How to start roses from clippings

How to Propagate Roses From Stem Cuttings

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.

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Updated on 10/18/22

Reviewed by

Julie Thompson-Adolf

Reviewed by Julie Thompson-Adolf

Julie Thompson-Adolf is a Master Gardener and author. She has 30+ years of experience with year-round organic gardening; seed starting and saving; growing heirloom plants, perennials, and annuals; and sustainable and urban farming.

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The Spruce / Claire Cohen

In This Article

When to Propagate
Before Getting Started
FAQ

Project Overview

Propagating herbaceous plants is often done by rooting green stem cuttings, but the process can also be successful with woody-stemmed plants, including some roses. Rooting stem cuttings of roses and other woody plants works best with so-called "wild" or "native" pure species, rather than hybrid shrubs. That's because many hybrids are created through a grafting process in which branches from showy but delicate species are melded onto rootstock from a sturdier species.

The result of grafting can be a spectacular plant with exceptional root hardiness. But if you propagate a new plant from a branch clipping, it will lack the parent plant's root hardiness. Thus, it's best to use stem clippings only to propagate non-grafted roses, which include many so-called shrub roses.

The stem clipping method is a bit tricky with woody plants, and you should expect that several attempts will end in failure. Take extra cuttings to ensure you have at least a few viable prospects. Still, if you take your cuttings from a healthy rose plant and follow the proper steps to root them, your odds of developing new plants will be high.

What Is a Shrub Rose?

The term "shrub rose" is defined by the American Rose Society (ARS) as “a class of hardy, easy-care plants that encompass bushy roses that do not fit in any other category of rose bush.” Many people use the term to refer to any type of non-hybrid rose, but there are several types of hybrid roses that do fit into the ARS's definition of shrub roses, including Moyesi hybrids, hybrid musk roses, Kordesii roses, English roses, and Knock Out roses. These join the many native rose species to form the category of shrub roses. However, any of these hybrid roses described as an "own-root" rose rather than a grafted rose may lend itself to successful propagation from stem cuttings.

When to Propagate a Rose by Stem Cuttings

Rooting a stem cutting can be done almost any time, but cuttings taken from new growth that has recently flowered (rather than old, hardened wood) are more likely to root successfully. Spring or fall is the best time to take softwood stem cuttings. Select them in the early morning hours when the plant is well hydrated. Moreover, avoid taking cuttings when your plant is heavily blooming. At this time, the plant is putting most of its energy into flower production rather than root development, so cuttings won't readily root.

Before Getting Started

Sharp pruners are necessary when taking rose cuttings. Dull tools can crush the rose's woody stems instead of forming a clean slice, which can make the cutting susceptible to fungal rot. Furthermore, make sure to clean your pruners before and after each cutting to avoid transmitting any diseases.

Be patient when growing roses from cuttings. It can take several years for your new rose to produce flowers.

Click Play to Learn How to Grow Roses From Cuttings

Equipment / Tools

Pruning shears

Materials

Mature rose plant for cuttings
Powdered rooting hormone
Plant pot
Sand and vermiculite or a rose potting mixture
Plastic bag or plastic wrap

The Spruce / Michela Buttignol

Take Cuttings

Start by taking a 12-inch segment of a new stem that has recently bloomed, cutting it from the plant at a 45-degree angle. The stem should be about the width of a pencil. The best cuttings for rooting usually come from the sides of the bush, rather than the center.

Remove any flowers or flower buds along the cut stem. Flowers or buds on the cut branch will consume energy, and you want to encourage the stem to refocus its survival energy on sending out new roots. If you're taking multiple cuttings, place them in a container of water to keep them hydrated until you're ready to propagate them.

The Spruce / Claire Cohen
Remove Most Leaves

Remove all but the top two sets of leaves on the stem. Then, cut off the remaining portion of the stem just above this top set of leaves. Removing the excess leaves will help the cutting divert its energy to root production.
Prepare the Stem for Rooting

Using sharp pruning shears, make a fresh cut on the bottom of the stem just below a stem node (a bump where new growth typically forms). Then, slice into the bottom of the stem about a 1/4 inch up, splitting the stem into open quarters.

