How do I Start a New Rose Bush From the Sprout of Another One?

A rose bush grown from a cutting will have exactly the same characteristics as the parent.

Growing a new rose bush from a cutting ensures that you will get a bush with all the characteristics of the original. The type of cutting that roots the easiest is called a softwood cutting. The best time to take a softwood cutting is during May, June and July when roses are putting on new growth and have several shoots that are not yet mature. Suitable shoots will snap when you bend them in half.

Things You'll Need

• Sharp pruners or knife
• Rooting hormone
• Small flower pot
• Pencil
• Sticks or plastic straws
• Plastic bag
• Rubber band or twist-tie

Instructions

1. Take a 5-inch-long cutting from your rose bush with pruning shears or a sharp knife. Cut new stem growth early in the morning before sun and heat have a chance to dry out the stem.

2. Remove the leaves from the lower half of the cutting and dip the portion of the stem where the leaves were removed into rooting hormone.

3. Fill a small flower pot with rooting medium. Purchase sterile rooting medium or make your own from a mixture of one part peat moss and one part either perlite or sand.

4. Make a hole in the rooting medium using a pencil. Place the cut end of the cutting in the hole, and firm up the soil around it.

5. Place sticks or plastic straws in the soil around the edges of the pot. They should be slightly taller than the cutting. The sticks prevent the bag from touching the cutting.

6. Water until the soil is moist, but not soggy.

7. Place the flower pot in the plastic bag and close the top with a rubber band or twist tie. The plastic bag provides the cutting with high humidity which is essential to the rooting process.

8. Place the setup in bright light, but not direct sunlight. Direct sunlight can burn tender leaves and may overheat the contents of the bag.

9. Remove the pot from the plastic bag when the cutting has rooted. Test for roots by giving the plant a gentle tug. The cutting has roots when it gives resistance.

10. Grow the new plant in a sunny window or under artificial light until you are ready to transplant it into the landscape in spring.

Tips & Warnings

• Heavy plastic or clay pots are less likely to tip over in the bag than a light, fiber pot. If you use a clay pot, soak it in water first to keep the clay from pulling moisture away from the cutting.

• Make sure you take a cutting of new growth. New growth is flexible, and has smaller leaves at the tip, gradually getting larger further down the stem.

References

• University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service: Propagating Plants in and Around the Home
• National Gardening Association: Rose Cuttings
• North Carolina State University Extension: Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings