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melissa_thefarm

Softwood cuttings, hardwood cuttings

melissa_thefarm
17 years ago

I would like to get these straight. I think I've been unknowingly mixing methods, though with decent results.

The way I've propagated most of my roses has been to take cuttings of roses that haven't gone dormant, in October-November. I do this for all my roses, once-blooming or repeat-blooming, choosing canes that have flowered, and have minimum two nodes per cutting: three or four is better. I strip off the leaves except for the top leaflet and stick the cutting in a bed covering at least one node. The bed is an unscientific mixture of garden dirt (emphasis on clay), sand, and peat, and sometimes I make a little pocket of sand for the cutting. We (this is where my husband comes in) water well and cover the bed with clear plastic over a rebar frame, making a greenhouse. We water at need and uncover the bed in spring once the danger of frost and snow has passed. We water at need through the summer, and by fall most of the roses that have rooted are ready to be planted in the garden. I probably average about 50% success rate, with some varieties rooting at 75%-100% and others not at all.

So. Am I using the hardwood cutting method with softwood cuttings? What's the correct method to propagate by hardwood cuttings? I also root roses in pots, summer through fall, taking semi-ripened wood as a rule, though this fall I also took cuttings from once-blooming old roses to root in plastic-covered pots, and they look good--I'll see if it worked when spring arrives. Also, can I take hardwood cuttings now and put them in beds? I still have some space, and some roses I never got around to taking cuttings of.

I will very much appreciate attempts to help me straighten this out! Thanks.

Melissa

Comments (6)

  • rosyone
    17 years ago

    Melissa,your leafy fall cuttings were semi-hardwood cuttings, defined as mature stems from the current season's growth collected before the plant goes dormant. It sounds like you've worked out a good method for rooting them - at least for those roses that want to root at that stage of maturity. In my climate such cuttings started in October or early November need to be covered (as you do) or misted (as I do) and would have a good chance of rooting before winter sets in. I dismantle the misting system once the temperatures drop and leave the cuttings uncovered through our relatively mild and wet winter. In your climate it may be better to leave them covered, or maybe not. That's something you'll have to work out for yourself.

    Yes, you can take hardwood cuttings now. Or you could probably wait until you do your spring pruning and start some hardwood cuttings then. That works well in my climate. I stick leafless dormant cuttings a node or two deeper and don't cover them, but again, the level of protection required under your local conditions is something you'll have to work out for yourself.

  • melissa_thefarm
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Rosyone: thanks for the knowledgeable response, it answers my question very nicely.

    Now comes another question, following out of this one. Are there rose varieties or classes of roses that root better from hardwood cuttings? I generally do well with Teas, Chinas, Hybrid Musks, and ramblers for example, but have a string of failures with Noisettes that I find rather surprising. I've generally done well with once-blooming old roses, but haven't been able to experiment much with them. What have others' experiences been? Thanks.

    Melissa

  • rosyone
    17 years ago

    Melissa, while I root roses year round, virtually all of my "serious" propagation is done under intermittent mist during the growing season. My experience with dormant cuttings has been too haphazard to give me a good feel for how the different classes sort out with that method. The thought process that tempts me to start them generally runs along the lines of "Well, I've got this nice looking cane and it's detached from the plant. It would be a shame to throw it away, so..." Consequently I end up with a random gaggle of unrelated rooted cuttings I don't need and don't learn much of anything from. I do know that every single dormant Gruss an Aachen and Pink GaA cutting I've ever started has made it safely to my neonatal nursery. And that my dormant Souvenir de la Malmaison cuttings bombed out completely two years in a row. SDLM is a quick and easy rooter during the growing season.

  • Danicedola_hotmail_com
    13 years ago

    Hi i am trying to grow a hardwood cut from an old tea rose in a container. It has leafs now. It snowed and i decided to put it inside and its now growing faster. Should i keep it inside during the winter or put outside? Many thanks

  • dan_keil_cr Keil
    13 years ago

    I have tried to root ogrs with no success.Minis are the easiest to root. So are hybrid teas and floribundas.

  • beaniebeagle
    13 years ago

    i would follow this guy's way of propagation. you still have time, everything is still dormant

    I use some physan 20 inside the plastic bag.

    I just started doing this and 80% of them have calloused

    Here is a link that might be useful: dormant cuttings propagation