Apply Rooting Hormone

Although not absolutely necessary, applying a rooting hormone can help spur your rose plant into developing new roots. Rooting hormones can be found in powder, liquid, and gel form—you'll have the best success with the powder version when working with roses. To apply, slightly moisten the split end of the rose cutting, and then dip it into the powdered rooting hormone. Shake off any excess.
Plant the Cutting

Fill a small pot with at least 6 inches of a potting mix formulated especially for roses. Poke a hole in the potting medium, and then insert the stem sliced-side down, taking care not to rub off the rooting hormone. Gently pack the soil around the stem, and water well.

The Spruce / Claire Cohen
Cover the Cutting

Loosely cover the cutting, pot and all, with a plastic bag or plastic wrap to help retain soil moisture. Be sure not to let the plastic touch any remaining leaves on the stem, which can cause them to remain wet and susceptible to fungal disease. Putting a tall stake into the pot can help hold the plastic away from the leaves. The bag also needs to be slightly vented, so condensation can escape—if you seal the bag too tightly, the stem can rot. Place the cutting under grow lights or near a bright window.
Monitor the Cutting

Keep the soil moist until roots begin to form, which usually takes about two weeks. Check for roots by gently tugging on the stem—if there's resistance, roots are probably present.

Your cutting can be transplanted into a pot or the ground as soon as the roots are firmly established or when new leaf sprouts begin to appear along the stem. Make sure to harden off the new rose—i.e., gradually expose it to outdoor conditions—before planting outside.

The Spruce / Claire Cohen

How to Prepare for Rose Bloom Season

Grow Roses from Cuttings: 2 Best Ways to Propagate!

How to grow roses from cuttings easily! Compare the BEST & worst ways to propagate in water or soil, using potatoes, & root by air layering.

Maybe it’s a beautiful rose plant in the garden that you want to multiply, or a Valentines rose bouquet that you want to grow into more roses, it’s easy to want more colorful and gorgeous rose bushes and vines in our homes and gardens.

Many plant lovers have tried to grow roses from cuttings. There are many rose propagation methods such as rooting in soil or water, air layering, and some even try to grow rose cuttings in potatoes! Some of these methods are great, some actually don’t work very well.

Today we are going to compare which ways are the best and easiest to propagate roses from either a plant, cut flowers or even a bouquet. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more roses in our gardens or as gifts to share with friends? 🙂

Can you propagate patented roses?

* Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here .

A plant patent lasts for 20 years, after which the plant is allowed to be propagated.

If the roses are patented within the last 20 years, it is illegal to propagate the rose without the consent of the patent holder. ( Source )

However, there are endless varieties of roses you CAN propagate. For example, the famous “New Dawn” and “Charlotte Armstrong” roses were patented over 50 years ago, and old-fashioned heirloom roses often root easier than modern hybrids.

Now you know which roses not to propagate, let’s look at the best and easiest methods to root rose cuttings! ( Source )

Best time to grow roses from cuttings

The best time to grow roses from cuttings is from spring through summer, when flexible new stems (current year’s growth) are actively growing. They are called softwood cuttings, who are the fastest and easiest to root when you select healthy stems.

Look at all the beautiful rooted rose cuttings by Vuon & Nha on YouTube! Video tutorial below:

The next best are semi-hardwood cuttings, taken in late summer and early fall, when new stems have partially matured.

Hardwood cuttings are most difficult type of cutting to root. They are taken in late fall or early winter, when the rose stems have matured and entered dormancy.

Grow roses from cuttings by air layering

Air layering is a fascinating propagation method being used for thousands of years! Nowadays there are easy products like these reusable air layering pods you can get, or make your own with simple materials such as small water bottles or plastic bags.

