Number one thing is don't pull them up to look and see if they have roots. They will die if they don't root and will die if you look at them sometimes. Untill they turn black all over then they will make it. It was hard for me to do this as I wanted to see what was happening underground. I have learned to just leave them be till they start to grow. What was so interesting was that some took months and months to actually grow new stems when I thought they were gone. You Don't take the lid off cooking rice, You don't pull up cuttings and you don't mess around with Slim.

Who is Slim?

How am I going to stand not pulling them out to look?? :-) Uff-da.

Glad to know that's the most egregious error that you saw... It takes soooo long for the first batch of cuttings to root.

Thanks,
Michelle

I agree with woodroid. Don't peek! The tissues are tender and if roots have formed, you most likely tear them off.

My luck with rooting was terrible until this year, 100% failure. I made the following changes and now my rate is almost 100% success.

1) I use sterile seed starting mix, not regular potting soil. I read that some premium potting soils have "forest products" in the mix. That means composted wood and bark chips. The funguses and so on that rot the wood fibers also consume the cuttings. I see wood chips in your potting mix...

2) Buy fresh rooting hormone for each session when you prepare cuttings. Old RH is just talcum powder. I buy the small foil packets as I need them. There's less waste. My good friend Lee suggested that and it was the secret to my new good fortune.

3) Keep the cuttings in very bright indirect light. Mine are outside in black plastic, slatted, plastic totes. (Like milk crates but bigger. I can eventually put six one-gallon pots in each.) I invert another tote over the top so I have mini lath houses.

4) Keep the cuttings as warm as you can. I'm in Georgia. It's summer. No problem.

Thanks Jeffrey. :-)

Yes, the first set was in wood chips/peat/sand. Most of the new ones are in coir now that I've found a source for it... LOVE the coir.

You are right on about my RH being old. It's about 5 years old. I will get a new packet of it.

I am going to try potting in cups (the plastic 16 oz size) - if I can see roots sooner, it will be easier not to peek.

Cheers,
Michelle

Slim is fictional character from a Jim Croche song in the sixties or seventies. You don't tug on Supermans cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't tug on the mask of the ole Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with Slim. If I remember correctly, Slim lost the fight with a jealous man . So it is not absolute.Looking tears off the small filament roots that are so small you don't see them when pulled up.

Aaah, circa 1971. A fine year that was, I was but a wee filament myself. :-)

An octopus arm fell off of my Cabot today, which resulted in 9 NEW cuttings (three are large chunks 'o canes). This cutting thing could get outta hand quickly...

Cheers,
Michelle

Michelle, I am like you -I can't wait. so I put my cuttings in clear plastic glasses. The ones that are something like 40 for $1 at the Dollar Store. That way I can also write on the glasses with permanent marker. It's exciting when you see the roots starting and you have been successful!

I've got each type of rose in different colored 16-oz cups I got at the supermarket so I can keep them separate. The brand name is Solo and the colors are really pretty. They have several colors but not always on the shelf at any given time. At Christmas it's red and green.

If they root and I pot them up in gallon pots, what is the cheapest way to mark them? I bought some white plastic plant sticks some years ago, maybe they were free with a seed order, but I might need a lot, and I'm not sure what to write on them with anyway, markers I guess. Plastic straws in different colors might work. I only know the name of one variety with some degree of certainty.

I could use craft sticks, but maybe that isn't such a good idea as they are wood.

I cut up venetian blinds and write on them with pencil. The pencil marks never fade and can be erased.
Steve.

Thanks, Steve. I have some old ones in the closet, the narrow-slatted ones. I'll trust you on the pencil. I don't know how I'll cut them though, my tin snips need sharpening or something. Always something.

I cut soft drink cans into strips and then engrave the un-printed side with a spent ballpoint pen. I staple the tag to outside rim of the pot when a rooted cutting is ready to be potted up, and when it's ready to be planted out I punch a hole in one end of the tag and loosely tie it to the base of the plant with strong nylon cord. It's not the most aesthetically pleasing system of labeling, but the tags reliably stay with the plants they identify. And I've never had any problems with them degrading to the point of unreadability - even when they're hidden under mulch.

Thank you, cans might be easier for me to cut up with some utility scissors I have. The blinds idea is good, too, if I can find something sharp enough to cut them without running out and buying more stuff. The pen idea might work for either, probably more easily on aluminum can strips, certainly have plenty of those. Pens. Cans I can easily find as people throw them in the street I'm picking up almost every day now (I'm the only one who seems to do it but I know the neighbors must, too).

Hi michelle,
Having callus does not mean that your cuttings will root.
I have been making cuttings when it was 80 to 85 F and "ALL" I got was a big plop of callus and no roots after 6 weeks. The same variety rooted in 2 to 3 weeks for me when it was about 70 to 75 F.
So I asked the local mini grower with 15 years of experience and he told me right away, wait until it is cooler.
He does "NOT" make any own root roses until Sept/Oct when itÂs cooler.

For more info go to my web-site and read 2 articles :
# 1 : " Making Cuttings from Cuttings, from Cuttings"
# 2 : " A New Sport Star"
I also have :
Own Root Cuttings Setup Gallery with detailed comments and info for each of the 30 images.
Check that out too.
Good luck George Mander

Here is a link that might be useful: Roses of Excellence