Roses are beautiful so it's not surprising you may want to grow them in your garden. To have strong and beautiful roses, it's important to keep them healthy and to take a good care of them. One of the essential things to know about rose care is to know how to propagate them.

Roses are most easily propagated through cuttings. To do it properly, it's important to know how to take rose cuttings and how to take care of propagated plants, which also includes rooting. There are several different ways to approach this problem, but it's generally not difficult to perform if you follow some simple steps.

Rose Propagating Tips

To propagate your roses by cuttings, you should follow these instructions:

• The first step is to prepare a trench for your roses. Choose a secluded part of the garden (that's out of the way) and make sure it gets some shade during the hottest part of the day. Dig a trench with one vertical side. It should be about 6 inches (15 cm) deep. Also, don't forget to put about 1-2 inches of sharp sand on the bottom.
• The next step is to pick a stem from your existing rose. It should be thick as a pencil. The rose you choose should be strong and healthy. The stem you choose has to be straight (no kinks) and young (meaning, from this year's growth). Also, make sure it's ripe. You can tell it by being able to easily break a thorn.
• Make a cutting. It should be about 9 inches (23 cm) long. To make a cutting, cut below a bud at the base. Make sure to remove all the leaves and thorn from the bottom half of the cutting. You may leave a few leaves on the top of your cutting, but even that is not mandatory.
• Planting. You should place each of the cuttings into the trench. Make sure it's two-thirds buried. The base of your cutting should be deep in the sharp sand. To secure the cutting, firm the sand around the base. This will exclude as much air as possible. Set the cuttings about 6 inches (15 cm apart).
• Finally, replace the soil into the trench and make sure to firm it in place. Do it gently and carefully to not damage your cuttings.

This is how you should plant your new rose cuttings. After this, you need to provide them with proper care. Taking cuttings and planting should be done early in the summer. Keep your cuttings watered throughout the whole summer and early fall. By November your rose cuttings should have rooted well so they will be ready for transplanting.

Photo credit: Bernard Spragg. NZ