Air layering is the BEST way to propagate roses (and many woody plants) if the rose bush or vine that you want to multiply is already growing in your garden or in a friend’s garden. You don’t even have to use rooting powder with this method.

The best time for air layering roses is in late spring or summer when the weather is warm and the rose bushes are actively growing. ( Air layering rose video tutorial below. )

Select a stem that is about the thickness of a pencil and longer than a foot. Take a clean sharp knife, find a spot at about 1 foot for the top tip of the stem, remove leaves and thorns around this area, peel off about a 1 inch section of the green bark tissue to get to white wood.

You can also make a 2” long cut along the middle of the stem, and insert a little piece of plastic straw to prop the cut open, like shown in the above video tutorial by Vuon & Nha.

Don’t cut too deeply into the stem or it could break.

Dust the cut area with rooting hormone. You can skip this, but rooting hormone does help speeding up the process.

Next, make a 3” to 4” size pouch using either plastic wrap or a small plastic bottle filled with moist peat moss, coir, or potting soil. Coco coir is a great medium to root rose cuttings. It is sustainable and clean, which is important for propagation.

The cut area should be completely covered with enough room for roots to develop. Video tutorial below by Vuon & Nha.

Secure top and bottom with strings or twist-tie (Not too tight so the plant can grow and expand). You can also use these reusable air layering pods.

Because the stem is still attached to the mother plant, it is receiving water and nutrients as the new roots are growing from the cut area. This greatly increases the propagation success rate to nearly 100%!

Most rose plants show their white roots in 3 – 5 weeks. When you see good root system develops with lots of healthy roots, clip the stem off below the layer.

Gently remove ties and covers. Carefully plant your new rose plants and keep them well watered and protected from direct sunlight for a couple of weeks so it can adapt.

Grow roses from cuttings in soil or medium

Fill some clean pots or containers rooting mix and water well so it’s moist and fully hydrated. You can use clean potting soil or a soil-less mix such as clean sand, peat moss, perlite, or Coco coir. ( Photo by Hedgerow Rose)

IMPORTANT: The containers should have drainage holes and never sit in water for too long. ( Photo by Grownups )

Coco coir is a great medium to root rose cuttings. It is sustainable and clean, which is important for propagation.

Take rose cuttings only from healthy plants that are well watered. Choose fresh healthy rose stems newly grown from the woody base, with at least 3-5 leaf nodes on the stem. Cut near the base at a 45-degree angle. Put cut stems in water immediately.

Video tutorial by Vuon & Nha on YouTube. How to propagate rose cuttings in coco coir!

Cut longer stem into 6 inch to 8 inch long, and make sure each cutting have at least 3 nodes – where leaf meets stem. Remove all flower buds and leaves except for one set of leaves at the top of each cutting.

Dip the cutting’s bottom half in the rooting hormone powder or gel. Use a pencil to make a planting hole 3 to 4 inches deep in your rooting mix. Plant the rose cutting into the hole so at least two nodes are covered.

Keep the cuttings in a warm and bright place away from direct sun. Water when the rooting mix start to feel dry on the top inch. Pamela at Flower Patch farm used recycled coffee cups (above) and large jars (below ) as humidity tent. Such great ideas!

You can also use a propped- up plastic bag or a mini greenhouse. Here are 45 best DIY greenhouses you can make from tiny to big!

If you live in a warm humid climate with a shaded outdoor area, you can skip the humidity cover. ( Photo below by Hartwood Roses )

Most softwood rose cuttings will root within 2 to 6 weeks. If you see healthy leaves growing, and feel some resistance when you very gently tug on the cuttings (don’t do this too soon!) , it’s likely they have rooted.

Here’s a YouTube tutorial by Mike on how to use a humidity cover made from plastic bottles.

Now you can remove the humidity tent and let them grow for a couple more weeks before transplanting the cuttings. Below is another propagation example by Lilisim.

Can you root rose cuttings in water?

