Oasis is a new term for me. I rooted very thin stemed, dormant, rose cuttings in rootone/water in south window. When the roots seemed big enough I potted them on in my mix of outside & inside potting mixes 1/2. Put them in shallow mushroom containers. So far they seem to be growing fine, leaf buds opening, no upward growth started yet. I water sparingly & they are not tented.
I have other larger cuttings, that were also dormant, one has roots, but so far have not potted in on. Several cuttings have starting new growth at the bottom end and buds opening w/ leaves.

Vangy likes to play in the dirt year round...

Anne- I'm guessing here and while I've used Oasis for rooting scented geraniums & herbs, I've not used it with rose cuttings. Have you tried keeping the newly potted plants well misted? The oasis is a fairly moist environment and the cuttings may require more moisture while they make the transition. When I root under my misting table, I very slowly wean the cuttings and have had great success.

The problem with using the commercial Oasis (sold preformed and treated to retard fungal problems) is that the crops that it's intended for are quick sale, mums and Poinsettias. Those don't last six months after they are planted, but are tossed after the bloom season. The oasis for flower arranging is even more problematic, because it has no fungal retardants- you're keeping constant wet next to the canes with no fungal control at all.
I discovered this when I wondered why some mums that I had planted had croaked; the oasis was still there, after the stems had rotted. And roses are fussier than mums.

I can understand that point, Ann, thanks for bringing it up. This was oasis for floral arrangements that Fairylawn gave to me. And now you have me wondering about somewhere down the road when this rose might be planted out in the garden, what problems could arise from the oasis being around the rose forever. Hmmm.

However, what I found so confusing is that the roses were fine in the oasis *for months* (my cutting of Garden Party was in the foam block from July until November before the roots finally appeared) with most of the block submerged in water and only the top 1/4 to 1/3 sticking out. And keep in mind that they got little to no care, other than misting by hand daily at the start and refilling the water in the container. Other than that, they just sat on my window sill. The roots were many and nice looking when I decided to pot them up. It was good soil that they were transferred to, and *that's* the point when they started to sicken and the new leaves dropped off and the cane turned brown. I know I have read that roots formed in a water environment are "different" than roots formed in soil. I thought the oasis would sort of make a happy medium. It sounded easy and good when I read about it on the web, anyway, LOL! Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Because Ruth's guess sounds possible, I'm going to use a cut off pop bottle with the cap off or an inverted plastic bag for a while and see if that helps with the transition period on these last two cuttings.

BTW, one of the cuttings left alive is said Garden Party, but the other is from an ancient rambler that is growing behind my son's new home - the house was built in 1910 and the rambler's "trunk" looks like it could be about that old as well. I can't wait for spring to see what that old rose blooms look like - and to take more "proper" cuttings, which I'll try to start by some other traditional methods! I don't even know if this rambler is hardy enough to survive 275 miles north of its current growing site, but I'm excited to find out!

Anyone else with comments or suggestions or criticisms on the oasis method, please chime in! I presented a report on propagating roses at my local Rose Society this past summer and included the info I had found on the oasis method with the disclaimer that I could not personally speak for its worth. I certainly intend to report back on my experiences, so if you have anything that would help, let me know. Thanks!

AnneCecilia

I recently put cuttings in oasis. Here is the link with the info that I am following on how exactly to do it. Hope it helps. I will let everyone know how my cuttings do.

It is a very good source of info on rose propagation. This page is specifically about oasis rooting.

Here is a link that might be useful: the american rose society

Something to remember is that fungi are temperature specific.
Sometimes when someone boasts that they had horrible BS in spring and sprayed xyz (that only cost $378) and in July the BS was gone, they don't realize that the higher temps of July probably supressed the BS spores germination then, and that their dollars had only a part of the solution.
A good healthy vigorously growing rose will burst out of the Oasis. But that takes time. And growth.

Thank you for posting that link, Gypsygirl. I believe it was Jeri Jennings' posted instructions I was following. (Note that it does not make any comments on care *after* you pot the rooted cutting.)

