How to take Rose Cuttings.

I have been following a facebook conversation with Honey and Spice

(www.honeyandspice.co.nz/) - a gorgeous little artisan soap company here in coastal Otago – about a beautiful striped rose that had flowered in her garden for the first time. I'm pretty sure the rose is one called "Scentimental" which I have grown from a cutting from my mother's plant.  The question was how to take rose cuttings so I thought I would put up a post about roses and how I take cuttings. 

Back last century I had a lovely rambling country garden north-west of Auckland and had a lot of old fashioned roses. Back then I could identify just about any of them but I have forgotten a lot in the meantime. I still love them and will be planting more on our property. Old fashioned roses do grow easily from cuttings and most actually prefer to grow on their own roots. Plus most are public domain so you won’t be breaking any laws if you take cuttings.  Many old roses would not have survived if we didn’t have enthusiasts like Toni Sylvester and Nancy Steen (among many) taking cuttings from cemeteries and old gardens.  Most modern roses you buy from shops are grafted onto suitable root stock. However it is fun to give it a go and so here’s what I do.

I take cuttings about the size of a pencil in February once the wood is semi-ripened.  Take half a dozen or so and cut the base on an angle and the top square. Trim the top to about a centimetre from a bud. I do use rooting hormone now but didn’t always. Some people use willow-steeped water and apparently you can use potatoes as well. Haven’t heard of that one but sounds like its worth a try!  I take several cuttings at a time because not only does the probability of success improve but some kind of chemical reaction takes place that increases the strike rate.  Maybe they share hormones. Dip the end in the rooting hormone and push into a pot of riversand cutting mix or you can use potting mix too. I then put a plastic shopping bag over the whole lot (to ensure the right humidity), put the pot into an icecream container, water it and leave it in a sheltered patch near the potting table. I have quite good success from that method. My mother used to stick them in the ground by the outdoor tap in a bit of shade and had good success with that. Nothing to lose so try it!

Striped roses have always been a favourite for me.  I love the old paintings with striped roses in and one of my favourite fabrics is a Sanderson print with roses just like that. There are a few classic old striped roses like Rosa Mundi and others. Scentimental is a more modern one which grows more like a pillar rose here in NZ. I have seen in climbing up a big shrub in a garden near here.