Hello everyone, I have a few questions about roses. One of my colleagues brought some really nice roses (and put them in a vase on her desk). Dark red, really cute! I would like to try to root some of them. I live in Romania, temperate climate, middle of the fall already. My parents have a house with a garden in the countryside. I have a few questions about this plan of mine: 1. is it the right time to do this? if not, when is it? spring? if still i wanna do it now, do i have chances to have some of the cuttings grow roots? 2. which one is better? in a clay flower pot with a plastic bottle on top? directly in the ground in the countryside? i am afraid winter is coming with below freezing temperatures and will kill them. 3. do i "steal" some of the cuttings and plant them right away? or i can wait till the petals fall and i can take them all? now one bud is completely open and the others are still young buds. 4. do rose cuttings root in water or i have to put them in flower mix? 5. how long can the cuttings be? right now they are about 30 cm long. sorry, we use cm here. about 12-15 inches. Any tips would be helpful... Thanks, Calin in Romania
Hello, Calin, and welcome to the Stew. I know nothing about roses, but I'm certain some of our members do.
Growing roses from cuttings is usually easy. In the fall or spring put the cut stem in the ground about half way. You'll need to keep it damp but not soaking until you see new leaves. As the weather gets cold cover the cutting with a large glass jar turned upside down. This acts as a green house. You may not see new growth until well into spring. If you have rooting powder available you can dust the bottom of the stem with it. It is available at most nurseries and very cheap. But it is not usually needed.