Rose cuttings do not propagate well in just water. Some cuttings will root, but the success rate is usually about 20%, while you can get 80% success by propagating rose cuttings in soil medium or by layering.

The rose cuttings tend to take a long time to root in water, and is prone to rotting.

However, some favorite plants can root very easily in water! Here are a couple of tutorials on how to propagate Fiddle Leaf Fig or Hydrangea cuttings in soil or water with almost 100% success!

Hydrangeas are some of the easiest flowers to propagate! Tutorial here!

Can you grow rose cuttings using potatoes?

There are many viral images of rose cuttings in potatoes, but I have not seen any scientific or real life evidence of potatoes or dipping in honey making rose cuttings grow more quickly or successfully.

On the contrary, there are many reports of failures from gardeners who actually tried to grow rose cuttings in potatoes.

The potatoes may grow roots, which will not magically become rose roots. The rose cuttings need a medium that holds moisture and air, which isn’t really what a potato does.

That’s it! Use the first 2 methods, and happy gardening! 🙂

How to grow a rose from cuttings from a bouquet and get a luxuriously blooming bush

No one will argue that roses are very elegant and beautiful, so every grower tries to plant at least a few bushes of these beautiful plants on the plot. Often the passion for this flower turns into a mania - I want to collect all the known varieties on the site, be the first to purchase varietal novelties, and having received a bouquet of exquisite roses as a gift, I feel like rooting the cuttings. By the way, if you do it right, you can get young plants for the garden from a bouquet of roses. Rose propagation is the topic of this article.

Growing roses from cuttings: planting agrotechnics

A beautiful bouquet, which fascinates with its unusual color or elegant shape, may well serve as planting material for obtaining new plants for the garden. And even a beginner can root a rose cutting from a bouquet.

The algorithm for planting cuttings is quite simple, but the preparation of the material for planting is of great importance. You should not choose flowers with a completely lignified or weak stem, you must choose strong cuttings for planting that have living leaves and buds that have begun to form a young bark.

If the bouquet has stood in a vase for several days and the water has not been changed during this time, such cuttings are not suitable for rooting, because pathogenic microbes have already climbed high up the stem. It is best not to delay the procedure by cutting the petioles from a fresh bouquet. Cut off flower heads can be placed in a low vase with water, which will prolong the freshness of the petals for a while and allow you to admire the gift longer.

Huge, magical, imported roses are not suitable for cuttings, because before being sent to the distribution network, these flowers are treated with chemicals to preserve freshness. The best option is to cut local fresh roses from a bouquet that has not been in a vase.

Fresh flowers should be soaked overnight in cold water before cutting. The lower cuttings are cut to 1.2-2 cm. This procedure will allow you to nourish the flowers with moisture, improve the turgor of the leaves.

Important! The best results are achieved when cutting roses with red and pink flowers. Worse cuttings are yellow and white roses.

Bouquet roses can be rooted from the first days of summer until September. It is best to perform the operation in natural conditions. In winter, it is also possible to root bouquet roses, but in this case there are many complications: cuttings of fresh flowers easily freeze, during the rooting period, the rooting material should be highlighted.

Roses from cuttings from a bouquet: preparation for planting

Roses selected for propagation should be properly prepared for planting:

Remove buds and flowers.
Cut cuttings from the middle part of the stem (length from 15 cm, but not more than 30 cm).
Remove lower leaves completely, cut upper leaves in half.
Remove spikes.

Important! Cuttings are left with 2-3 buds, the lower part is cut at 45 degrees under the lower bud (indentation - 1 cm). The upper cut is straight, directly above the kidney.

It is useful to soak the lower sections in a solution of biostimulants, for which they use epin, honey, aloe or potato juice, after which the cuttings are planted in water, soil or grown in another way.

