Tammy Algood of the University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service explains how to propagate roses from cuttings. Begin by buying a good-quality potting soil or creating your own soilless mix by combining vermiculite, perlite and peat moss. Fill clean pots with the growing medium, and water them well. Roses can be propagated from hardwood or softwood cuttings. Here's how: Take hardwood cuttings gathered from pruning. The cuttings should be from healthy wood, and each 8" to 12" section should have several buds. Bury the entire cutting in an upright position. It's right side up if you see leaf scars under the buds and thorns pointing toward the ground. Cut off any wood showing above the soil surface. Plant more than one cutting to increase your chances of getting a viable one. Thoroughly saturate the potting mix, and label the pot with the variety's name and the date. Cover the pot with an opaque plastic bag to provide humidity. Don't use clear plastic: the pot will be placed in direct sunlight, and the heat could kill the new plant. Check the cutting about every two weeks, keeping the potting soil moist and the bag tightly in place. It takes about a year to develop a new plant from a hardwood cutting. It's easier and faster to propagate roses from softwood cuttings -- those taken from the current year's growth. Use soilless mix to pot your cuttings. Remove any leaves that would be below the level of the potting medium. Dip the bottom end of the cutting into water, then into rooting hormone. Place the prepared cutting in a well-watered pot, leaving the top few inches of the cutting, including some foliage, above the surface. Cover the cutting with a plastic bag. To keep the bag from touching the foliage, use chopsticks or bamboo stakes pushed into the soil as support for the plastic. To determine whether the cutting has taken root, tug on it gently. If it resists, roots have begun to grow. This method takes about six to eight weeks.
GUESTS :
Tammy Algood
UT Agricultural Extension Service
5201 Marchant Drive
Nashville, TN 37211-5201
Phone: 615-834-5162
Fax: 615-832-0043
Email: Talgood1@utk.edu
Website: http://www.utextension.utk.edu
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