Chapter 7 - Roses From Cuttings

For those who think the budding of roses is beyond their power, or who perhaps lack the room to grow the stocks, growing roses from cuttings may have some appeal. The only thing one can say against roses on their own roots is that it takes rather a long time to produce a plant of a decent size, but if one has the patience, the ultimate result can be superior and longer-lived than a plant with foster roots. One drawback is the uncertainty of the rooting process, especially with many varieties of Hybrid Tea. Nearly all the Rambler roses, Floribundas, Polyanthas, Hybrid Musks, and Climbing roses do well on their own roots, and, as far as the Ramblers are concerned, it is probably the best way to grow them.

I believe that the reason that the country is so overgrown with such roses as Dorothy Perkins, Excelsa and American Pillar is that pieces are stuck in soil, root, and are then passed on to a friend, and they in their turn do the same, and so on ad infinitum. I think it is a thousand pities that some of the lesser-known varieties are not grown, for they would certainly add to the interest of our gardens.

As the growing of Ramblers from cuttings is so very easy it will not be necessary for me to dwell upon it, and I will turn to those which are not so accommodating. One sometimes hears of a person who has 'stuck' (that is the term used) a stem, that someone has given him or her, in the ground, and it has grown. It does sometimes happen like that but it is not the best way, if one wants to be more certain of the result. One is often told to take cuttings of any woody plants with a heel, that is, to detach a young piece of growth from an older branch. The reason for this is not that a portion of the old wood has any valuable rooting properties, but that at the point where the young shoot grows from the older wood there are usually a number of incipient buds and in consequence great concentration of hormones.

As I mentioned, when rooting cuttings for root-stocks, it is necessary to cut just below an eye or bud, and so by cutting off a shoot where it is joined to an older branch, one is sure to obtain, at the base of the cutting, not one eye but several. It is sometimes advised that the shoot which is to be the cutting should be broken from the parent growth; I think it is better to use a pair of secateurs and then trim the base of the cutting afterwards. The best kind of cutting is one about a quarter of an inch thick; thinner growth than this, if it did root, would take longer to grow into a good plant. A cutting nine inches in length may have to be made from a longer shoot, since several eyes on the top of the shoot will be blind and will not produce growth.

After the cuttings are prepared, the ends should be dipped into one of the many synthetic hormones. The one I like best and also one that is the least trouble is sold in powder form. In planting the cuttings it must be remembered that all cuttings root best in a sandy medium, and so, if the soil is heavy, a good deal of sand must be used to make it suitable. There is no point in using a cold frame or greenhouse for rooting, for provided the cuttings are suitable, they root quite as well in the open ground.

If the cuttings are taken at the end of September, which is the best possible time to do it, they will have their leaves on, so pull off the lower leaves and leave two at the top. When planting, the lower of the leaves should just rest on the soil, which is an indication of the depth they should be planted. Should the weather be sunny, it is best to provide some shade, for the longer the leaves can be kept alive the more certain will be the rooting. It is just as well to plant the cuttings fairly closely, say about four inches apart, for it is by no means certain how many will root when the Hybrid Teas are the ones chosen for the purpose. For the easy rooter, like nearly all the Floribunda and Polyantha roses, six inches apart would be enough. One need not be so particular in the selection of suitable growth for cuttings of these, especially Frensham, which grows absurdly easily from cuttings.

Several times during the autumn and winter the cuttings should be looked over and tested, to see whether any have got hung up by soil shrinkage. If they have, these should be pushed well down. In early spring it is usual for the cuttings to look as if nearly all have rooted, but it is not until May that one can really count the successes. They should be allowed to remain in their present quarters until the autumn, when they can be transplanted and given more room and heavier soil, for the sooner the small plants can be induced to form some good roots, the sooner they will become strong plants. In my experience, many of the Hybrid Tea roses, when grown from cuttings, have very fibrous roots and will persist in blooming instead of making growth, and, although I do not expect many would do it, to pick the buds off as they are seen would be a great advantage.

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