How I Propagate Roses (and Boxwood!) From Cuttings

Hi guys! Are you ready for that post I promised on how I propagate my roses from cuttings? Finally, right? I know, I stink at consistently writing “how-to” type posts; I think they’re going to take away my blogger card. They’re tough for me but I’ll get over it!

I’m excited to share this how-to, though, because if you’re like me, you’ve had inconsistent results at propagating your own roses from cuttings. I tried lots of techniques (and really, there is no right or wrong way to do this) but my main problem was that my cuttings were rotting before they took root. Once I tweaked my steps just a little bit, things started to come together and my success rate went from sporadic at best to about 90%! It was a great summer!

Here are the products I used: Vermiculite, Perlite, CowPots, Rooting Hormone Powder, sharp Bonsai Scissors, Trays, Buckets, Popsicle Sticks, Permanent Marker, Pencil. 

Part 1: TAKE CUTTINGS:

Step 1 – Mix vermiculite & perlite in a bucket using a 1:1 ratio

– Remember I showed you how to root lavender cuttings? This is the same technique!

Photo above: mix your vermiculite and perlite. I am using a tree cookie “scoop” in this photo but you can use a trowel, your hands, a spoon…whatever you have to hand.

Step 2 – Prepare CowPots

– Just as you did with the lavender cuttings, fill your CowPots with your vermiculite/perlite mixture and wet down until it looks like packed, wet beach sand. I like to put my CowPots in a tray first, so it can catch the water and keep the cuttings in their pots from drying out. I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of this step but it’s pretty self-explanatory. Oops, I forgot to mention that I use whatever size CowPot I happen to have on hand, but I like the 3″ size the best for this type of thing. Also, it’s OK to fill each pot pretty high because it will settle and you want to gently firm it down after it’s been watered in.

– Take a pencil and poke a hole 1-2″ deep in the center of each CowPot to get it ready for the cutting.

Step 3 – Take cuttings

– Timing: When to take your cuttings? I sometimes get them as early as the first signs of spring. Why is that? Because that’s when the rabbits in our garden start going crazy and biting everything they can get their little mouths on. I hate seeing a rose cane just lying there and not go to some use so I’ll start rooting it even before it’s leafed out completely. Most of the time, though, I like to take my cuttings immediately after the first flowering which for us is early June for the OGR’s and late June for the Moderns. Last summer, I got so rooting happy that I was taking some as late as August but that’s probably not recommended and it really depends on your climate zone.

– Many of you have already done this before, so forgive me if I’m telling you something you already know, but there is a method to selecting the best cuttings for rooting. First, you want to take a stem from last year’s growth and one that you know has flowered. (If you’re doing this as the rose is breaking dormancy in early spring, look for the decayed flowers/hips of previous year.) Trying to root a cane that’s brand new will usually lead to it rotting. A cane that’s already had a season under it’s belt has a better chance of success. See following photo for an example of a ‘Petite Lisette’ cane which has finished flowering and is ready to be cut.

– Next, when you make your cut, do so at “the heel” of the stem–that is where it meets the main branch. Is it necessary to always take a cutting at the heel? Nope! But there is a larger quantity of cells at this “heel” and I’ve found better success of it taking root. See following photo…

Step 4 – Prepare cuttings

– If I’m doing a lot of cuttings at once, I might carry a bucket of water with me and drop them in as I go so they don’t dry out. (Those plastic plant tags are good to use in a case like this so you know what’s what.) Usually, though, I’m only doing a couple at a time so I take my cuttings immediately over to my work station and wet them down with the hose.

– Next, I snip off the bottom leaves and the bit that’s flowered from the top leaving just 2-3 leaf sets. See photos above where I show the parts to snip off.

– Then, I take the sharp edge of my scissors and gently scrape the outer layer of the stem on the very bottom where I’ll be dipping into the rooting hormone. I scrape only about 1/2″ up from the bottom (where the heel of the stem met the main branch) and just enough to expose the lighter layer beneath. Some people like to remove the thorns, too, and that’s cool if you do, but I don’t bother. If they pop off on their own then OK. See photo below of a stem I took just this morning. Normally I wouldn’t take cuttings so early in the season but I forgot to take photos of this step last year. See notes above as to when to best take your cuttings.

