Great to read all you detailed step by step instructions. Funny, after reading a bunch of propagating posts here, I bought the same storage container at Superstore with the idea of trying a few this summer myself. I see you have plastic tied with the elastic rope. Did you think the cover was not tight enough?

Joan

Both covers were opaque, one blue and the other white, so I couldn't use them. They would have been snug enough and much easier. Actually I needed to open mine every few days (which is a pain with those bungee cords) to let some fresh air in. They don't have to be totally sealed, just have to keep the humidity as high as possible. I don't know if a translucent one would let enough light through or not. That one poster who put me on to the idea appeared to use the translucent cover that came with his box, and he might have had his lights a lot closer. He also misted his. I did mist a little in the beginning but figured it was just more likely to blow nasty spores around and might do more harm than good.

George Mander uses clear plastic, said it should be heavy. I think mine was too heavy which made it a little harder to work with but otherwise ok.

Talk about a dim bulb lol. One of my lights was very dim, and I thought maybe that's the way they were supposed to be with the warm and cool. Then I got the second set of tubes when I set up the other pair of shop lights, and they both lit up real bright, so I figured something was wrong with that other one. I fiddled with it, and didn't have it screwed in tightly enough. Then it brightened up like it should have been. That could account for some of my losses. Some of my cuttings I left too many leaves on. I forgot one of those did root but I did lose that one in transplanting, a very odd alba with the most unusual leaves I'd ever seen on a rose. I posted photos of it last year.

No matter how well you have thought it out or how carefully you read what somebody else did, I find I always end up having to wing it a little.

The ones I wanted the most were the ones I lost all of them. The lady let me have just 6 cuttings before she trimmed her bushes down. I could kick myself for not asking her to call me and let me come get all the trimmings. Now one has died over the winter, and she isn't going to want to let me have any more until her bushes spring back, if they do. I don't have room for all the roses I attempt anyway so it doesn't matter if I lose a lot. I don't have room for many more, plus I'm still buying some.

I do feel good that I think I saved one old rose. Mine is growing happily in the back yard (I rooted that outside with bottles 2 seasons ago), and it is going to form a colony if it stays healthy. Just slight tip dieback. My Austins took a real beating this winter. I don't like to swipe stuff, but I did this one, and drove by the other day and the bush appears to be history.

Interesting, but did you read my threads? I got 72 to root out of 200, and they all rooted within 4 weeks using George Mander
s method, except I just cut them straight across under a bud, and didn't wound except by snapping off the prickles. Fluorescents are a triphospor, and there is no benefit in
"mixing spectrums". Also, after 4 weeks rooting, then I leave my lights on 24/7. Keeping track of temperature is critical.
I've pruned back my cuttings twice, and the bushes all have a nicely branched structure now. Most with 4 or 5 nice branches.
My Austins did beautifully this winter, all 30 of them, and I'm in zone 4b. Maybe your winter was too warm and your snow cover melted.