I wouldn't say that it's usual for a rose to root in a vase of water. I have had roses root when I wasn't trying to get them to root, however. For example, I had had a 5 gallon bucket of clippings which I had forgotten about, which subsequently got water in it from rain. Lo and behold, when I noticed the bucket again, some of the roses had roots.

Enjoy the rooted cutting.

To quote my 3 year old grand nephew - "that is NOT FAIR"! When I think of how many times and hours I have planted cuttings in plastic bags, sprayed them, blown the bags up over & over, rescued them from the cat who had decided they were toys, etc., etc.! I will have to try your method - at least it is easy!

Jackie

I'll be darned! I have read that this can happen, but I have never been so lucky. Enjoy!

I must have snipped it in the right spot! zone5rose

I have been told that the kind of roots that develop in water are not the same kind of roots that develop in soil. Whether this cutting will survive when it is moved to soil is a mystery yet to be solved. Please let us know how it turns out.

I thought I'd wait til the feeder roots are more developed and then transplant it into light soil like seed starting mix. The root is white at the moment and about 2 inches long. Any advice? zone5rose

I use this method all the time, but so far only with gardenias and jasmines. I haven't tried it with roses yet, but probably will.

I usually watch the cuttings and pot them up just after the roots begin to form, while they're still short and chubby. If they're short I feel like there is less chance of them breaking during potting. I've also read that water roots are different from soil roots, so I pot them up while the roots are short so that as they elongate, they're going into soil.

So far I haven't lost any cuttings going from water to soil. But if you see any wilting, just bag them or cover them for a few days until you see that the cutting has adapted to soil and can take up water again.

If you lose it, don't worry. You now know Darlow's Enigma roots easily in water, and you can root up a dozen more! :-)

I don't have personal experience with this, just a science-based brain ;-)

Since it was suggested abut the roots in water being different than that in soil, you might want to over hydrate the soil transplant to a mushy consistency for a *short* period (I would think) and then dehydrate slowly so that it 'hardens off' into soil. I dunno, you can see what you have, see what makes sense to you. A finer, seed mix might just be the ticket for the transition as mentioned above.

What a fun project! Good luck!
Kerin

Oh yeah, forgot to say that I keep them very well watered for the first week or so while watching for signs of wilting during the adjustment. I usually grow in clay pots, though, so there isn't as much a chance of overwatering.

I potted up a jasmine cutting last week that was the same as you describe. It had one root about 2 inches long with a couple of very short nubs that were just breaking. It never skipped a beat.

Just be very careful not to snap the root when you pot your cutting up, and you should have no problems.

Hi Zone 5 Rose,

I majorly LOVE and am fascinated by ALL things science--been that way since I was a little child--so of course I'm greatly enjoying this thread. Adding to the pleasure is that I grow and love DARLOW'S ENIGMA. Keep on having fun with yours!! :O)

Debbie

I'm not surprised. At least I'm not surprised with this particular cultivar. DARLOW'S ENIGMA is one of the strongest roses ever found. Completely hardy to USDA Zone 5 (and possibly 4), foliage is just as disease resistant as the infamous Knockout, it roots easily, AND grows well on its own roots. Add to that charming, and highly fragrant, flowers that appear alllllll season long and what you have is one of the best roses E-V-E-R. Its only fault is the numerous thorns. Otherwise, practically perfect in every way.

Thorns? I'll check again but I don't think of Darlow's as a thorny rose. But it doesn't surprise me that it rooted in water. You can hardly kill the darned thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings blog

Yes, I rooted a rose by accident this way. A couple years ago in the fall I had cut a bloom off my Radiance rose and put it in vase and never got around to throwing away the stem when the bloom dried up. I discovered it had begun to root, so I kept changing the water & when it grew enough root, I stuck it in some potting soil in a clay pot and it grew over the winter & I planted it outside in the spring. It grew and thrived! I also did this with another rose & gave it away. Now I am trying it with Crocus rose. Last week I discovered I rooted a hydrangea flower by accident. Again forgot to throw it away. Never occurred to me to wonder why the leaves never died. It had a pretty big root ball. So I planted that in a pot as well. I've never tried to root a rose the traditional way. This way seems to work pretty well!

"Darlow's Enigma" should be regarded as a study name. He lost the name it came with from Oregon, was selling the plant as Rosa moschota 'Plena' until I flowered R. moschata and showed him a sprig of it.

The slender, fishhook-like thorns are more numerous on smaller, twiggier growths. Flowers are too small to make it a perfect rose for those who want large flowers. Floral and foliage characters suggest and R. multiflora involvement, if hardy to USDA 5 that might be another indicator.

This rose has a reputation for being unusually vigorous, so I'm not surprised to learn it rooted in a bud vase.

It's not unusually vigorous, many roses grow as fast and larger to boot. When comparing roses it depends on what your idea of a rose is, there is everything from 6" miniatures to 60'+ rambling types. Some here mistake Rosa multiflora for blackberry plants.

Let's just say that I agree with york_rose...Darlow's Enigma is in my top 5 most vigorous of the 150 or so roses I grow.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Musings blog