I used paper towels, wrung out partially and wrapped two or three times.

I ran out of ad's and mailers of paper like newsprint, so I used the phone book. I figure if they are going to drop off that many, I might was well use them for something. (I am on the do not deliver list but it makes no difference)

The original idea offered me used paper towels, which was too cost ineffective to my sensibilities. Paper bags might work, I don't know. I haven't experimented with them. I don't know how damp they would be nor how malleable once wet without shredding. I have discovered there are various qualities of newsprint out there. The ones which appear to have the longest fibers, hence the greatest durability for squeezing have been The New York Times and USA Today. Both were saved for me by friends. The local paper in the South Bay where I most recently demonstrated the method turned into mush when wet. It was like wet lint and turned into huge spit wads when wrung out.

I have used the small, local, multi page ad mailer with good results. Whatever you use should hold moisture without dripping and should be able to be tightly firmed against the cuttings to provide good contact when wrapped. It appears, like firm soil contact stimulates rooting, firm damp paper contact stimulates callusing and rooting. My last two batches came out earlier than the two weeks; were held under just under 70 degrees and had the damp paper very firmly pressed around them and all had greatly callused. They were much further along than the preceding batches which weren't quite as tightly wrapped and which were held a few degrees cooler.

As long as your paper is soft enough to get firmly pressed against the cuttings when wrapped and doesn't remain too wet or too dry, it should work. Give it a try! It would be interesting trying some of the same cuttings, at the same time, in the same place, prepared the same way using newspaper, toweling and the wrapping paper to see if you discern any differences. That would make a very interesting experiment! My wrapping window appears to have closed. The roses are far too developed due to the heat. This last bunch were from cuttings I collected in the next valley north where they are a few weeks behind where my area is due to elevation and distance from the ocean. They were obviously less heat pushed and had experienced several rather stiff frosts where mine experienced no frosts and virtually no "winter" in comparison. Kim

I helped pot up some callused cuttings that Kim mailed to a friend of mine, yesterday. Kim mailed them to Bobbe a couple of weeks ago with the cuttings wrapped in several sheets of newspaper and then placed in plastic bags so that the package would not leak water when mailed.

The cuttings were all beautifully callused and definitely ready to be potted up. We live in the mountains of northern California, whereas Kim lives in a dryer climate in southern California ... very, very different climates. He had already treated them with the rooting hormone solution and Bobbe had just placed them in a warm cabinet inside her home to, as she says, "cook" after she picked them up from the post office.

It's way too cold for cuttings to survive outside at this time of year so the potted cuttings were placed in her greenhouse.

He had used several sheets of newspaper so that the total weight of the wrapping might be the same as a paper bag, but paper bags vary in thickness, too. When we unwrapped the cuttings, the paper seemed much wetter than I expected, but Bobbe told me that when she got the cuttings, the paper seemed dryer and she thinks that having the cuttings held in the warm cabinet released some moisture from the newspaper. (She kept them in the plastic bags during the "cooking" period.)

Bobbe is green up to her eyebrows and knows more about all things gardening than I do, so I trust her observations.

I think you would have to make certain the paper bag material is thoroughly moistened with no dry spots before you wring it out to get the consistent moisture throughout the material to make it work. It's easier to achieve that result with lighter paper ... I think.

Smiles,
Lyn

Ok. I am starting to get a better picture. It's almost like doing paper mache (spelling?). I'll probably be trying the phone book (great idea) the paper and whatever.
Thanks everyone for your input.

The phone book idea seems genius to me! It's about the proper type of paper, though in rather small sheets compared to newsprint. I've wrapped very long whips for standard trunks and had to use two sets of the newspaper to make them long enough to encase the entire whip lengths. I imagine having to do similarly with the traditional phone book page size, but it should work otherwise. I'd also think as long as your wrapping paper isn't terribly thick and stiff, it should work. Yes, Lola, think paper mache and you are very close to the idea. If I recall correctly, paper mache is a bit wetter, though, but otherwise along similar ideas. If the paper would be too stiff for paper mache, it will probably be too stiff for wrapping.

I sent them already wrapped to Bobbe so you and she would feel the proper moisture level, Lyn. I figured seeing and feeling is much better than reading a lame description. Since they had to be kept moist in the mail and that travel time should be part of the wrapping time anyway, why not make best use of the hormone I'd already prepared to wrap more here? Fortunately, it worked just fine (as it has previously). Congratulations! Now to wait for the pins in my doll for ALL those cutting grown plants to care for! LOL! Kim

Kim.....

Working with those cuttings ... and Bobbe ... I have a hunch all of them are going to take. We filled all of the readily available spots in her greenhouse with potted cuttings, but don't forget she has a second greenhouse. I don't think you need to worry about her pulling out her voodoo doll .. she didn't take any hair clippings when you visited her garden.

She still has to pot up the cuttings she took from the abandoned house. We checked them and they need to cook a little more ... lol.

Smiles,
Lyn

The only idea I might add is that I use a rolling pin to squeeze out the water in the newspaper I used to wrap cuttings - that way the durability of the paper doesn't appear to be an issue. When I tried to manually squeeze with my hands, the newspaper tore or melted; I guess we have inferior newsprint in our local paper, lol.

I've been really excited about this method of doing winter rooting as relayed by Kim to all of us!

I'm glad, thanks Lyn! LOL! Gean, I've suggested the rolling pin idea before, thinking it would benefit anyone wanting to try this who had any kind of hand issues. Now, it seems paper quality is as much of an issue, probably for even more people. I'm glad it's working for you.

I'd expect those who live in colder climates to actually have better success with it as the roses appear to be more "dormant" than most around here have gone this year. At least, that's what it appears from the Santa Clarita Valley cuttings I took from my sister's about ten days ago. I know they'd experienced frosts a few times and haven't been fertilized at all as she doesn't have time to do it. Those things callused quite well in ten days on the guest bed where I've held all the others. I did notice the ones originating from my garden and a friend's in Torrance garden, took longer to callus when the outside temps were cooler, even with the house thermostat remaining constant. As the outside warmed, the local cuttings callused faster. The ones from my sister's where it's been colder, callused the fastest and were held when it was warmer outdoors. I wouldn't think it would have that much of an effect, but evidently warmer outside made it sufficiently warmer inside to make the difference. Light isn't an issue as the shutters remain closed in that room so none shone on the wraps.

I'm glad the method appears to be helping more people be able to propagate easily. I pass on the "thanks" to those who shared it with me! Kim