A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 re: cuttings

will roses grow from cuttings?
I have a perfecta blooming and it is going to be beautiful ,so if its possible I would love to create more for next years growing season!!

I'm trying to do it myself right now with a cutting. I just stuck one in some dirt and it died almost immediately, but the other I did something different with.

I used one of those plastic bags like sheets and pillow cases, curtains, etc. come in. (with the zippers) Put some dirt in it, stuck the cutting in there and watered it well.. so far the leaves aren't even wilting and it's been in there a week. I checked today and I see a few little roots starting to come out so I misted it and put it back in the sun.

I have one rose bush that I took a cuttings from 1 out of 10 lived.

cuttings from roses need to be done early, before they bloom.

here is a site, they are talking about climbing roses, but it will work for any rose bushes.

web page

great idea about those plastic zipper bags the linens come in!!! that would work for any plant that needs good heat/humidity to root.

questions about doing rootings from rose bushes:

1) how will these do in the long run since they aren't grafted on to something else for the root system?

2) why are roses grafted onto something else for the rootstock if they can be so easily rooted from softwood cuttings??

A way to improve your success rate with the roses in to score the bottom one inch on each side to promote more roots. Also keep them in bright indirect light rather than full sun while rooting. Good luck with your project.

thanks to everyone who has answered so far. I am looking forward to trying this with my roses.
I really like growing the long stem type,and this will cut way down on my rose expendatures.yay!

Yes, roses will grow from cuttings. The best time to root them is in the spring. But, you can try most any time of year. Don't kick yourself if your first few attempts at rooting them fail...they are tricky and finicky. When you clip the sprig to root, you don't want a huge one. Simply make sure that it has atleast one set of 5 leaves on it and perhaps a couple of groups of three. Put sterile potting soil in a pot, good sized pot as the rose needs to live there for quite a while. Next, sit the pot in the shade...full shade. Strip the bottom set of leaves off your cutting...this is where your roots will begin to grow. Dip the rose cutting in rooting compound or let it soak in water with an asprin disolved in it. Using a pencil, poke a hole in the center of the soil. Now, stick your rose cutting into that hole and press the soil in around it. Then, cover the rose cutting with a clear cover, like an overturned glass. Water the soil (preferably with asprin water). Leave the pot in the shade for a couple of months, checking the moisture content of the soil regularly. You want it moist, but not soggy as roses do not like "wet feet". roses propogate through humidity, thus why the glass is important. Until they develop roots and can forage water for themselves, the sun is not good for them because they will get to hot and wither. After about 6 weeks, if you are doing it correctly, you should see some new growth, which is what you want. Don't go digging in the soil looking for roots...rose roots in the early propogation phases are VERY fragil, thus why they need to remain in a pot for quite a while. Don't uncover them right after you see the new growth, leave them covered for another couple of weeks. Then, you have to gradually accustom them to the sun, so for the next couple of months, let them spend their time in partial shade. Continue to keep them damp, but not soggy. They should continue to grow and thrive. This is also the time that you can begin feeding them, but only do so at about 1/2 strength. Once they begin to grow well, and prosper you can move them to the sun. But, for a while you still want to keep them watered and fed. Of course, you do stop feeding by the end of summer.

Being too anxious to get them out of their container and into the ground can be fatal. I've killed a few propogated roses this way. So, for about the first 6-12 months it's actually a wise idea to just leave them in the container.

I think I've covered everything about rose propogation, but in case I missed something, I have it on my site here http://lady_sensual.tripod.com/id7.html