Propogating store bought roses...

Has anybody here successfully done this before?

I've been playing with cloning some of my plants and would love to have a nice potted rose bush next to my front door, but I'm curious to know how well this might work.

I started propogation yesterday, cut the rose down to about 6", stuck it in a jar of honey, and slapped it into the dirt. I ended up choosing honey instead of the hormone blend because after a lot of research, it sounded like a good alternative with about the same success rate.

Anyway, today the rose flower is floppy (which I kind of expected would happen) so I'm wondering if this is possible, or if I should just go get a cutting from a friend's bush.

I hear they put wax on store bought roses to make them last longer, so my thinking is that would impede rooting of any kind.

Any thoughts would be great!

well the only thing ive cloned was a tomatoe that stem broke and all i did was out it in water and 3 weeks later roots. and now its got 7 tomaotes on it. well ive never heard of using hunny. but did you cut slots in the stem and only put the hunny on the sides and not covering the bottom for water to still come up.

No, I just cut at a 45 degree angle on the bottom, used the honey, and put it into dirt.

I had read about air layering in one of my gardening books... but it did a piss poor job of explaining what it did and why, so I didn't think to do it. That sounds like what you're talking about.

no, layering is when you block light to a the stem of a lower branch completely. after a period of time, advantageous roots will appear on the branch where the light is blocked. then you can cut the live branch off the plant, and pot it directly into soil.

Hmm... That makes a lot of sense. I can really see that being useful.

+rep

IAm5toned is correct. If you have a flexible stem bend a portion of it down into the soil and stake that part down so that it stays under the soil. Leave the tip of the stem, with the leaves exposed and facing vertically up out of the soil. The area of the stem that is staked, under the soil, will form roots. It's pretty simple, and usually works. Sometimes you have to stress that area for roots to form. If the stem is long enough you can bury multiple parts of it-- called serpentine layering. Good luck. Cheers.

MakinProgress, let me know if it works out for you, I'd be interested in trying it out

Dubious06 said:

Sometimes you have to stress that area for roots to form.

Click to expand...

Any thoughts on how you stress a certain part of the plant?

Sometimes you have to do what is called "wounding" to the area you'd like roots to grow. This means placing a small cut, or a notch, in the area you have under the soil. Typically when the plant works to heal that area it will also begin producing roots. Obviously cutting a plant can be harmful if done too much, but this is a great way to gets some roots going. You may have a little shock time, but it does work. Good luck MP, cheers.

Ive never used honey, but have had great success with rootone.

I usually take a cutting and then dip it in the powder just a bit more than Im planting making sure to cover the bud. Tap off the excess poke a hole in the soil place it in the soil past the bud and firm soil around it. Takes about 4 to six weeks to start showing signs of life. Poking hole in soil insures it wont be rubbed off.


I would guess that honey would take longer due to having lower hormone concentrations. My cuttings are not six inches and have no leaves. I get most of my rose canes from parks and folks in the neighborhood.