Easy Way to Grow Your Own Roses

Now’s the time to grow your own roses--from cuttings. It’s easy to do, and most varieties will respond beautifully. Here’s how to do it:

Prune off pencil-size branches from your favorite rose bushes between early November and the beginning of January. Use stems where the flowers have recently died but new growth has not yet sprouted.

Ideally the cuttings should be just under three-eighths of an inch thick and about 9 inches long, but anything about the size of an ordinary lead pencil will work.

For most roses, it’s not necessary to use rooting hormone. Just plant the cuttings about 4 inches deep in sandy soil. (Be sure to remember which end is up, though; they can’t grow if they’re upside down.) Some folks like to cover the new cuttings with glass jars or even mound soil over them for about two weeks, but it’s not really necessary if you keep the ground very moist but not soggy.

Roots will begin to form after several weeks, and under normal circumstances your new rose plants will be flowering by Mother’s Day.

Although old garden roses and nonpatented roses may be propagated freely by anyone, patented varieties must not be reproduced on a large or commercial scale without written permission. However, no one worries about home gardeners who make a few extra plants for their own use.

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To see how easy it is to prune your roses properly, order Jack Christensen’s 30-minute rose-care video, available in both English and Spanish. Please send check or money order for $18.99 per video to Jack E. Christensen, P.O. Box 1231-T, Ontario, CA 91762.