Propagating Roses from Cuttings

Propagating Roses from Cuttings

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Copyright © 2011 McGroarty Enterprises Inc.

The propagation of Roses.  Boy this must be hard to do.  Roses are a mystery to many gardeners.   Something so beautiful must be really difficult to grow from cuttings, at least so think some gardeners.  This is not the case at all.  Roses are actually quite easy to propagate if you give them a fair chance.

A fair chance is nothing more than creating an environment that will sustain them while they establish roots.  It is a natural process for a piece of a plant that has been separated from the rest of the plant to immediately begin every effort to establish new roots to stay alive.  Of course without any help from you this is not going to happen, but with your help it can, and will happen quite quickly.

Roses, like all plants, have certain basic needs that must be met during the rooting process.  Since the cutting you are trying to propagate has no roots, it has no way of picking up water, something that is very important to the cutting’s survival.  So you must create conditions around the cutting of very high humidity.  As close to 100% humidity as possible.

One easy way to do this is to make a mini propagation hut by sticking the cutting in a flat, or right in the soil and cover it with a mason jar.  Of course you must be careful of exactly where you choose to root this cutting.  The cutting needs some sunlight, but too much sun shining through the mason jar will cause the cutting to become over heated.  An area that is at least partial shade works best.

The soil in which you stick this cutting should be moist but not wet.  Coarse sand or potting soil mixed 50/50 with perlite should work fine.  A sterile soil mix is best because you are creating humid conditions that are great for growing all kinds of fungus etc.  Starting with sterile soil gives your cuttings a fair chance.

Dipping the cutting in a rooting compound after it has been lightly scored down one side will also help to induce rooting much quicker.  You score the cutting to expose the cambium layer which is the layer of tissue just below the bark.  From this cambium layer is where the rooting will take place.  Scoring the cutting can be done by lightly scraping the bark on one side of the cutting.  This would should be about ½-1″ in length from the bottom of the cutting up.  The cutting should be 4-5″ long if possible.  Remove the leaves from the bottom of the cutting, but leave as many leaves as possible near the top.   The leaves are necessary for food and hormone production while the rooting takes place.

Follow these propagation tips and your rose cuttings should root quite well.  The length of time it takes them to root is determined by a lot of factors, such as the variety of the rose, and the temperature of the soil and the air.  To learn more about creating the ideal environment for rooting rose cuttings as well as many other cuttings click on the link “Propagating Via the Upside  Down Fish Tank Method”, or “Using Intermittent Mist to Root Your Cuttings”.

by Michael J. McGroarty
© Copyright 2011