How to Get a Clipping Off of a Rose Bush to Root

Cloning rose bushes by cuttings prevents impurities that may occur during pollination.

Rose varieties are bred for specific colors and flower shapes. The specificity in cultivation can make it expensive to purchase new rose bushes. A cheaper option is to propagate your rose bushes by making cuttings. Cuttings produce a clone of your plant, creating consistency. Rose cuttings can be made throughout the year and started inside. Doing so gives you new bushes to plant in the spring. Propagating from cuttings is an essential gardening skill.

Things You'll Need

• Knife
• Water
• Rooting hormone
• Potting soil
• Pot with drainage holes

Instructions

1. Make a 6-inch cutting from a healthy, well-established rose bush. Select a pencil-sized stem and make the cut at a 45-degree angle.

2. Dip the cut end of the stem into water, then immediately into rooting hormone. Rooting hormone is available from most gardening centers.

3. Pour potting soil into a container with drainage holes at the bottom. Poke a hole into the soil using a pencil.

4. Insert half of the stem length into the potting soil. Pack the soil around the stem and then moisten the soil with water.

5. Keep the soil moist. Once new growth starts, the cutting has taken root.

References

• "Rose Ecstasy"; Grandma's Mason Jar, Propagating Roses by Rooted Cuttings; Kitty Belendez; September 2000
• North Carolina State University; Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings: Instructions for the Home Gardener; Erv Evans, et al.; January 1999
• University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Tulare-Kings Co.; Propagating Roses from Cuttings