It’s Time to Root Roses 2012

Such an article was written about this time last year, but maybe you’ve forgotten  – or maybe it’s  possible I have a new reader or two.  As I mentioned in last week’s article, we have a rose bush with multi –colored blossoms and John always tries to root cuttings from it.  He’s had some success, but not 100%.

We learned this from our friend, Ann.  Ann’s mother planted by the signs and knew all kind of old timey ways of doing things – and they work.   The rose cuttings are taken in the ER (sounds like UR) months.  You know, SeptembER, OctobER. NovembER and DecembER.  So the ER months of 2012 are running out and the cuttings need to be done pronto.

John likes to make the cuts around the node or joining of a limb – sometimes he says he cuts right through the joining or just below it and makes the cut at an angle.  He uses a long screwdriver to make a hole in the ground and pushes the cutting down in the hole as far as possible.  Now he cuts the bottom out of a gallon jug (or a large plastic bottle will do) and puts that down over the cuttings.  If he uses a gallon jug he puts four cuttings close enough together so they will fit under the jug. Remove the lid and he drives some small stakes around the plastic container to keep it from blowing off.  Rocks would work, too.   Remember to put extra cuttings in the ground as one can’t expect to get 100% success.  In the spring after danger of frost is over, the plastic container can be removed, but the gardener needs to keep the young plants watered.  When to remove them from the rooting spot?  Ideas differ on this – John is still nurturing two plants that rooted last year and they remain just where they were rooted.  Other people put them in pots and leave them for several months.  I would think it depends on the hardiness of the plant – you know some plants grow off faster than others.

I remember several years ago Gilley Peek came by here to get bread dough starter and she had a backseat full of rose bush limbs.  Of course, I asked about them and she took a LIMB out and stuck it in the ground. That is now this beautiful Rio Sambe to which I refer.  Gilley took the other limbs home and tried to root them, but not one rooted.  I always told her when we had success she’d get the first one.  That was not to be – Gilley died before we got one rooted.  This is just how things work (or don’t work) with country living.

Note:  This is October 29, 2013 and we still have six blooms on the Rio Sambe.  Two are going out,  but up high are two more.  They change color as they age.  I can see one bud still hanging in there.

Rio Sambe