Ways of rooting pink cuttings

Method	Description
In potato tuber	Potato tubers of medium size are disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate, after drying, a hole is made in each, into which cuttings are inserted, previously treated with Kornevin. Dig a groove in the garden (up to 15 cm deep) and cover the bottom with sand. Potatoes with cuttings are placed on a layer of sand, after which the grooves are covered with fresh soil. Landings are covered with individual transparent containers or arrange a general film shelter. Rooting can last from 2 to 3 weeks, during this period the covering film is not removed, but short-term daily ventilation is carried out.
In water	The lower parts of the cuttings are immersed in a container with clean water, a complete water change is carried out once every 2 days. If putrefactive processes occur, the container is washed, scalded with boiling water and treated with potassium permanganate, after which the cuttings are placed there again. Rooting lasts 15-20 days, the cuttings are transplanted into the ground when a visible callus is formed.
In the ground	Choose a fertile garden bed in a quiet, windless place. A trench is prepared, which is covered with sand by 5 cm. The cuttings are placed in the sand and sprinkled with soil, covered with a jar on top or arrange a common greenhouse. Some amateurs leave young plants under a jar for the whole winter, carrying out additional warming, in this case, in the spring, the seedlings are carefully accustomed to fresh air. With this cultivation of young rose bushes from bouquet flowers, planting in the fall is possible, but you should not delay the procedure until frost.

Young overwintered plants are planted in a permanent place with the onset of stable heat. In the middle lane, this time falls on April-early May. In the first year, young roses can give one or two flowers, but to strengthen the bushes, it is better not to bloom, and to cut off the buds.

Planting young plants in the spring has its advantages - during the season the bushes will gain strength, get stronger and prepare themselves for wintering.

What to do if a bouquet of charming roses was given in cold weather, but you really want to get such a variety? It doesn't matter, you can prepare cuttings and save them until better times.

How to keep rose cuttings until spring? The answer is simple - you can use a simple method of storage in the ground.

Dig a deep hole (up to 70 cm) in a dry spot in the garden.
Transfer the cuttings with a dry cloth.
Fill the hole with leaf litter, insulate with foam, boards, insulation films and fill with soil.
In winter, you can additionally cover this place with snow.

Under room conditions, cuttings are stored at a temperature of +3+5C in a cellar or refrigerator, they are placed in peat or moss. Humidity must be maintained at about 70-75%.

If everything is done correctly, in a year new roses will thrive in your garden, giving their fragrant graceful flowers. The queen of flowers grown from a bouquet is a reality that will help you get exclusive plants of high decorativeness for mere pennies.

Published: 11 Aug 2020

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Thank you very much for the appreciation of our materials, which we constantly publish on our blog. We are pleased with the number of applications with a variety of questions.

Over the past month, we have received more than a dozen requests to tell us how to properly grow a rose from a cutting and what difficulties may arise in doing so. In this article, we will try to answer all your questions in as much detail as possible.

A friend of mine has a stunning tall rose bush with huge bright golden pink flowers growing on her property. We do not know what kind and variety it is, most likely a park rose. But I saw such large and beautiful flowers only in hybrid tea varieties.

A friend promised me to cut several cuttings from this bush, but we do not know when and how to do it correctly. Tell us about it, please.

Maria Zadorozhnaya, Moscow

Park rose cuttings take root very well if they are properly prepared. Shrub roses are cut in mid or late May, when warm weather sets in.

Can be cut both in summer (in cool weather) and in autumn (if it is no longer possible to get rare cuttings). Each case has its own characteristics. But in October, with the advent of autumn cold weather, it is better not to do this. Wait for spring.

Only freshly cut cuttings are suitable for rooting. Choose a strong semi-lignified shoot of the current year. Cut out from its middle or base a cutting 15–20 long and 0.8 cm thick with four formed buds.

Make the top cut horizontal above the top bud, the bottom cut at a 45 degree angle below the bottom bud. At the bottom of the cutting, remove the leaves and thorns. And shorten a couple of top leaves by half. It is absolutely impossible to cut off the upper leaves.

The cutting tool (pruner, garden knife) must be very sharp so as not to jam the delicate wood. Immediately after cutting, disinfect the cuttings in a raspberry potassium permanganate solution.

