You know how sometimes you have a plant that just seems to do exceptionally well in your garden? Or you fall in love with a neighbor’s rose bush? Or maybe a rose you love is entering its senior years?
That’s the perfect time to take a cutting.
Propagation by stem cutting lets you recreate a clone of a plant you love. That means you can have two, three, four, or maybe more of that perfect floribunda that you just can’t get enough of.
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Now, for the bad news: Probably only about 50 to 75 percent of your cuttings will take.
Rose lovers are constantly trying to figure out how to improve the chances that their starts will succeed, and we can benefit from all their hard work and experience. But still, even the best rose growers seem to be stuck around this success rate, for the most part.
Don’t despair! It’s no big deal, this just means you should probably plant a few extras so that you have more than you want. And if more take off than you expect, they make a lovely gift.
Plus, with this guide, you’re sure to be on the higher end of the success rate scale. That’s because we’ve gathered up all the best tips and experiences from rosarians around the world.
Here’s what’s ahead:
What You’ll Learn
Is it wrong to be this excited to get my hands dirty? Then I don’t want to be right. Let’s go!
When to Take Cuttings
If you do a quick internet search, you’ll find that there are websites out there that recommend taking cuttings in the late winter or early spring.
Others suggest summer is the right time. Then there are those that swear fall is ideal, while still others claim fall is the absolute worst time.
In other words, there’s a bit of contradictory info out there! The truth is that the ideal timing depends on your location, climate, goals, and circumstances.
You can technically root starts at any time during the growing season, but you’ll have the most success when conditions are mild, either cool or warm.
Freezing weather is a no-go, and sweltering heat, when plants are stressed, isn’t a good time, either. That leaves spring and fall in most temperate zones, as well as winter in regions that don’t experience freezes.
Many experts recommend taking cuttings in the fall, after all of the blossoms have faded on your plant. That’s the time when I’ve had the most success, but you do have to keep the starts indoors and alive for the entire winter if you go this route, so keep that in mind.
If you want to root your cuttings directly in the garden, take them in the spring after new growth has started. I love this method for when I don’t want to put the effort into keeping a plant alive indoors for months.
In my experience, rose cuttings started directly outdoors tend to take off more quickly than those you start indoors and transplant as well.
Perhaps that’s because they’ve had more time to adapt to your conditions, and they don’t have to deal with the shock of transplanting from indoors to out.
Preparing the Cuttings
Before you put your knife anywhere near the plant, make sure you’re taking your material from a plant that is healthy. Steer clear of anything that shows signs of rust, powdery or downy mildew, fungus, insect pests, or any other sort of pest or disease.
If you do see any of these on your plant, don’t even think about taking a cutting.
Next up, you don’t want to take old, woody stems or soft, extremely flexible material. Super new growth is often red or purple. A little bit of red (or young) growth is fine, but just make sure the majority of the stem is green where you plan to cut.
You can technically take cuttings from both hard and young growth, but neither of these will typically root as well, in my experience.
If you’re taking cuttings in the fall, look for a stem that has a spent flower on it, or even the beginnings of a hip, with at least six sets of leaves.
Take an eight to nine-inch piece from an area with growth as thick as a pencil, using a sharp knife or clippers that have been cleaned prior to use. Make the cut at a 45-degree angle. Repeat as needed.
While you’re working, bring a jar filled with water with you, and immediately put the cuttings in it. Plan to get your cuttings planted the same day you snip them, and be sure to put the cut stems back into that jar of water while you’re following the steps to follow if you’re working with more than one.
Again, assuming that you are working in the fall, remove the dead flower, any hips, and the tip of the stem down to the first set of healthy leaves. For spring and fall cuttings, remove all of the leaves from the bottom half, leaving two or three sets of leaves intact.
You should now have a stem that’s a little over eight inches long, with just a few sets of leaves at the top for spring cuttings, and a stem that has been trimmed at the top with the bottom half’s leaves removed for fall cuttings.
Now it’s time to wound the stem. The easiest way to do this is to make a few vertical slits about half an inch long down the end of the stem to the base through the first layer all the way around the stem.
Try to make at least two slits, but three or four are better.
