On 15/6/06 15:25, in article , "Chris S"
wrote:

snip

Sacha,
What is the best time to take cuttings from climbing roses? I have a friend
who has elderly specimens which have a beautiful scent. I tried taking
cuttings last autumn, and the autumn before - they seem to do ok potted
p - having dipped the cut end in rooting powder. I tried with stems - 8 -
10 inches long buried up to 5" of their length - they seem to come into new
growth the following spring only to fail and drop all the new growth,
followed by a blackening of the stems- should I try cuttings earlier in the
summer? I'm in sunny (today!) Aberdeen.

Ray suggested trying this: he suggests taking pencil length and width type
cuttings of semi-ripe wood in September and putting them into a slit trench
with sharp sand in the bottom. The trench should be in shade. BUT he
says, too that sometimes older plants don't 'give' cuttings very well.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(email address on website)