How to Make a New Cutting From a Rose Bush

Grow a new rose bush from a cutting.

If you want to create a new rose bush, you can take a cutting in late fall or anytime during the winter while the rose bush is dormant and use it to propagate a new plant. If you treat the newly propagated rose bush carefully its first summer, protecting it from breakage and drought, by the second summer you may start seeing blooms.

Things You'll Need

• Knife or pruning shears
• Rooting hormone
• Flower pot
• Potting medium
• Plastic bag

Instructions

1. Cut a stem 6 to 8 inches long from the parent plant. Slice the stem at a 45-degree angle when you cut it and use a newly sharpened knife or pruning shears. If possible, choose a stem that bloomed this season and that's about the size of a pencil in diameter. Cut it close to where it joins a larger stem.

2. Strip off any leaves or rose hips with your fingers or with scissors. Keep the cutting moist by wrapping it in a damp paper towel or placing it in a plastic bag with a little water if you can't put it in a rooting medium within a few minutes.

3. Fill a large flower pot or planter with potting medium or a mixture of compost and peat moss. Water the medium until it's evenly damp. Make a hole 3 to 4 inches deep with a pencil for each cutting, spacing the holes about 6 inches apart.

4. Wet the cut tip of the stem in water. Dip it in commercial rooting hormone powder, tap it to shake off any extra powder, then stick it to half its depth in one of the holes in the rooting medium. Gently press the rooting medium against it. Treat each cutting the same way.

5. Cover the cuttings with a large clear plastic bag to hold in the moisture. If necessary, stick a post or other long object in the potting medium to hold the bag up so it won't press down against the cuttings. Set the cuttings in a bright area but not in direct sunlight.

6. Examine the cuttings every other day to make sure the potting medium stays moist. Water them lightly whenever necessary to prevent the potting medium from drying out.

7. Remove the plastic covering when you see new growth on the cuttings. Continue to inspect the pot every few days to make sure the potting medium isn't drying out and water it regularly to keep it moist. In early summer, transplant the cuttings into a larger pot or into the garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Start twice as many cuttings as you need, to be sure enough will take root.

References

• University of California Cooperative Extension: Propagating Roses by Cuttings
• Aggie Horticulture: Rose Propagation from Cuttings
• "Roses"; Ludwig Taschner; 2001
• "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities"; Kim Smith; 2007