Tomato Facts

You may want to learn how to grow roses but perhaps can't afford to get them from a garden center. Or maybe you don't want to waste time and money on rose bushes from such a source until you know for sure you have the right kind of green thumb. One way of finding out what color your thumb is may be by trying to grow a rose bush from a cutting. Do you have a friend or acquaintance with a rose garden? They might be willing to give you a few cuttings, so you can try the experiment.

It's best not even to try this with hybrid tea roses or those you get from florists. Floribunda roses grow well from cuttings, as do miniatures, but others don't have as much success. People with a lot of experience, such as experts in how to grow roses, might manage growing even hybrid teas using cuttings, but someone who's just starting out and doesn't know all the ins and outs of rose growing is unlikely to have the same success. Better at least to begin with a type of rose that everyone agrees can be started with a cutting.

You ought to do rose pruning in the first part of spring, taking a few six-inch stems (or three inch stems for miniatures). Cut them on a slight slant, in the morning before the stresses of the day.

In the past, folks knew how to grow roses with cuttings safeguarded by Mason jars, and the system still works well. So once you have your cuttings, remove the lower leaves, with just a few at the top, and dip the stems into a rooting powder. Then put them either into your garden soil or into containers of potting soil. At this time, position a Mason jar over each stem and water occasionally during the following few weeks.

When teaching people how to grow roses via cuttings, some recommend using containers with heating pads under them to encourage root development, though that may not be necessary if you've used rooting powder. In milder climates you should be able to grow the roses right outside, and may not even need Mason jars. Either way, it should take one or two months for the cuttings to become rooted. Once that has happened, and with continued research and rose care, you should be able to start creating a rose garden. You may discover your green thumb, and realize that this method of rose propagation is something you want to continue exploring.

Rose gardening can be difficult for the novice gardener. They do take extra work and require some knowledge. Thankfully there are plenty of places to get the help you need to create a beautiful rose garden.