How to Root Cuttings from Rosebushes

Rooting rosebush cuttings is a great way to create more rose plants and put your "green thumb" to work. The process for starting rose cuttings may take time, patience, and practice, but the basic steps for taking and rooting rose cuttings are simple and easy to follow.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• one rosebush cutting
• one pot
• rooting hormone
• potting soil
• sand
• skewers
• one plastic bag
• two clothespins

1. Take a cutting from your rosebush -- take one that includes a little study stem or wood, not a soft new green offshoot. Cut a six-inch long stem, severed just below a leaf joint.

2. Trim off the leaves and stems close to the bottom, as well as the young leaf-and-stem tip at the top of your stem. Leave the remaining stems and leaves.

3. Dip the end of your cutting in root hormone, tapping off any excess before planting.

4. Fill a plant with a thin layer of sand, topped with moist but not muddy potting soil. Use your finger to make a hole in the soil. Lower the stem into the hole and surround it with soil, careful not to brush off the rooting hormone. Pack it close and tight around the cutting's base.

5. Slide three skewers along the sides of the pot and cover it with a plastic bag. A freezer bag works great if you don't have a "greenhouse" bag or a large plastic one -- if the bag is too narrow, simply slit one side and widen it to fit over the top. Make sure the leaves are not touching the bag, since the moisture trapped against the sides will yellow them.

6. Secure the plastic bag with clothespins in order to seal the moisture inside. Place in a cool, shady environment and give the cutting five or six weeks to develop roots.

Tips & Warnings

• More than one cutting can be placed in a single pot. Once they develop roots, give them a few months before splitting them into separate pots.
• Give your rose cuttings a few months to grow in their pots before transferring them to the ground.

[nancys123]

on 9/25/2009 good info. 5*