Finally, dip the cut end of the stems in rooting hormone. Bontone makes a reliable favorite that has always worked well for me and, you should definitely keep some of this in your gardening toolkit if you plan to propagate cuttings.
Bonide Bontone II Rooting Powder
You can grab some at Arbico Organics if you don’t have it already.
Rooting in Containers
Once your cuttings are ready, it’s time to put them in your containers indoors. This is the best option if you took your material in the fall, but you can also do it with spring cuttings.
I like to use five- or six-inch compostable containers which allow you to avoid disturbing the roots when you transplant your new roses.
CowPots are my favorite because they don’t use any peat, which is a limited resource. They’re made out of cow poop instead – definitely a renewable resource!
If you can’t find CowPots at your local nursery, you can purchase five-inch pots in packs of 66 or 160 at Arbico Organics, or the six-inch pots come in packs of 42 or 108.
Whatever you select, make sure it is about this size, with excellent drainage.
Then, fill the pots with a rooting medium. I’ve found that the perfect combination to create a rose cutting medium is three parts Miracle-Gro potting mix with one part perlite.
Miracle-Gro potting mix is widely available, including at the Home Depot.
If you can’t find perlite, rice hulls make an excellent sustainable alternative.
Arbico Organics has 1/4, 1/2, or one cubic foot bags available. Trust me, you’ll find plenty of uses for this versatile medium.
Fill the pots a quarter-inch to the top with this mixture, and then poke a hole in the center of each pot with a chopstick or pencil.
Lower a cutting into place so that half of the stem is covered by soil. Firm up the medium around it and water thoroughly. Repeat with the remaining cuttings and containers.
If the rooting medium has settled after watering, add a little bit more.
Now, it’s time to cover the cuttings. There are lots of options to create a mini-greenhouse over your potential new plants.
You can purchase cloches, like these available in 10-packs from Amazon.
You can also cut the bottom two-thirds off of a milk jug or soda bottle and place it upended over the cutting. Or, place some chopsticks in the container and lower a plastic bag over the top.
The point is that you’re trying to create a situation where the moisture is being kept in place in the soil and the air around your starts while they root.
Put the cuttings in a spot where they will receive at least eight hours of indirect sunlight, but don’t put them anywhere that they will be hit with direct light. This will scorch the plants and they’ll die before they even get started.
Every day, check things to make sure your new plants have enough moisture in the soil. Since they have a cover over them, they shouldn’t need additional water in the soil every day, but it’s smart to check to be sure. Mist the cuttings with water every day.
After six to eight weeks if you planted in the spring, or up to 12 weeks if you planted in the fall, you’ll hopefully see new growth and if you give a cutting a little tug, it will resist if it has rooted successfully.
Remove the cover and let the soil dry out a little bit for the next week or two, to accustom the plants to normal growing conditions.
Dispose of any that have not rooted.
Then, it’s time to harden the starts off in preparation for putting them in the soil. What that means is you need to gradually introduce the plants to outdoor life without shocking them. Since they’ve been sheltered indoors, they haven’t had to deal with direct sun, wind, and harsh rain.
Transplanting
If you choose to root your plantings indoors, eventually you’re going to want to bring them out to your garden. Here’s how.
To harden the plants off, bring them outside for an hour and put them in a sheltered spot. Then, gather them back up and put them back indoors. The next day, give them two hours outside.
The following day, give them three. Keep adding an hour until the plant can be outside for seven hours. On the following day, you can plant.
After you’ve hardened off your rooted cuttings, prepare the soil. I like to work a good amount of compost into my soil because it helps improve drainage, water retention, and nutrition.
Gently remove the rose from its container if you didn’t plant in a biodegradable one.
Then, dig a hole twice the size of and as deep as your biodegradable pot or root ball, and put it in the ground. Firm the soil around it and cover it completely with soil.
Water well to settle the soil.
Read more about planting rose bushes here.
Rooting Outdoors
As a little girl, I was told romantic stories about the roses in my great-grandparents’ gardens that came from the East Coast, or even as far as England.
As the stories went, the white settlers traveling west brought their rose cuttings with them in glass jars filled with water as they crossed the oceans and plains.
