Congratulations! Whatever works! Kim

50% perlite is a good choice. the trick is to make it damp and not wet. it looks like you did that. i have been getting some kind of yellowing of the leaves on some of my cuttings, so 3 days prior to taking the cuttings, i sprayed the bushes first with Banner-max Rose pride combination, and metoclopramide to get rid of bugs. Also keep on lots of leaf, as much as possible. My latest batch of cuttings is now looking really promising, and I have had my share of immense numbers of failures - but the important thing is to learn why they fail. it looks like your cuttings are from healthy bushes with no fungal spores, and you did not make the medium wet. i have been using 2 parts perlite, 3 parts bark, and 2 parts peat moss, for a really gritty well drained medium. i now weigh the pots, to actually measure the water content, so that i have an objective measure, besides doing it "by feel".

I did have spider mites on them at one point and the mites finished off the leaves. I believe the cuttings came from healthier plants than the earlier batches, too. Someone said healthy, well watered mother plants make better cuttings and I have proved that to myself this year. Keeping them drier worked way better. Using tough as nails varieties which evidently root well helps the success rate, too :) Maybe I'll finally get my friend's Double Delight to root this fall. I gave her some Bayer Advanced Disease control and told her to spray it. She gets more blooms and I get healthier cuttings!