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Old 14-06-2003, 12:56 AM
Cass
 
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Default Starting a new climbing rosebush

In article , Rose
wrote:

Thanks, Cass! I'll print this out and give it a try.

Question, If I take the sucker with roots, should I wait until after
the plant stops blooming?


No, grab one any time you can, the sooner the better. You need to get
crackin' before winter. But don't leave blooms on the part you take.
Flowers are supposed to require a lot of moisture, and you're going to
put enough stress on this little sucker.

Cass wrote in message
. ..
In article , Rose
wrote:

Cass wrote in message
. ..
In article , Rose
wrote:

I hope someone here can help me. We have, in the family, an
80-year-old climbing rosebush that my grandfather had started. I've
tried several times, using various methods in books, to get new plants
started from it but I can't seem to get them to root. Does anyone
have a method that would work for a "non-gardener"?

Many thanks in advance.

Rose (yes, that really is my name :-)

What part of the country are you in, Rose? And what does this rose look
like?

I live in Zone 5, near South Bend, IN. The rosebush has no name - I'm
not sure if my grandfather made a hybrid (he was trained in
agriculture) or this is simply a kind of old-fashioned bush. I'll see
if I can find a picture close to it out here on the internet. I'm
betting it's some kind of an old-fashioned though. The roses are
hot/deep pink in color with yellow centers and the blooms can get as
large as a luncheon-sized plate. They open completely. They do smell
wonderful and that scent carries on the wind for quite a distance.
Her neighbors have told her how much they enjoy smelling it. Right
now the bush is huge. My sister thinks there are more than 500
blossoms on this bush. It is literally starting to cover a good part
of the back of her house.

There are a number of ways to convince a rose to propagate, from taking
cuttings in all different seasons (spring, late summer, mid-winter),
rooting in different media (sand, garden soil, oasis), or even digging
up a sucker with roots, effectively dividing up the rose.

I'm willing to try anything. Grandpa had made a bush for each of his
three daughters but the other two died. This is the only one left.

I'm also wondering about planting soil. I live not too far from a
creek (about 500 yards) and the soil around me is a clay composition.
How should I amend the soil for planting the shoots?


Are you talking about digging up a sucker, with roots? I would go to a
local plant nursery and mooch a free 5 gallon pot. Fill it with the
most extravagant soil you can concoct. Your native clay is probably
rich, if it's from a creekbed. Lighten it with compost or soil
amendment so that it drains easily. That can take up to a 50 - 50
blend. Dig up a cane from as far from the plant as possible. That way
it is most likely to have a few feeder roots. It is probably attached
to the mother plant by a big, thick, woody root. Take as much of that
root as you can possibly fit in the pot. Cut the top off the cane,
leaving it about a foot long. Bury it in the pot deep - as deep as
possible and still leaving about 4 bud eyes above the soil. Put this
pot out in the full sun -- but you have to do something very important:
you need to spritz the can with water twice a day and more if you think
about it. You can cover it with a clear or milky liter soda bottle
with the bottom cut off, making a miniature greenhouse. This is not
necessary, probably, given your humidities. It works well in off
seasons to gather heat. Don't apply fertilizer at all during this
process.

Then wait. Wait until after you see not only leaves but new stems about
3 inches long. It can take several months. It can take a really long
time. That when you have a new rose, especially if you see little white
feeder roots coming out of the drain holes. You should put it in the
ground by August, with any luck. And you might need to give it some
winter protection this winter.

You should also probably try alternative methods of taking softwood
cuttings from this bloom cycle. Read about it at the American Rose
Society website - ars.org I like the oasis method. Choose stems that
have flowered and are about as big around as a cheap Papermate pen -
even a little smaller. Trim off the flowers and keep only about 5 or 10
leaves - and cut those in half. The stems should be about 6 to 10
inches long, with two or three growth nodes in the oasis and at least
two above the oasis. You can get oasis at hardware stores or crafts
stores. Keep the cutting out of direct light and keep the cutting
sprtized. Mine is in the kitchen and I douse it every time I think
about it. When you see roots growing out of the oasis, put the whole
plant, oasis and all, in a 1 gallon pot of good soil. Don't rely on top
growth - it's roots you want. Read the article at the rose site for
details. It with a group about propagation. Here's a cutting in
progress about a month now:

http://home.earthlink.net/~cbernstei...ages/Oasis.jpg

Don't worry if the leaves fall off. Some roses do that - most, in fact.
As long as the stem is green, you're in business.

I'd also simultaneously try two or three softwood cuttings in that good
garden soil with a soda bottle greenhouse. You need to water it every
day. Some roses won't root in oasis and will take right off in old
garden soil.

This way, you have three shots at propagating the rose. If you have a
summer veggie garden that gets daily water, that is a terrific place to
propagate rose cuttings.