Roses

Three years ago this fall I was asked to help plant some roses in a patch of bare soil at church. Little did I realize at the time that this would rekindle my affection for roses. They are both demanding and forgiving. The reward is priceless....gorgeous flowers from spring until fall. Roses really are the queen of the garden. Since planting those first ten roses I've planted probably another hundred. I was also encouraged to try my luck with cuttings as an economical way to obtain more roses. To start I took cuttings from a rose in my home garden that the voles were attacking and I couldn't find a grower that had it available. I took four cuttings and all rooted. This is the rose at two years of age. It's Black Jack and the rose of the week.

Six weeks ago I took 20 cuttings of roses. This is the healthiest one.

These two are already budding. Genetically they are determined to flower even as a barely rooted cutting. I did cut the buds after taking the picture so that it can put its energy into growing into a bigger bush.

This cutting is not going to make it. The parent rose had not been sprayed for black spot and the cutting lost it leaves. The stem is green and viable but I'm doubtful it will root and put out new growth.

I use a soil mixture of potting soil and pearlite. I dust the cutting with rooting hormone and then cover the pot with a plastic bag for 4 weeks and place it in full shade. At four weeks I remove the bag and began moving it gradually into the sun. I prefer to take cuttings in the spring, pot them up to 1-2 gallon pots at 8 weeks, winter them in a protected spot, and plant them in the garden in the spring.

This weeks cut flowers and an arrangement.