Starting Roses from Cuttings.
Everyone who starts cuttings probably does it a little differently and some folks probably do it a lot better than I do. It seems that miniature roses are a lot easier to start than the larger ones, but I have started several FL and some OGR plants. I haven’t had much luck with HT or Gr roses. Shrubs, I guess I haven’t tried but they should be similar to the miniatures in that a lot of them are own root plants like the miniatures are.
A couple of months ago, Mary gave me something from Jerry Baker about using Irish Potatoes to start rose cuttings. I don’t know if it has to be an Irish Potato, but that’s what the tip said. I’ve not tried it, but Marianne told me she has and that it produces some nice healthy plants. Unfortunately, for her, they were potato plants so I guess that means you should peel the potato to remove the eyes.
I find that some plants start much better in the ground than in the pots that I use. Maybe that’s not really the case, but they do not take kindly to being moved and I generally move the plants I’ve started in pots to larger pots after they have a root system and some resent being moved and give up the ghost. You will find some that look like they’ve started and produced a healthy looking growing plant and when you try to transplant them you will find that the root system is not very large or not even there. I don’t have any explanation of why that happens.
My method of taking cuttings is this:
1. I use 3 or 4 inch pots filled with a good potting mix, usually mixed with vermiculite to start the cuttings. I’ve been experimenting with a small layer of playground sand near the bottom of the pot and it seems to promote growth.
2. I usually stick two cuttings in a pot, except on some varieties that have a scarce number of blooms or some that I know are quite easy to start (aren’t many of these).
3. I use stems that have produced a bloom and the bloom has faded or been cut off for deadheading purposes. (the removal of that bloom triggers some growth hormone in the stem to start new growth and that doesn’t always seem to happen you you cut off one that has not produced a bloom or the bloom has not been allowed to open.)
4. I try to get a stem that is 3 to 5 inches long and has a couple of sets of five leaf sets growing out from the stem. The bud eyes form at those points.
5. I trim off the half of more of the leafs, not the whole leaf, but a portion of each leaf. Any leaf axil that will be below the soil surface I will remove completely.
6. I scrape off one side of the bark (skin covering the stem) at the lower end on one side and dip that end of the cutting into a rooting compound (I am using Clonex rooting gel, but I’m sure others will work) and push that end of the cutting into the potting mix in the pot.
7. I make a name tag with the name of the variety and the date to be put in the pot with the cutting. It’s not much fun to start a rose that produces a nice bloom and then have to remember what it is to identify it.
8. The potting mix is well moistened.
9. Then I take the pot to the place where I am going to put my cutting garden and dig a trench deep enough to line the pots in with the tops even or slightly above the top of the trench and set the pots in the trench.
10. Then a glass jar is set over the cutting and name tag to form a miniature green house. (Some folks use plastic jars, but I have the glass and that’s what I use.)
11. Then I pull loose soil in around the jars to make sure they stay in place and don’t have air gaps.
12. Water the area well. (and as long as the weather permits, keep them watered to stop them from drying out).
13. The jar garden can be covered with a layer of leafs to protect it from the winter cold but I don’t know if it’s really necessary. We generally have snow cover for a large part of the winter most years.
14. In the spring, when the sun starts getting higher in the sky and the jars provide too much warmth, I might protect them with the leafs. It’s a little tricky to know when to remove the jars completely because of the changing weather in the spring. If they’re burned by the hot sun, they have a harder time surviving, but if they’re uncovered too soon, the tender new growth can be nipped and the roots systems are fragile for quite some time.
I normally do this from late September until I have the roses put to bed for the winter. Some years I get a better take than other years and some years my timing is lousy on when to get the jars off and even though I have a good take, I don’t get a lot of good plants.
The neighbors may think I’m just a little bit crazy when they see me putting out a jar garden, but they suspect that anyway because of the number of rose bushes in my yard.
I haven’t kept statistics on whether they start better in round pots or square pots. Maybe I should. Marge keeps telling me to mark the tags in a special way when I stick one which has the new bud eye already started but I never remember to do it. I’m not going by moon signs but the listing does show good days for starting cuttings of house plants, Gary, should I be going by those?
I’ve brought a couple of hanging baskets of plants I started over last winter. Both are ground covers I won’t let in the ground because of their spread but they give you an idea of what you can get from a cutting. The other two pots are cuttings of mini floras that I’ve started over the summer. The take is not as high because of the heat and it’s hard to keep them moist enough but you can start them through the growing season. It would be easier with a green house and an elaborate misting system to keep them moist, but this way is inexpensive and all I’m out is my time and the rooting compound if they don’t start.
