Take a cutting off a dormant rose bush in winter, dip the cut end in rooting hormone (Rootone is a common brand), and put it in moist vermiculite. Then place the pot, tray or whatever inside a plastic bag to create a greenhouse type atmosphere and keep moist but not sopping wet (roots need air to breathe like people!). Rooting should occur within several weeks.

There might be a problem with doing this with hybrid tea roses since they are grafted onto the rootstock of hardy rose plants. Usually, only old fashioned roses are grown on their own roots. However, I recently went to a rose seminar where the expert told me that some hybrid tea roses have been successfully grown from cuttings by amateurs, though may not be as hardy.

Roses can be happy in containers for many years with a bit of root pruning. If you have a balcony or a place in your house with 6 hours of sunlight a day, you can successfully grow a rose bush!

© 1999 Karen Lopez & Lynn Harvey