Ann, I am wondering if temperature is (one of) my problem(s.) We are keeping our house quite cool this winter and much of the time these poor cuttings are at 60 degrees. Too cold, I'm sure, but that's what I have to offer them at this time of year. Oh well, I'm probably doing a myriad of things wrong!

AC

My guess is that coir would also work well as an intermediate rooting medium. It has anti-fungal properties that are not fully understood and is what the cut-flower trade use to root their stentlings.
Steve

Anne,

I always thought that method to use to much moisture and cause roting, glad you got it to work. I agree with Elks...you want something light and airy, but that will hold the moisture. Whenever I have rooted anything in water, I will transplant it into "mud", really soupy potting mix, with a tray of water under it, just like you are not supposed to do for established plants. Don't forget this plant is used to that constant moisture. Once it has absorbed that tray of water, i begin to let it dry a bit and then just grow it on as a regular plant...usually works. Putting something over the top would also be helpful to keep the humidity up.

No expert, JMO.

Gerry

Makes sense, Gerry. The sudden switch from the soggy medium to the damp soil (which while feeling "damp" to me probably felt "dry" to those new little roots) may have done them in. Thanks for the tip. I'll try that.

Anne

Cold may or may not be a problem.
Two years ago, I got chinas and noisettes to root overwinter, on the mist table out in front of the garage. Except when it was below freezing the structure was moved inside and into dark with no mist.
Temp of the mist water was seldom over ...?50F, whatever ground water ususally is and air temp in winter...definitely seldom over 55F.
Cooler may mean supression of some fungi.

Just to update everyone who made a helpful suggestion on this topic: I potted the two rooted oasis cuttings into very wet soil and have been keeping them quite moist, have used a cut off plastic jug on top as a mini greenhouse, and have increased the supplemental light. Two weeks later, both are pushing out new leaves and they look bright green and wonderful. I took the tops off the jugs today to add some "outside" air and will very gradually wean them from the covers. So far, so good!
:-)

AC

AC,

Sounds promising!

I am at 100% rooting rate for the oasis (finally, something that works for me) I slowly took the bag off the top of the container over a weeks time to wean them off the humidity. I am potting them up now, will keep everyone posted.

BTW, I did add a pinch of epsom salt to the water the oasis sat in while I was starting the cuttings. Figured it couldnt hurt. I also used the powdered rooting hormone (didnt have liquid) I changed the water every two weeks and put a pinch of the epsom salt in each time. The cuttings have roots and a lot of new leaves. So far so good.

Hubby bought me a wild blue yonder home this past week. I cant wait to see this new baby bloom this summer.

gypsygirl,

I was woundering what does the epsom salt do in the water?

Melissa

Nope. Disappointment again. The HT Garden Party cutting lost its original leaves, (which didn't surprise me - they've been on there since I stuck the cutting in July and I know that leaves have a limited lifetime) then it grew new leaves (remember, I did see nice healthy roots growing throught the oasis before I potted it up) and quite suddenly the new leaves wilted and died away, the cane started to yellow and brown on one side. I've cut the cane off but now it has no leaves and I'm sure this one is terminal.

The rambler cutting OTOH, not only has new leaves, but a new cane that as of today is taller than the original cutting and looks absolutely healthy. Both cuttings have been receiving the exact same treatment.

This process of rooting cuttings sure is puzzling (at least to me!) Thanks anyway, everyone for your input. Perhaps after a few thousand cuttings, I'll know what I'm doing. ;-)

AC

i put epsom salt on my roses outside every few weeks during growing season here. I it provides magnesium sulfate, which is needed for rose growth (the slugs also stay away from my roses and I believe the salts hurt them)

My cutting is fine. I put it in a pot with potting soil, made a hole in that and put in peat. Put the cutting in there. I keep the soil wet and have it partially covered with a jar. It get some sun in the afternoon. It is doing great. I sprinkled a little epsom salt around the cutting. New leaves coming out.