Growing roses from cuttings offers a simple way to multiply your favorite plants without buying new ones. This method creates an exact genetic copy of the parent rose, ensuring the new plant will have the same bloom color, fragrance, and growth habit. Focusing on the easy-to-root “softwood” method allows gardeners to produce “own-root” roses, which are often hardier than commercially grafted varieties. This guide breaks down the process into simple, sequential steps.
Timing and Selecting the Best Cuttings
The highest success rate comes from taking softwood cuttings during the active growing season, typically from late spring through early summer. Softwood is the flexible, new growth of the current year that has not yet fully hardened into wood. This young material contains hormones that encourage rapid root development.
The ideal cutting is a healthy stem about the thickness of a pencil that has just finished producing a bloom. Stems in this stage have sufficient stored energy but remain pliable. Aim for cuttings between six and eight inches long, ensuring each piece contains at least three to five nodes (the small bumps where leaves emerge). Select cuttings from a well-hydrated parent plant, preferably in the morning.
Preparing Supplies and Rooting Medium
Gathering all necessary supplies ensures a smooth transition and reduces stress on the plant material. You will need sharp, clean bypass pruners or a knife to make precise cuts. Using a rooting hormone (available as a powder or liquid) significantly increases the speed and percentage of rooting success by providing synthetic auxins.
The rooting medium must offer excellent drainage and aeration to prevent the cutting from rotting. A simple blend is a 50/50 mix of sterile potting mix and perlite or coarse sand. Use a clean container, such as a four-inch pot with drainage holes, that is at least six inches deep to accommodate the full length of the cutting.
Step-by-Step Guide to Planting Cuttings
Prepare the cutting by trimming the bottom end with a 45-degree angled cut just below a node, as this is where root cells concentrate. Remove all leaves except for the top set, which continues photosynthesis. To encourage rooting, lightly scrape a small strip of bark about an inch long from the lower stem to expose the cambium layer.
If using rooting hormone, moisten the bottom inch of the stem and dip it into the powder or liquid, shaking off any excess. Use a pencil or stick to create a planting hole three to four inches deep in the rooting medium. This prevents the rooting hormone from being rubbed off the stem during insertion.
Carefully insert the cutting into the hole so that at least two nodes are buried beneath the soil surface, then gently firm the medium around the stem base. Water the container thoroughly until excess moisture drains from the bottom, settling the medium around the cutting. Finally, create a humid environment by covering the pot with a clear plastic bag, supported by small stakes so it does not touch the leaves, or by using a clear plastic dome.
Monitoring and Transplanting Rooted Roses
Place your covered cuttings in a location that receives bright, indirect light, such as an east-facing window or a sheltered spot outdoors. Direct, intense sunlight can quickly overheat the enclosed environment, damaging the cutting. Keep the rooting medium consistently moist, but never waterlogged, to prevent fungal diseases. The condensation visible on the inside of the plastic covering is a good indicator that the humidity level is sufficiently high.
Root development typically takes between four and eight weeks for softwood cuttings. The first visual sign of success will be the appearance of persistent new leaf growth. You can confirm rooting by very gently tugging on the stem; a slight resistance means roots have anchored the cutting into the medium. Once roots are established, you must gradually introduce the new plant to the lower humidity of the outside air, a process called hardening off.
Start by removing the humidity dome for a few hours each day, slowly increasing the duration over a week or two. Once the new rose shows no signs of wilting without the cover, it is ready to be moved into a larger container or a permanent garden location. For the best long-term success, many gardeners allow the young rose to grow in a pot for a full season, establishing a robust root system before transplanting it into the garden the following spring.