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Starting a new climbing rosebush
Xref: kermit rec.gardens.roses:93841
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 :-) |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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? 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. Give us an idea of what we're working with, and we can give you some suggestions. -- -=- Cass USDA Zone 9 Left Coast www.rosefog.us |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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? Give us an idea of what we're working with, and we can give you some suggestions. I hope the above helps. And many thanks for your help. Rose |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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Starting a new climbing rosebush
It seems to be the consensus around
here that you should avoid fertilizer-treated soil like MiracleGro. Just out of curiosity, why? Besides its being ridiculously expensive... I have used this stuff from time to time, especially with my potted roses. _Thorn_ |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
On Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:35:42 -0400, "Ol' Thornfinger"
wrote: It seems to be the consensus around here that you should avoid fertilizer-treated soil like MiracleGro. Just out of curiosity, why? Besides its being ridiculously expensive... I have used this stuff from time to time, especially with my potted roses. _Thorn_ There's nothing "wrong" with MiracleGro and it's ilk--the water soluable fertilizers--they deliver some of the essential chemical compounds roses and other plants need. I think any problems may lie in using this type of fertilizer to the exclusion of all other kinds, for two reasons that I can think of. The first is that there may be a buildup of salt and salt compounds; the second is the fact that roses need "organic" nutrients too, for reasons akin to those for why WE need whole foods and not just chemical extracts such as vitamin supplements. There are minor trace elements and minerals present in the whole foods that we know are beneficial--and then there is the fact that roses, like people, just plain DO better when given whole "foods." For us it might be Branola, for them a nice chunky manure and maybe some alfalfa, leaf mold, etc. An "unofficial" reason, for me: I used MiracleGro type stuff for the first couple of years, and never saw dramatic growth like basal shoots that actually increase the number of big, healthy canes. Once I started using MIll's MIx (alfalfa, sludge, other whole stuff) I did see dramatic growth and more blooms. Was it the MIlls or was it the fact that most of my roses were in their third and fourth years? I don't know. Probably both. |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
On Fri, 13 Jun 2003 11:35:42 -0400, "Ol' Thornfinger"
wrote: It seems to be the consensus around here that you should avoid fertilizer-treated soil like MiracleGro. Just out of curiosity, why? Besides its being ridiculously expensive... I have used this stuff from time to time, especially with my potted roses. _Thorn_ Damn. Sorry about the first post, I was speed reading again! The only time I have heard people say NOT to use the treated soil is when the subject is planting bare roots, which should not be fertilized until they have a few inches of top growth. There should not be a problem with planting potted roses in this stuff. |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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. -- -=- Cass USDA Zone 9 Left Coast www.rosefog.us |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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Starting a new climbing rosebush
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Starting a new climbing rosebush
Rose wrote:
The original poster asked: 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"? Then Henry said: An easy way, particularly on a climber and when you have "long-term" access to the rose (as it sounds like you do) is to "layer" the rose. The trick here is to get the rose to root a stem without cutting the stem off first. Take a cane and lie it down on the ground. With your thumbnail, score the cane over a short bit, a couple inches should work fine. Bury that scored section of the cane in the ground or in a pot and hold it down with a rock or bamboo canes bent back on themselves. It needs to be well buried, say three or four inches. Keep the are watered as you do the rest of the garden. If it dries out, particularly after roots have started forming, they will die and you'll have to start over. If you have rooting hormone, you can use that but since there's less rush with this method, it's not really necessary. Just let it stay like that and eventually, you will have another plant. Wait at least two months before checking for roots. Cut the stem below where you buried it (on the side towards the "mother plant") and dig it up. Henry, this is the first propagation method that actually sounds attractive enough that I want to try it. Have you done this much, and what sort of results have you had? With more rigid roses, air layering is an option. In this case, you wrap the area where you want roots to grow in wet sphagnum moss and then with plastic. I've seen this, and it looks more complicate, but still better than budding. By the way, your posts do not show up in teranews, so I miss a lot of them. Cotse has been down lately and I hate reading in OE. -- Henry |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
"Ol' Thornfinger" wrote in message ...
It seems to be the consensus around here that you should avoid fertilizer-treated soil like MiracleGro. Just out of curiosity, why? Why try for an off-shoot of this rosebush? Or are you talking about the MiracleGro? Besides its being ridiculously expensive... I have used this stuff from time to time, especially with my potted roses. _Thorn_ To answer the first question: because Grandpa grew them. He gave them as gifts to his daughters to be passed down. The eldest had no children and the second daughter's family is currently being ravaged by Huntington's Korea. My mother and our family are the only ones left to pass this on to. Family means a lot to us. While we don't live in the past (Grandma would have had a fit if we had ever done that), we do honor our ancestors and the heritage that they have passed on to us. As for the MiracleGro, well, I have no answer. Rose |
Starting a new climbing rosebush
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Starting a new climbing rosebush
(Unique Too) wrote in message ...
(Rose) writes: 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. Since you've already tried rooting it yourself, you might try the local rose society. There may be someone there who would be willing to try some cuttings for you. I believe this is the link to the District that covers your area: http://www.ars.org/explore.cfm/illinddistrict/ Julie Thanks for the idea. I'll look through it and see if I get lucky. Rose |
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