Karyn & Karma, What a tragedy- I get upset if even one cutting croaks! To lose my whole greenhouse collection is unthinkable. And, about dormancy of cuttings- remeber, mine are only dormant for 60-75 days. And they are well rooted when I put them in the dark. It did freak me out to do it, also, and to see them turn yellow and drop their leaves- that was difficult to watch. But most of them came thru. Any special, hard-to-replace cuttings got to stay under the lights, so your thought of using an extra cutting is a great idea- then you will know if it is possible. We get ice storms here that knock out the power but have not had any for the last two years. You will see some mad scrambling if that happens this winter, as I move what I can to safety.

Hi! can anybdy tell me what to use for mulch in my outdoor buried plants. Also should I mulch now or after the frost. Does mulching mean burying the plants with mulch? How much should I use. I am totally new to clematis. Some of my clematis cuttingsI have potted but the rest I plan to try rooting in plain water.I have boiled about 10-15 willow leaves in water. i intend to use it as a rooting hormone. My problem is how it use this willow extract. Can I put the whole lot( or just a little bit) in rain water in a vase and tansfer my cuttings to it. I am concerned that it may get a little too strong and kill the otherwise healthy vines which are thriving in plain water for 3-4 weeks. I read about the bubbling method to increase oxygenation for early rooting . I improvised a simple though maybe not that effective method of my own. I simply put a long straw in my vase. whenever I happen to pass along the vase I just stop by and blow through the straw a couple of time. Let`s see if it works! Ranjana

This is a very timely thread for me too, as i'm thinking about ordering a few more for Fall delivery. I'd rather have them right now, but, alas, no shipping right now from the vendors I need. Last year I brought in my started cuttings and grew them on under lights in an unheated workroom--but central North Carolina temperatures are not like those in Belleville. This year I have far too many rose babies to bring inside, so I'll have to figure out something else. Before moving here I was a member of the Belleville Area Rose Society--great folks and very helpful too. Six years later I still miss that group! Perhaps some of those Consulting Rosarians are still around and could help you. Best Wishes and congratualtions on getting the cuttings going, Laurel

Hey Overdrive since you seem mechanically inclined you could also do what I am doing this year and thermostatically control a small room so they don't get the extreme temperatures. I can't comment from experience as this is my first year doing it but I think maintaining a temp of -10C will enhance the chances of survival of my potted roses and a few cuttings that struck. I am building a simple box 6'X6'X6' (plans at the moment) out of styrofoam inside an unheated insulated storage room. I will use a 100w light bulb, possibly 2, to provide the heat. The thermostat (can't give you the model atm) will take 120/240v so it is a simple wiring job with no relay. I would think that if you just have very small plants you could do this set up in a large plastic tote that you could insulate with blankets. I am doing this with my dahlia tubers. Again I have zero experience but this was the best solution I could come up with, of course with help from the folks on the roses forum. If interested I could provide more details next week when I have the thermostat in hand. If anybody else would like to try this and would like help I would be willing to do a pictorial. Just let me know :) Have a great day. SCG