How to Grow Roses From Cuts

With care, a rose cutting can blossom into a full rose bush.

Growing roses from seeds is time-consuming and difficult, but growing roses from cuttings is a viable option with most rose species. With an existing healthy bush, you can cut and propagate your roses throughout a garden. With some specialized cutting and planting techniques, it is possible to grow a brand-new bush from a single cut rose stem.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears
• Knife
• Hormone rooting agent
• Gardening trowel
• Loam or peat soil

Instructions

1. Snip off a 6-inch rose stem at a 45-degree angle from a healthy rose bush. Take your cutting in early spring. Rose cuttings can root throughout the growing season, but an early spring cutting gives the new bush a longer period of growth before winter dormancy.

2. Slice a 1-inch-long vertical slit in the base of the rose cutting using a sharp kitchen knife. With this extra cut into the rose stem, roots can emerge quicker and fuller.

3. Dip the cut end of the stem in a hormone rooting agent.

4. Dig a 2- or 3-inch hole in your garden, selecting a location with full sunlight. A mature rose bush can tolerate moderate shade, but a cut stem needs as much sunlight as possible to root and grow into a full bush. Roses grow best in loam or peat soil fertilized with natural manure or artificial fertilizers.

5. Water the cut rose daily, ensuring that the ground is moist, yet not soggy or muddy. You should notice new stems emerging within six to eight weeks as the plant roots itself and grows.

6. Prune dead flowers or leaves as needed. Clipping off withered flowers will help conserve nutrients for the healthier portions of your new bush.

7. Prune all the flowers and any remaining buds in late autumn as the rose bush enters winter dormancy.

8. Dig up your rose bush and replant it the following spring if desired. At this point, the rose bush will be healthy enough to tolerate moderate shade, but you do not need to transplant the bush if you are pleased with the initial growing location.

Tips & Warnings

• A rose stem can root itself naturally without hormonal stimulation, but rooting powders and gels greatly increase the chance of successful root growth.

References

• "Simon and Schuster's Complete Guide to Plants and Flowers"; Frances Perry; 1976
• "American Horticultural Society Great Plant Guide"; Tracie Lee; 2001
• "Roses in Gardens"; Alan Toogood; 1990