There's a well-kept secret about roses: growing more of these plants is not just one of the nicest, most magical aspects of having them around, but they're also simple to reproduce. Although you might grow roses from seeds, it's far simpler to replicate your favorite kinds when you grow roses from cuttings. Several practical justifications exist for rose propagation from cuttings. Rooting a few cuttings from a rose variety that performs particularly well in your garden is a simple and affordable approach to expand your collection. You could also wish to make duplicates of a rose that is a family heirloom or a rare variety. Rose cuttings from your own garden are also excellent for trading with other gardeners. Here are 10 tips for effectively growing roses from cuttings.
If you're trying to do this right and ensure growth, you should get the following:
- scissors, a knife, or sharp pruners. Use Lysol or rubbing alcohol to disinfect.
- Perlite and potting soil blended 50/50. The mixture must to be sterile and have nearly equal parts air and moisture.
- hormone for roots. Although this powder increases your chances of success, it is frequently unnecessary. It must always be used to rose varieties that are more difficult to root, such as Damasks, Hybrid Teas, older wood, or winter cuttings.
- a well-draining container that is 2.5 to 5 inches deep. This might be as straightforward as the base of a plastic milk jug with the bottom cut off and holes punched in it.
- a transparent shield that keeps moisture around the cuts. You may use the top portion of the milk jug or the base taken from a 2-liter soda bottle. It also works great to use a transparent dry cleaning bag that has been staked up around the plant.
But in reality, you can even directly plant. When the cuttings are kept sufficiently hydrated (soil always slightly wet on top) and are planted 4-6 inches into a bed topped with mulch made of either straw, mulch, or grass clippings, you will have survivors that will grow to bushes.
When is the best time to cut roses?
Any time of the year, rose cuttings can be effectively rooted. But consult the weather report for more reliable outcomes. Plan to cut when the daylight temperature is between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit; the optimal range is between 55 and 90. Probably in the spring and the fall. Taking cuttings first thing in the morning is also recommended.
How to Grow Roses from Cuttings in 10 Easy Steps
In general, growing roses from cuttings is an easy task. The hormone balance in the severed stem alters each time you trim your rose plants or remove the fading blossoms. Changes encourage it to establish roots when the correct circumstances are present. The offspring is an exact replica of the parent plant.
1. Soak the Rose plants with water the day prior to taking cuttings.
Roses that are well watered are able to maintain healthy roots. Water the parent plants the day before taking cuttings, and be sure to maintain their health throughout the growth season. If you've neglected them all year and give them a hail mary watering before taking cuttings, you'll likely kill your plant.
2. Take the cuttings!
Select stems that are directly beneath flower buds that are ready to blossom. Stems underneath flowers that have started to shed their petals are the second-best choice. Choose cuttings with three to five nodes and a length of 4 to 8 inches (the regular intervals where buds, leaves, and stems emerge). The top cut should be around a quarter inch above a node, and the base cut should be roughly a quarter inch below one.
Extra advice: Heel wood frequently roots more readily. It is situated when one stem emerges from another at the base of another stem. Try pulling the stem straight out at the attachment point. Or use a sharp knife to make a small cut into the elder shoot.
3. Place cuttings in water.
Your cuttings should be placed right away in a water container out of the direct sun. Alternately, store cuttings in a chiller after wrapping them in wet paper towels. The chopped stems should be kept as moist as possible.
4. Slice bottom end of cuttings.
Roses' wound reaction induces rooting. By vertically slicing through the green skin on the bottom inch of the cutting, you can promote more rooted. Repeat this two to four times, with about equal intervals between each repetition. Alternately, you may carefully scrape away a strip or two of the bottom inch's green skin. Just remember to leave the skin intact around the stem. If the variety has enormous prickles, removing them from the base injures the stem sufficiently to promote the growth of roots.
5. Dip cuttings in rooting hormone.
Apply rooting hormone to the bottom two inches of your cuttings if you want to use it. Steps 1-4 are significantly more crucial if you're trying to grow roses from cuttings without using rooting hormones.