When they arrived, they stuck them in the soil and covered them with glass jars to start a bit of their old garden again in their new home.
I don’t know if these stories are true or not, but I use the same principle to grow cuttings directly in the soil.
Essentially, you need to keep the cut stems alive in a bit of water after removing them from the plant and then cover them to create a warm, humid, greenhouse-like environment as they become established in the soil.
Most people choose to do this process in the spring after the last predicted frost date has passed, but if you live somewhere that doesn’t freeze in the winter, you can do it in the fall, as well.
The first step is to make sure you have the right type of soil for roses. Not sure if you have what it takes? Check out our simple guide to getting started with roses.
Then, pick a shady spot like a garden on the north side of your property or somewhere under plenty of shade. You don’t want direct sun beating down on the plants.
Next, dig a hole that is at least six inches wide and four inches deep to plant each rooted cutting in. Place the stems in the hole and fill around them with the garden soil to firm everything in place.
Then, place a cover over them. If you live in an area that is fairly humid, you can skip the cover.
If you aren’t sure what kind of cover will work, refer to the section on indoor planting above for some suggestions. I always use liter-sized soda bottles with the base cut off because they are so readily available from the soda lovers in my life.
If the weather becomes too hot, remove the cover. What’s too hot? I’m talking above 80°F.
For the next few months, you must go outside and check on your cuttings every day. If the soil feels dry, add more water.
Mist the cuttings with water daily if you notice the interior of your cover drying out. I’ve never had to mist mine in the humid Pacific Northwest, but in the dry climes of the interior western US, I had to mist every day or two.
Once a plant has rooted, remove the cover and let it adjust for a week. Remember, you’ll know it has rooted if you give it a gentle tug and the cutting resists.
After a week, you can dig it up and move it to its permanent home. Be sure to keep a four-inch or so perimeter around the stem as you dig, and dig down as deep as your plant is tall. Plant as you would a transplant.
I find that this method results in fewer cuttings taking root, but the ones that do tend to be more robust and grow faster than those started indoors.
Expand Your Rose Garden with Cuttings
It’s confession time: if I’m out and about and I see a rose that I’m obsessed with, I’ll snip a cutting and take it home with me.
I’ve filled many-a-garden with stolen cuttings (okay, I usually ask for permission, but it sounds cooler to think that I’m running around like some sneaky rose larcenist…).
Now you can expand your rose garden, too. Hopefully, this guide makes things a cinch and you’ll be drowning in rooted rose cuttings in no time.
Let me know how it goes or if you run into any trouble. Was it easier or harder than you expected? Drop me a line in the comments section below!
And for more information about growing roses in your garden, check out these guides next:
Thank you for your information I’m Yusuf from South Africa Cape Town,
Thank you so much for this wonderful article. I wish I had seen it when I did my cuttings. I followed the steps I had read in another article, but I think my cuttings are in trouble. I took some cuttings from the farm where I grew up before the new owner tore everything up. Things were going well, and several of the cuttings were growing, albeit small, leaves. To my horror, they have now all shriveled up and died. I am so concerned that I may have lost them, and I can’t get any more. Everything has been leveled… Read more »
Oh no, Marilyn, I’m so sorry to hear that your cuttings are struggling. It might not be too late to save them, let’s see what we can do. When you say they are dying, can you give me more details? When they shriveled up, were they brown? If so, that’s not enough water. I suspect it might be too much moisture, however. When they shriveled up, were they green or red and soft? If so, that’s likely too much moisture. Removing the bags is a good idea, and you should reduce the amount of water you’re giving. Don’t move them… Read more »
Thank you so much for your advice. Unfortunately, I already had put them outside a couple of days ago as a last attempt to save them. I have brought them in now and will continue to water in the hopes that they still have a chance. In answer to your questions, the leaves that had been small, but robust, shriveled up and turned brown. The stems turned all brown and hard except for at the top of a couple. There are two left that have some green stem. Here are photos that I just took: IMG_8639.jpeg IMG_8638.jpeg IMG_8640.jpeg This rose… Read more »
Hello. My mother in law was known for her beautiful roses. Sadly she passed away in early January. Now in mid February, we are just finishing clearing out her home. It is a very mild and sunny day, and the ground was not frozen, so I was able to dig up one of her smaller rose bushes. Snow is returning in a couple of days, but I’m hoping I can get this treasure through the rest of the winter. The roses were in Toronto, we live about 2 hours further north. What can I do to give my best shot… Read more »
Hi Darlene, I’m sorry about your loss, but what a wonderful treasure that you can save one of her roses. I’m assuming you put the rose in some kind of container. If so, place it in a garage, ideally, or on a covered patio. If the rose is on a patio, wrap the container with a thick blanket or something similar to help insulate it. Your goal right now is to reduce the amount of freeing and thawing the plant experiences. This is what causes the most damage during winter. Less ideal is if you have the rose as a… Read more »
Hello Kristine! Thank you for the article, I came across it because I searching how large the rose bushes will grow? I have managed to propagate 1 stem out of 6. It’s doing ok. I have it growing indoors, in a small pot with soil near frosted window. It has about 20 small leaves. So I was curious how large this little stem will grow? I guess because it has leaves, but it’s tiny. ????????
