Polk County Master Gardeners
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Cuttings from Antique Roses
One of the greatest things about the Master Gardener program is that there is
almost always someone available who knows something about the particular
question you have and is willing to share the information. Today I’m borrowing
expertise from Carol Williamson to pass along to you.
Have you ever driven past an abandoned farmhouse and seen a huge rosebush
covered with blooms? The fact that the rose could survive the years of neglect
it must have encountered is one of the attractions of antique roses for those of
us who are not blessed with time and energy to grow modern hybrid roses,
beautiful as they are.
Another charm for me is that they can be easily grown from cuttings. There
are just a few things you need to remember:
1. Ask permission before you take cuttings and offer to root some extras
for the owner.
2. Take your cuttings from stems that have recently bloomed. Remove flower
heads down to the first healthy set of leaves and remove all leaves below the
top 3 or 4. Your cuttings should be 6 to 8 inches long and cut at a 45-degree
angle.
3. Make sure your cutting does not dry out and is not exposed to extreme
heat or cold.
4. Amend the soil for rooting your cuttings with compost and/or peat moss.
5. Make a hole 3 or 4 inches deep for each cutting. A pencil works well for
this.
6. Dip the cutting in a rooting powder, shake off the excess, and place it
carefully in one of the holes you have made. Press the soil firmly around the
cutting.
7. Keep the cuttings well watered.
8. Be patient - it will take many weeks for roots to develop and the cuttings
to begin producing new leaves.
Your cuttings will do much better if you give them light, but not direct
sunlight. Wait until the following year to transplant them to a sunny location
where they will have good soil, good drainage, plenty of sun, and plenty of
room. Remember the size of that old rosebush you fell in love with? That 6-inch
cutting will grow rapidly and you want to give it lots of elbow room.
Remember that you cannot successfully root cuttings from hybrid roses - only
the old fashioned ones that grow on their own roots.
By Barbara M. Tobias
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