6. Remove flowers and most leaves.
Remove everything except the top leaf or two of the flower bud or wasted bloom. Limit the number of leaflets on the upper leaves to three or four. To promote the growth of roots, slice the bud from the lowest node.
7. Place cuttings into potting soil.
Insert your rose cuttings into a pot approximately two - 4 inches deep, depending on length of cutting. I typically will do 6 in a medium sized pot. We aren't growing them to full height here, just to height of transplantability.
Thoroughly press the mixture around the stem and water. After that, apply your humidity cover and set the pot in a spot with some diffused light. This could be done below a canopy of trees. This is what I do, in a forested area of oaks with the underbrush flattened out. You could also place them places like a shed's side, or on a covered porch. On a shaded windowsill, some individuals decide to root rose cuttings indoors. If you have a greenhouse, ideally put it here.
8. Check cuttings periodically.
Lift your humidity cover briefly a few times each week if it doesn't have ventilation. Otherwise, all you need to worry about is the planting substrate drying out. Add water to keep the top moist to the touch but not flooded. Check the cuttings any that have turned brown all the way to the base; if you find any, pull them out together with any fallen leaves.
9. Transition from multiple in one pot to single pots. Move to a more well lit area.
Rooting might take a few weeks, but plan on it taking a month or two. The fresh roses can be gradually acclimated outside of the humidity cover after you notice roots growing from the side or bottom of the pot and new leaf development. If you rooted many plants in one pot, gently repot them into separate pots.
10. Plant rooted cuttings in the garden or in well lit corners of your property
Give rooted rose cuttings nine to twelve months to mature before planting them in your garden. In order to encourage new development at that period, you might choose to transfer them to a slightly larger container with a 20/80 mixture of perlite and potting soil.
Questions, Answers and Tips for Propagating Roses from Cuttings
Although propagating roses from cuttings may seem challenging at first, keep in mind that they are only recommendations for more reliable outcomes. You could bury a rose cutting directly in your soil and discover it has taken root months later. Or perhaps, as I once did, if you wrap cuttings in wet paper towels and set them aside in a cooler on July 4th, you could discover some of them still alive and really rooted on Labor Day. In the sweltering heat of summer and the dead of winter, people have successfully rooted a 5-foot-long cane, a 1-inch cutting, and less-than-ideal wood.
As you progress through the process, you may also incorporate more tools. For instance, mycorrhizal fungi, heat mats, and fluorescent lighting can all help you succeed. However, you should approach a few well-known rose-rooting suggestions with suspicion.
Can you grow roses from cut flowers sold in stores?
Maybe if you get your flowers from a nearby flower farm that sells freshly cut roses. Although it isn't ideal, you may always attempt it. Even if you are successful in rooting these cuttings, the plants that develop may not thrive for you since roses that are specifically cultivated to sell as cut flowers are less likely to grow well on their own roots (they are typically grafted onto stronger roots).
Remember that many commercial cut roses (as well as newer rose varietals) are protected by patents. These roses cannot be lawfully grown without a permission throughout the 20-year patent period. Still, it is OK to root the vast majority of roses. Actually, many of the older cultivars rely on gardeners to maintain them via sharing and reproducing them. Rooting historical roses can be a terrific opportunity to engage with local rose organizations and historical locations if you're interested in preserving them.
Can you grow roses from cuttings using potatoes?
There is a long-held belief that potatoes are the ideal rose rooting media. It's quite tempting to think that all you have to do is poke a little hole in a potato, add some honey and cinnamon, place in your rose cutting, and go. But bear in mind that potato tubers are living. They have their own set of plant hormones and immunological defenses. In at least one academic investigation, potatoes were shown to have a 100% failure rate as a rose rooting media.
Can you grow roses from cuttings in water?
Another old myth is that roses root easily in water. They may begin the rooting process in water, but it does not progress. There may be exceptions, so you may always give it a shot and see what happens. However, following the aforementioned rules will yield the greatest outcomes.
