I recently tried to start a rose from cutting and ended up with withered
brown leaves protruding from a pot. A little history...

My dad until recently still owned the 1850's farm house in Southern Illinois
that was homesteaded by his family..this was also the house that he grew up
in. We returned there recently to dig up many of the plants that my
grandmother had grown there many years ago and that still grow there
today...peonies, lilies, irises, bleeding hearts, lilacs and we also took
cuttings from a rose bush that my father remembers being there when he was a
child in the 30's-40's (he thinks it was there long before that). It grows
about 5-6 feet tall small leaves, small-medium yellow double flowering
blooms, and a million large thorns on every branch (ouch). I tried to root
cuttings in soil in a shady area (NW TN area)...keeping them moist, but they
promptly withered up and died.

We would like to go back for more plants closer to the fall and we would
dearly love to have some starts of this rose bush. Any advice and/or
helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

Sara

PS Not rose related, but there was also a tree there that my dad said was
always called the "sugar pear" tree. It was original to the house, so dated
about 1850. I dug up some of the seedlings growing around the ancient tree
and they are doing well in large pots for now. He said it has small round,
extremely sweet fruits. Has anyone heard of this tree...I can't seem to
identify it?

Sara wrote:
We would like to go back for more plants closer to the fall and we would
dearly love to have some starts of this rose bush. Any advice and/or
helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

Here are some links that might prove helpful:

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/s.../roseprop.html
http://www.laroses.homestead.com/Propagating1.html
http://www.rosemagazine.com/pages/propagating.asp

PS Not rose related, but there was also a tree there that my dad said was
always called the "sugar pear" tree. It was original to the house, so dated
about 1850. I dug up some of the seedlings growing around the ancient tree
and they are doing well in large pots for now. He said it has small round,
extremely sweet fruits. Has anyone heard of this tree...I can't seem to
identify it?

I've seen both Seckel and Ayers pears listed as "Sugar Pear". There are
many pear varieties and you might try asking in a fruit growing
newsgroup or forum somewhere. The age of the tree might be quite useful
to those who know these things since it would remove anything more
recently introduced from contention. I suspect taking pictures might be
useful too, but I don't know.

In any case, it is unlikely with pears that seedlings will produce the
same fruit as the parent.

--
Henry

"Sara" wrote in message
...
I recently tried to start a rose from cutting and ended up with withered
brown leaves protruding from a pot. A little history...

My dad until recently still owned the 1850's farm house in Southern
Illinois that was homesteaded by his family..this was also the house that
he grew up in. We returned there recently to dig up many of the plants
that my grandmother had grown there many years ago and that still grow
there today...peonies, lilies, irises, bleeding hearts, lilacs and we also
took cuttings from a rose bush that my father remembers being there when
he was a child in the 30's-40's (he thinks it was there long before that).
It grows about 5-6 feet tall small leaves, small-medium yellow double
flowering blooms, and a million large thorns on every branch (ouch). I
tried to root cuttings in soil in a shady area (NW TN area)...keeping them
moist, but they promptly withered up and died.

We would like to go back for more plants closer to the fall and we would
dearly love to have some starts of this rose bush. Any advice and/or
helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

Sara
[snip]

Henry provided great links so I'll just add a bit of
my personal experience. I don't use the 'tent'
method some experts recommend. I use (if
I remember correctly) Schultz Professional Grow
Mix. It doesn't have any fertilizer in it, just good
potting soil. I also don't use rooting hormone
but I do use a bit of seaweed in solution. Keep
the cuttings in a dappled shady area (not deep
shade) where they get some sun but not too much.
Make sure the pots are open on the bottom.
Water frequently, or even mist with water. Best
piece of advice: Make up as many cuttings as
you can. That way a few are likely to survive.
If you end up with more than you want/need, you
can always give them to friends.

Good luck!

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8