How to Grow a Rose Bush from a Single Stem or Cutting

Last Updated: June 4, 2020 References

This is a great way to collect a wide variety of roses.The best time of year to propagate roses is in early spring or late fall. Select the area in which you wish to grow your rose bush. Make sure that your rose bush will receive plenty of sun and adequate drainage from water.

Steps

1
Make a hole with the knitting needle. Place the tip of the large knitting needle in your selected spot and hammer it all the way into the ground. Pull the knitting needle out of the ground. This makes a nice, neat hole for your rose cutting or stem to be placed.^{[1]
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2
Add the hormone powder. Wear gardening gloves to protect your hands from thorns and to protect your cutting from germs. Make several small cuts along the stem of your cutting. Keep the gloves on while you cover all the fresh cuts with the growth hormone powder.^{[2]
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3
Place the cutting into the hole. Immediately place the cutting into the hole you prepared with the knitting needle.^{[3]
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- If you are propagating from a rose stem, push the stem all the way into the hole until the bottom of the flower head touches the ground.
- If you are propagating a cutting with leaves, push the stem down far enough that at least five of the leaves are not in the ground. It will look like a tiny plant.
4
House the cutting. Place the jar over the cutting and water. In approximately nine months, the cutting will have taken root and will be a new baby rose bush for your garden.
5
Keep a summer cutting well watered. If you are propagating during the summer, it’s important to water the cutting regularly, as you would a normal rose bush. However, if you are propagating in the fall, simply leave it alone until spring and remove the jar when you see new growth and there is no more threat of frost.^{[4]
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Community Q&A

Question

How do I plant a single rose that has no roots?

Community Answer

Just be patient and plant it in a clear pot.
Question

Will my steam rose root without using the hormone powder?

Community Answer

Yes, almost guaranteed, however hormone powder will keep your plants safe from pests.
Question

If I have a rose that is half-pink and half-cream on my rose bush, is there a way to grow a new bush that has all flowers like that one?

Community Answer

There is. If you have a multi-colored rose (2 colors in your case) and you prefer having this rose over the others, buy a rose bush with unbloomed flowers and take the rose you prefer, dig it up with the roots attached, and plant it with the unbloomed rose bush, right in the middle. The flowers around it should be similar or the same. This worked for me.

Things You'll Need

Quart-size canning jar or mayonnaise jar
Garden gloves
Hormone growth powder such as Root Tone
Large knitting needle
Hammer
One fresh 12”/ 30 centimeter (11.8 in) or longer single stem rose - or 12”/ 30 centimeter (11.8 in) cutting from an admired bush that has five or more leaves at the top
Sharp gardening shears that have been sanitized with alcohol