Hi Mistee, it’s hard to say, since roses can range from foot tall to 30 feet or more, depending on the particular hybrid/cultivar. How large was the plant you took the cutting from?
I’m also curious about how long the plant has been indoors. Generally, cuttings do better if you move them outside once they’ve developed roots and new growth. You can grow roses indoors, provided you give them plenty of sunlight, but they’ll grow much slower and smaller than they would outside.
Hello Kristine! Thank you for your response! The original plant was about 3 1/2 ft – 4 ft tall. I’ve had the cutting growing indoors for quite a while, but I noticed about 4 small roots the first week of December. I was waiting for warm weather and depending on how large it’ll grow and space it’ll need, plant it in the “right” spot. ???? ???? Yes, it seems to be growing a little slow. I wasn’t sure if it was normal since this is my first rose propagation. I see what you mean about it growing better outdoors vs… Read more »
Hi Mistee, thanks for getting back to me. Your rose looks fantastic, very healthy! I’d bet it will eventually reach the same size as the parent if you put it in the ground. It probably will stay a foot smaller in a container.
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Sorry your picture didn’t upload, Mistee. I was able to retrieve it for you.
Preparing the Cuttings… Sentence one needs one more word to help me… “Before you put your knife anywhere near the plant, make sure you’re taking your material from a plant that is.” What is the criteria for selecting a plant to propagate? Thx
Hi Bruce, good catch – it should say “from a plant that is healthy.” We’ve made the necessary edit. Thanks!
I’m confused about how to wound the stem. Are there any good videos showing this that you recommend i watch? Thanks!
Hi Emily, that’s a great question! Essentially, you want to remove some of the green part of the cane just above where you made the cut. It’s like removing the bark of a tree but not cutting into the middle. There are lots of ways to do this. The method we describe above is more precise, but you can just take a hammer or the flat side of the knife and smash the stem from the cut to about a half inch to an inch above the cut. You want to expose the inner part of the cane to create… Read more »
Hello kristine, thanks for the article. I am interested in propagating some rugosas over the winter. In live in zone 5b. If I take the cuttings in sept/oct, and bring them inside… would I need to put them under a grow light over winter?
Thanks
Hi Justin, if you have a window where the cuttings can experience at least five hours of direct light, they should be fine. Otherwise, yes, I would provide them with supplemental lighting. Rugosas propagate readily, so they can tolerate less-than-ideal conditions.
Hi, my dog broke a really healthy stalk off and I have rooted it in 2 pieces. Currently they look great, developing leaves. My concern is that fall is coming and I’m in Ontario, Canada. Do I bring them inside and just continue as if they are houseplants, water regularly, indirect light, etc?
Thank you in advance
Hi Jennifer, I wouldn’t bring them in. If they look great and have developed roots already, they should be fine. Please visit our guide to winterizing roses to learn some tips on how to protect your cuttings during the winter. You’ll definitely want to provide some mulch to protect the roots.
If you want to be extra careful, you can bring the cuttings inside and grow them as houseplants until the spring. Keep them in bright, direct sunlight for a few hours and cut off any blossoms that might form. Keep the soil moist. Good luck!