I’ve also brought a few stems of Antique Rose, a good growing miniature that has fairly good form but is basically a good garden rose that grows fairly large. I’ll take my pruners and turn these stems into cuttings to show you how you can do it and get some cheap plants.
A couple of months ago, Mary gave me something from Jerry Baker about using Irish Potatoes to start rose cuttings. I don’t know if it has to be an Irish Potato, but that’s what the tip said. I’ve not tried it, but Marianne told me she has and that it produces some nice healthy plants. Unfortunately, for her, they were potato plants so I guess that means you should peel the potato to remove the eyes.
I find that some plants start much better in the ground than in the pots that I use. Maybe that’s not really the case, but they do not take kindly to being moved and I generally move the plants I’ve started in pots to larger pots after they have a root system and some resent being moved and give up the ghost. You will find some that look like they’ve started and produced a healthy looking growing plant and when you try to transplant them you will find that the root system is not very large or not even there. I don’t have any explanation of why that happens.
My method of taking cuttings is this:
1. I use 3 or 4 inch pots filled with a good potting mix, usually mixed with vermiculite to start the cuttings. I’ve been experimenting with a small layer of playground sand near the bottom of the pot and it seems to promote growth.
2. I usually stick two cuttings in a pot, except on some varieties that have a scarce number of blooms or some that I know are quite easy to start (aren’t many of these).
3. I use stems that have produced a bloom and the bloom has faded or been cut off for deadheading purposes. (the removal of that bloom triggers some growth hormone in the stem to start new growth and that doesn’t always seem to happen you you cut off one that has not produced a bloom or the bloom has not been allowed to open.)
4. I try to get a stem that is 3 to 5 inches long and has a couple of sets of five leaf sets growing out from the stem. The bud eyes form at those points.
5. I trim off the half of more of the leafs, not the whole leaf, but a portion of each leaf. Any leaf axil that will be below the soil surface I will remove completely.
6. I scrape off one side of the bark (skin covering the stem) at the lower end on one side and dip that end of the cutting into a rooting compound (I am using Clonex rooting gel, but I’m sure others will work) and push that end of the cutting into the potting mix in the pot.
7. I make a name tag with the name of the variety and the date to be put in the pot with the cutting. It’s not much fun to start a rose that produces a nice bloom and then have to remember what it is to identify it.
8. The potting mix is well moistened.
9. Then I take the pot to the place where I am going to put my cutting garden and dig a trench deep enough to line the pots in with the tops even or slightly above the top of the trench and set the pots in the trench.
10. Then a glass jar is set over the cutting and name tag to form a miniature green house. (Some folks use plastic jars, but I have the glass and that’s what I use.)
11. Then I pull loose soil in around the jars to make sure they stay in place and don’t have air gaps.
12. Water the area well. (and as long as the weather permits, keep them watered to stop them from drying out).
13. The jar garden can be covered with a layer of leafs to protect it from the winter cold but I don’t know if it’s really necessary. We generally have snow cover for a large part of the winter most years.
14. In the spring, when the sun starts getting higher in the sky and the jars provide too much warmth, I might protect them with the leafs. It’s a little tricky to know when to remove the jars completely because of the changing weather in the spring. If they’re burned by the hot sun, they have a harder time surviving, but if they’re uncovered too soon, the tender new growth can be nipped and the roots systems are fragile for quite some time.
I normally do this from late September until I have the roses put to bed for the winter. Some years I get a better take than other years and some years my timing is lousy on when to get the jars off and even though I have a good take, I don’t get a lot of good plants.
The neighbors may think I’m just a little bit crazy when they see me putting out a jar garden, but they suspect that anyway because of the number of rose bushes in my yard.
I haven’t kept statistics on whether they start better in round pots or square pots. Maybe I should. Marge keeps telling me to mark the tags in a special way when I stick one which has the new bud eye already started but I never remember to do it. I’m not going by moon signs but the listing does show good days for starting cuttings of house plants, Gary, should I be going by those?
I’ve brought a couple of hanging baskets of plants I started over last winter. Both are ground covers I won’t let in the ground because of their spread but they give you an idea of what you can get from a cutting. The other two pots are cuttings of mini floras that I’ve started over the summer. The take is not as high because of the heat and it’s hard to keep them moist enough but you can start them through the growing season. It would be easier with a green house and an elaborate misting system to keep them moist, but this way is inexpensive and all I’m out is my time and the rooting compound if they don’t start.
I’ve also brought a few stems of Antique Rose, a good growing miniature that has fairly good form but is basically a good garden rose that grows fairly large. I’ll take my pruners and turn these stems into cuttings to show you how you can do it and get some cheap plants.
