How to Grow a Rose from a Cutting at Home: Step by Step

This article was prepared with the support of UFL flower delivery. Taking cuttings is the easiest way to get an own-root rose that is identical to the parent plant. A cutting is a piece of stem with 2–3 buds from which roots and new shoots will grow. Miniature, polyantha, floribunda, climbing and ground-cover roses root best; hybrid teas and English roses are harder, but it is still possible.

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When to take rose cuttings

• June–July is the best time: semi-ripe shoots taken after the first flush of flowers root in 3–6 weeks.
• Autumn (October, during pruning): hardwood cuttings are planted outdoors under cover and root more slowly, by spring.
• From a bouquet: try straight away while the stems are fresh. Summer bouquets of locally grown roses give better odds: imported cut roses travel for days and are treated with preservatives, so they often fail to root.

How to prepare cuttings

1. Choose a healthy, pencil-thick shoot. Test its ripeness by the thorns: if they snap off cleanly, the shoot is ready.
2. With clean, sharp secateurs cut 15–20 cm sections with 2–3 buds. Remove any buds and flowers. Do not throw the petals away: see our rose petal recipes.
3. Make the bottom cut at 45° just below a bud and the top cut straight, 1 cm above a bud. You can seal the top cut with wax, but never the bottom one.
4. Strip the lower leaves and thorns. Keep the top 1–2 leaves and cut them in half to reduce water loss.
5. Dip the bottom end in rooting powder (indole-3-butyric acid) or soak it in a rooting solution as the product instructions say.

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Rooting methods

In compost under a cover (the most reliable)

Fill a pot with drainage holes with a light mix of seed compost and perlite or sand, 1:1. Insert the cutting at a slight angle two-thirds deep so one bud stays above the surface, water it and cover with a cut-off plastic bottle or a bag. Keep it at 20–25 °C in bright light without direct sun. The compost should be moist but not wet; air it for 5–10 minutes a day. After 3–6 weeks new leaves appear and the cutting resists a gentle tug, which means it has roots. Then remove the cover gradually over 1–2 weeks.

In water

The easiest but least reliable method, because stems often rot in water. Put 3–5 cm of room-temperature water in an opaque container, change it every 2 days and keep it in a bright place. When the roots reach 2–3 cm, pot the cutting up at once, since long water roots establish poorly.

In a bag (the "burrito" method)

Wrap treated cuttings in damp newspaper, put them in a plastic bag and keep them at 18–22 °C for 2–4 weeks. When a callus (a pale swelling) and the first roots form at the base, pot the cuttings up.

Caring for the young rose

• Pinch off flower buds in the first year so the plant puts its energy into roots.
• Two to three weeks after removing the cover, feed with a weak balanced fertiliser.
• Summer cuttings overwinter indoors on a cool, bright windowsill (5–12 °C) or heeled in outdoors under cover, and are planted out in May.
• Autumn cuttings in the ground are covered with a jar or a bottle with holes and a layer of leaves; mark the spot with a stake.

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Other ways to propagate roses

• Layering. Bend a flexible shoot of a climbing or ground-cover rose to the ground, nick it below a bud and cover it with soil; it roots by autumn.
• Suckers. Own-root and shrub roses produce suckers that can be separated with roots in spring. On grafted roses the suckers are the rootstock (dog rose) and should be removed.
• Division, only for own-root roses, in April before the buds open.
• Budding, grafting a bud of the variety onto a dog-rose rootstock in July–August. Nurseries propagate roses this way; at home it takes experience.

FAQ

Can I root a rose from a winter bouquet?

You can try, but the odds are low. Rooting hormone, a cover and a grow light improve your chances.

Why did my cutting turn black?

Usually because of overwatering, cold or infection. Use clean tools and a light compost, and do not overwater.

Will the rose be the same as the one in the bouquet?

Yes, cuttings keep the variety. Note that many modern varieties are protected by plant breeders' rights: you may propagate them for yourself, but not for sale.

Want roses right now? Choose a bouquet among roses with delivery in Kyiv or spray roses.

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Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.