How to Start Roses from Clippings
Anyone can start a rose from clippings. They do not need to be started "from scratch." Simply get a few cuttings from someone's roses and you can grow your own! Here is how to start roses from clippings:
What you'll need
- Some Rose clippings
- A garden cutter
- Some empty jars or bottles
- Waste bags
Getting started
Simply Put It In The Ground:
Some people have been able to just put their cuttings into the ground and grow plants from those cuttings. This particular method is best for people who have fantastic soil and live in a milder climate.
The Mason Jar Method:
For people who do not have experience growing roses from clippings, this is probably the best way to start a rose from clippings. All you need are some cuttings from roses that you like and a clear jar that is about the size of a quart jar. If you do not have a jar, you can cut the bottom off of a two litter plastic bottle (the big soda bottles) and it will work just as well as the jar. Your cutting should be six inches long (or somewhere close to that). Take the leaves on the bottom off and put the stem into the ground or into a potting pot filled with soil and push it down two inches or so. The rest of the stem can be left sticking up above the dirt (or potting soil). Put the jar or your cut two liter bottle over the stem and leave it alone. Every once in a while water the dirt around the edge of the jar or bottle or else the cutting will dry out and die. After two months, the stem of the rose will begin to take root and eventually it will start leafing out. The best time of year to try this method of starting a rose from clippings is in early fall or in the spring. You can do this in the winter and summer if your climate is mild, but if you live in an area that gets above one hundred degrees in the summer and below thirty two degrees in the winter, you should only try to grow your cuttings in the fall or spring.
Sandwich Bags:
Fill small, two inch potting pots with soil and put the rose stem halfway into the soil. Then put the pot into a one gallon plastic bag (the Zip Lock kind work the best.) The trick with this method is to keep the tops of the bags from folding over. If the bags fold over, the air will not circulate and the cutting will rot. This method is the least successful, but worth a try.
Misting:
If you are very gung-ho in your attempts to start roses from clippings, you might want to start something called a misting bench. This bench can be kept out in the open or set up in an enclosed greenhouse. You might even want to try making a misting box. Your mister can be a manual mister or one that is automatically timed.
