Why would you want to know how to root roses? There are more good reasons than you might imagine. Here are at least three:
It takes 4-6 weeks to root softwood cuttings and over the winter to root hardwood cuttings.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
- You can reproduce your favorite unpatented heritage, old garden, shrub and species roses using cuttings – for just pennies!
- If you create new hybrid rose varieties, you’ll need cuttings to grow the understock and standard “tree trunk” stock necessary for grafting with the hybrids. (Many hybrid roses lack robust and vigorous roots – they’re nearly always grafted to a sturdy and vigorous rootstock such as Rosa multiflora, Rosa fortuniana or the climbing rose ‘Dr. Huey’.)
- Rooted cuttings provide a way to reproduce unpatented rose varieties that are no longer commercially available.
No matter your reason, rooting softwood and hardwood cuttings is a reliable way to gain new plants for next to no cost. Softwood cuttings (which are used mainly for reproducing shrub and species roses) can be taken during the garden season, while hardwood cuttings (which are best for duplicating old garden and climbing roses) generally are rooted in fall for planting the following spring. Both methods are easy to master and similar in approach.
To grow softwood and hardwood cuttings, you’ll need plant rooting hormone (which you can find in most garden centers), a loose soil medium such as damp sand mixed with an equal part of peat moss, a container that’s 8 inches deep, tight-fitting plastic wrap, stakes and a pair of sharp bypass hand pruning shears. For hardwood cuttings, you’ll also need to find a cool, dark storage spot with a consistent temperature of 35-45 degrees F. (The vegetable drawer of a household refrigerator is ideal.)
You can propagate with softwood cuttings any time during the growing season from the completion of the first bloom until 2 months before the first fall frost. Just follow the steps shown in the pictures at the end of this article and described in their captions.
Hardwood cuttings should be taken in late fall by cutting into several pieces of cane from the parent rose. Cuttings should be 6 inches long and ½ an inch thick. Fill your storage container with soil mix and stand your cuttings in it. Push the cuttings down into the mix until their ends rest on the bottom of the container. Firm the soil around each cutting, leaving the top inch exposed. Moisten the soil thoroughly, allow it to drain, then wrap the container with plastic. Store it until spring in a cool, dark place.
When the weather warms in spring, remove the container with its budding rose plants from storage, place it in a warm spot with indirect or filtered sunlight, loosen the plastic, and water. Transplant your budding plants to the garden when outdoor soil temperatures reach at least 60 degrees F.
And you thought rooting roses was just for the professionals! It just takes a little knowledge, a little practice and a few (unpatented) roses.
Rooting Roses
Rooting Roses - Step 1
Begin your rooting project as a bloom cycle finishes, selecting strong canes. Take 6- to 8-inch-long cuttings each with a single 5-leaflet group. Strip off all the other leaflets.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Rooting Roses - Step 2
Dip the bottom of each cutting in rooting hormone to stimulate root formation at the cut end.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Rooting Roses - Step 3
Place your cuttings upright in a moist soil mix made of equal parts sand and potting soil or peat moss.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Rooting Roses - Step 4
Water, drain and then wrap the container loosely with plastic. Place it in a cool spot with indirect sunlight.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Rooting Roses - Step 5
New foliage and roots start to develop in 4-6 weeks. At 8 weeks, transplant the cuttings to a temporary garden bed with partial shade. Mulch heavily to protect them during their first winter. Move them to a permanent spot in your garden the following spring.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
