in the Garden
It is also possible to root roses directly in the garden, but you must choose a good location for sticking the cuttings to be successful. Select a sheltered area which is bright and warm, but not too sunny, and where the soil is well drained -- till in some peat moss, compost, sand or perlite to improve drainage.

Use the handle of a wooden spoon or a pencil to poke a hole for each rose cutting, and stick the cutting about half its length deep into the hole, firm the soil around the stem, and water thoroughly. Some gardeners like to place upended clear glass or plastic jars over the top of the cuttings to keep them moist and sheltered (especially in northern regions). If you do this, make sure you are planting in a location where the sun will not bake the cuttings in their jars. Another popular practice is to stick the cuttings first in large plastic containers with drainage holes and plant the whole container in the bed, to make later removal easier. Again, if you do this, be sure to monitor your rose cuttings especially carefully, as they will dry out more quickly.

Stick your cuttings in rows 6 to 8 inches apart. If you are mixing rose varieties, you should definitely label your rows or individual cuttings with the variety and the date planted. Again, the rose cuttings should root within 5 to 8 weeks, depending on location.

Method 3: Rose Propagation by Layering
This isn't exactly "cutting" roses, but operates on a similar principle. Select a flexible rose cane and pull it to the ground. Bend the last few inches into an "elbow," and nick the bottom of the elbow with a sharp knife. Bury the elbow around 6 inches deep, and put a rock or brick on top to keep the cane in the ground.

After 6 to 8 weeks, check that the layered canes have rooted. If the cane pulls out easily with a gentle tug, you'll obviously see that no roots have formed. You can try rooting it again by replanting it and waiting for a few more weeks. Otherwise, if you feel resistance, or see new growth on the cane, you'll know that the cane has rooted. Cut the cane through at the end connecting it to its "parent" and transplant it to a new location when you are ready.

Rose Care During Rooting
The most important thing to remember during the rooting period is that the rose cuttings not dry out. If the rose cuttings are in pots or if there there has been no rain, you should water every second day. In colder regions, you may need to cover your outdoor rose cuttings to shelter against cold.

The rose cuttings will sprout new roots and growth in the early spring, and you may notice "callus tissue" or swelling on the tip of the cutting. At this time it is especially important that the rose cuttings be kept moist.

Transplanting Rose Cuttings
Even though rooted rose cuttings will have a root system and new growth by the end of spring, it's best to leave them to establish and strengthen themselves through the summer. By late fall, the former cuttings should be ready to move to a permanent location in your garden.

Before transplanting, prune the young roses sparingly, cutting back tall shoots and thinning where necessary. Dig out the roses, either with a ball of soil or bare root, in the dormant period -- late winter if possible, if the ground is not frozen. For best results, transplant to an area of your garden which gets sun for at least half the day, and be sure to prepare the soil and fertilize as suggested in our growing roses guide.