Cover the upper cut of the cutting with garden pitch or wax.

Then immerse the cutting in the biogrowth stimulator to form roots. For this, solutions of aloe, Zircon or Kornevin preparations, honey water (2 teaspoons per liter jar of water), or yeast extract (dilute 100 g of yeast in 1 liter of water by adding a tablespoon of sugar) are suitable.

After two weeks, roots will appear on the cuttings, and they can be carefully planted in open fertile soil, covered with a three-liter jar or plastic bottle with a cut neck on top until two true leaves are formed.

In hot weather, protective containers should be covered from above with paper or a white cloth.

How to plant and care for roses in the future, as well as the best varieties from our collection, read the article "Frost-resistant roses in your garden. "

I have heard that cuttings are the best way to propagate roses. Is it so? And yet - what types of roses can be cuttings?

Andrey Golubev, Ufa

If this operation is carried out correctly, then own-rooted roses grown from cuttings have a number of advantages over grafted plants.

Firstly, they do not degenerate into rose hips, which are usually the rootstock for cultivars of roses. Secondly, such roses retain all the varietal characteristics of the parent variety: overall dimensions, color and shape of flowers, their aroma, etc.

Own-rooted roses are more durable, they have higher frost and disease resistance. Their survival rate is higher (more than 85 percent).

Cuttings can be used to propagate bush, climbing, miniature, ground cover, polyanthus and even some hybrid tea roses.

By the way, you can bring a cutting of a rose you like very much home, for example, from vacation. To do this, you need to take a medium-sized raw potato, stick the sharp lower end of the handle into it, wrap it in a paper bag and wrap it with a film on top, after making holes in it.

Such a cutting can be stored for more than two weeks at a temperature of +2…+3 degrees.

Everyone I know tells me that cut rose cuttings must first be placed in water, and planted in the ground only when they grow roots. Is it not possible to just cut the cuttings immediately planted in the ground?

Galina Parshina, Ulan-Ude

Of course you can. Growing cuttings in the ground is the most well-known method for cuttings. You can plant them in separate pots, or you can directly on the greenhouse bed.

Sprinkle the earth well with water, and plant the cut cuttings in this mushy soil with the sharp end down, deepening the two lower buds and leaving two more on the surface. The air temperature in the greenhouse or in the room should be 25 - 26 degrees.

Top your plantings with a plastic bottle or 3 liter jar. Keep the soil constantly moist. When young leaves appear on the handle, remove the shelter. In addition to watering under the root, spray young plants with water entirely from a spray bottle.

This is how you can grow a rose from cuttings very easily.

I work as a school teacher. Sometimes for the holidays they give me very beautiful roses, and it hurts me to tears that I don’t grow such roses. I heard that you can cut off such a flower, root it, and then plant it in your garden. How to do it?

Tatyana Sokolova, Chelyabinsk

Yes, this is possible. You need to do this in the following way. Dip your bouquet entirely in clean water (in a bucket, or in a bathtub if the stems of the roses are very long) so that the tissues of the cut flowers are saturated with water.

Since cuttings of already cut roses are weaker than those cut from the bush, make them shorter (on average 10 cm long). And there should be no more than two developed kidneys on them.

Cuttings are taken from the middle of the stem, cutting them in the same way as from a bush. From above, make a horizontal cut, from below - at an angle of 45 degrees under the lower kidney.

Only germinate cuttings in moist soil. In water, they may not have enough strength to form roots. The cuttings are planted not at an angle, but vertically, deepening the lower bud into a highly moistened soil. The top kidney remains above the ground.

Place a plastic bottle or jar over each pot, leaving it on until 2-3 young leaves appear on the handle.

For the rest, a bouquet rose from a cutting is grown in the same way as one that is cut from a bush.

I heard about autumn cuttings of roses. Is there really such a thing? Why is it done and how is it carried out?

Semyon Lebedev, Sverdlovsk region

Yes, such cuttings exist.