– Last, I wet the end and dip into the rooting powder blowing off the excess (too much powder can actually inhibit rooting) so it’s just a light film-like coating. It’s best to not dip straight into the rooting hormone container so you don’t contaminate it for next time but instead put what you’re going to need in a separate dish. In this case, do as I say not as I do. 😉 Normally I wouldn’t take cuttings so early in the season but I forgot to take photos of this step last year. See notes above as to when to best take your cuttings.

Step 5 – Insert cuttings and label

-Are you still with me? Now we’re at the fun bit! Go ahead and gently insert your cutting into each prepared CowPot and firm the medium around the stem to hold it in place. Add a label (popsicle sticks work great for this) and give it another light watering. Please note that the following photo shows a lineup of some cuttings I took over the summer but this picture was taken without them in the tray and I want to stress that I do always use a tray to catch water and help keep cuttings from drying out.

Here’s another photo of some rose cuttings that I had taken along with some boxwood that I’ll talk more about at the end of this post. If you’re looking for copper trays, by the way, check Ebay. You can find some good deals and they look so much prettier than blah metal or plastic ones.

Part 2: MAINTAIN CUTTINGS:

– At this point, you might be thinking, “Hold up, when do you fashion some kind of greenhouse tent type thingy like say from the half of a soda bottle like you see on on those Pinterest pictures” and the answer is, I don’t. This is what was causing my rotting problem in the past, I’m fairly certain. See, we garden in a very humid climate so I decided to just let nature help me out with this one. My cuttings are placed on a potting bench in an area of the garden which is out of direct sunlight and near the hose so when I walk past I mist it over as needed to keep the pots from drying out completely. This is important: do not let the pots dry out. You can tell if the CowPots are still damp because the color will be a dark versus light brown. If you live in a dry climate, you may want to fashion some kind of greenhouse thingy around each cutting to keep humidity levels up so please, by all means, research what other rose-gardeners are doing in your area!

– Don’t be afraid if the leaves you left on the cutting start to fall off. This happens sometimes and they will regrow from the bud eye once the cutting takes root. As long as the cutting isn’t rotting, it’s doing it’s thing.

– After several weeks, and this depends on the variety of rose as some will root faster than others, check the bottoms of the CowPots and if you see tiny roots poking out start doing your happy dance because you did it! You’ve successfully rooted a rose!

Part 3: POT UP ROOTED CUTTINGS:

– Using a soil mix of your choosing, like this one, pot up your cuttings into a larger container–a 1 gallon pot is my preferred size. Drop the entire CowPot in–just as you would if you were planting a peat pot. Easy-peasy and it doesn’t disturb the root system! Don’t use a “chemical” fertilizer as it is too powerful for the new roots and may kill your rose. Compost tea and good soil is all you’ll need.

– Bring your potted rose out to a sunny location now and at this point I like to go ahead and start watering it with compost tea just as I would the rest of my container roses. (Alfalfa tea is also good stuff, too!) The following photo is of ‘Celsiana’ after she was rooted/potted up and brought to a sunny location. Note the leaf set on top is the original and the younger leaves on bottom are newly formed.

– Just like when I pot up my banded roses, these roses grown from cuttings need to stay in a container for at least a year before they are mature enough to be added to the garden. They will also need winter protection that first year just like larger container roses. The photo below shows some Dr. Van Fleet roses (on table) that I rooted for some family members. This photo was taken the year after they were rooted/potted up and ready to be planted out into the garden.

Phew! When I started this post I didn’t think it would be so epic! But I hope that I have helped and answered any questions that you might have and again, I want to stress that this method is simply one that has worked for me. There are lots of ways to go about it and no “right way” so find what works best for you!

Oh, PS, this method also works really well if you’re thinking of taking boxwood cuttings. Actually, it’s even easier with Boxwood, because 1: you don’t need to cut at the “heel” of the branch, and 2: you can stuff a bunch of stems into a container filled with your vermiculite/perlite mix to maximize space. When the roots start poking out of the bottom, gently remove the stems and pot up in individual 4″ size containers like I show here in the following photo…

Best of luck and happy rooting!

{EDIT PART 1: I’ve recently been introduced to these starter plugs which have been utilized with great success by other propagators and I plan on giving them a try. I’ll report back with my findings!} 

{EDIT PART 2: Reporting back with my findings! OK, I tried those starter plugs and hated them. Well, that’s too strong of a word, but they were definitely not my cup of tea. I’m back to using my cowpots and vermiculite/perlite mixture and all is well in the world again.}