On Wed, 9 Mar 2005 22:07:52 -0000, "Chris S"
wrote:

Advice, please, urglers. I have tended 12 hardwood cuttings of old,
beautifully scented climbing roses. They appear to be alive, and are coming
into leaf. At the moment they look like 8 inch stalks with 2 or 3 breaking
buds, and they are in 8 inch pots - two cuttings per pot. What should I do
next - do I need to prune then again to encourage more stems - what shape
should I be looking to achieve by the end of this season? There are two
varieties of rose - at the moment I've had to call them "a" and "b" until
the parents can be identified :-))
Looking for advice, please.

Leave them alone! They are invalids who have yet to develop proper
root systems, and if you fuss with them, they may kick the bucket from
the strain. Leave well enough alone!

IOW, be cautious with water, no fertilizer, watch that they don't fry
in bright sun, and so on. Even though Sacha suggests potting on, I
wouldn't until they are growing strongly.

BTW, two cuttings to an 8-inch pot sounds over-potted to me.


What I do: there's a group of houses near me undergoing demolition.
One of them has a rambler rose of some sort in front, almost a purple,
a rose I have often admired when walking by.

Since it will be destroyed in the redevelopment, last summer I took
cuttings just after the flowers faded. Simply stuck them into the soil
in a semi-shaded bed with a glass jar over them. Four or five have
rooted and are showing signs of good growth this spring -- but I will
leave them in situ until they begin to grow vigorously.


--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
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