Rick wrote:

Still to propagate: A fifty year old Red rose from my Mother's garden
that was given to them as a house warming gift.

Have you already tried softwood cuttings, or have I confused you with
someone else who is trying to propagate a red rose without success? Did
you try a hardwood cutting last winter? I took some rose prunings in
February and "stuck" them. It is very easy: use wood the size of a
pencil (which I wouldn't ordinarily prune, but some roses are
prolific). Cut a sufficient length to get 2 buds above ground, 2 buds
below ground. Using a sterile and very sharp knife, make 1/4 inch
scores on the opposite side of the two lower buds. Then "stick" your
cuttings in your fallow vegetable garden with 2 buds below the soil and
2 buds above. Some recommend using a broomstick to make the hole and
then fill the hole with sand. Some also use rooting hormone. Cover the
cutting with a clear plastic bottle that has the bottom cut out and the
screw-on top discarded to make a little greenhouse over the cutting.
If you're in a really cold part of the country, I don't know exactly
how you manage this in the winter or when you take the cuttings, but I
know someone to ask if you're interested. Where are you located and
what zone are you in?

--
-=-
Cass
Zone 9 San Francisco Bay Area
http://home.attbi.com/~cassbernstein/index.html