Outdoor Mason jar cuttings over winter?

15 years ago

Hi folks, this year I decided to try the Mason jar method to root rose cuttings, having failed at others. Eureka, multiple successes! However, some were started in late August, and though they have sprouted new leaves and look healthy, I'm not sure what I should do at this late point in the season. Have any of you left a Mason jar over a cutting throughout the winter and waited until Spring to remove it, without digging up the babies and putting them in an unheated basement? (Our garage gets much too cold).

Thanks,

Rick

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Comments (9)

shelia__greenthumb
15 years ago
Hi Rick,
I live in WV and I have successfully started several
new rose cuttings using the mason jar method. I remove
the leaves from the bottom of the 2 leaf nodes and put
rooting hormone on the end and put the cutting in the
ground, then just cover it with the jar. By spring I
have a brand new rose.
rickl144
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, Sheila, I was wondering about leaving the jar in place until Spring arrives. Sounds like its the best thing to do, or at least won't hurt the cutting.

Rick
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Those small greenhouses have a TON of good uses. If you're in a cold zone they make a great place to winter seedlings and young cuttings for one thing. I've had horrible luck trying to create any type of closed environment for cuttings. My humidities are always so high here anyway that closing cuttings into an even more humid environment just seems to make them rot quicker. Generally I only do mine in the early part of the season and they just go outside with the rest of the roses in full sun with no covers of any kind. Since I walk my roses every day I can keep a good eye on their moisture levels. I use seed starter soil instead of potting soil because it's lighter and holds moisture well. I've had the most success doing them this way. I have 6 that I started in September after our rose show which I don't normally do. That's VERY late for my season. But they were offered to me by a good rose friend who knows how much I love minis/minifloras and some of them are very rare or hard to find. I can see some roots just starting to form in most of the cups now and all of the stems are still very plump and green so I'm hopeful they'll do well in the little greenhouse over winter.
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This is a quote from Penn State Extension that seems more apropos re. baking in jars. If breads or cakes are baked in canning jars, seal them after they are completely cooled so that a vacuum seal is not created. This will prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Also, immediately refrigerate. Refrigeration temperatures will prevent the growth of other harmful bacteria that can grow at the water activity and pH typically found in these types of products. The shelf-life in the refrigerator is several weeks. Additionally, there is always the risk of having the jar break in the oven or upon removal from the oven. Also, the jars can be very hot so use oven mitts to prevent burns. Ã¢ÂÂ¨Ã¢ÂÂ¨from: Dr. Angie Fraser, Food Safety Specialist, North Carolina State University. Some of that is clearly stating the obvious, but I do know there have been a number of complaints about the quality of the finished product (i.e. insufficiently baked at the center and over-baked at the edges), especially if the jar is a quart, rather than a half-pint or pint. But it seems if someone wants to bake in jars and is willing to risk the possibility of reduced consistency/quality and perhaps breakage, that's up to them. I can guess that cupcakes or mini-yeast loaves (like little brioche) baked in half-pints would be cute. However, I wouldn't do it because I don't want to stress the glass, risking future breakage during canning, and because I have certain pans I know produce really reliable results for me. For gifting I often use the paper baking pans. Carol Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour Paper Baking Pans
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I don't know where all the experts have gone here. Expert I'm not but know a couple things from reading so much here and trying a few methods. George Mander's specialty is miniature roses. I posted the link on another thread to his site, just google "cuttings from cuttings from cuttings" in quotes like that, and you should see his name or his site name "Roses of Excellence". To try to root it outside, here's one method that worked for me that is almost what you want to do. I suppose you could put it directly in the ground like you want, that's what I did when my mason jar cutting took. None I ever put into the ground but that one whether the mason jar or soda bottle rooted. But some have good luck that way. I also tried the winter method (you wouldn't want to do it for a mini). I cut pieces of cane I was going to throw away, can't remember if I used rooting powder or not, maybe not, and stuck them directly in the ground over winter. That works for some. By mid winter I went out and found mine lying on the ground. I don't know why they were pulled out as I had stuck them down in well, maybe the freezing ground heaved them out. I did another one that didn't work, but the amazing thing is those canes stayed healthy green nearly all winter. I wouldn't have expected that. These were thicker canes than I normally root cut into 1 to 1-1/2 foot sections, like a pencil. Another way was to take the smaller clear plastic solo cups and punch two 1/4 inch holes in the bottom not too close together. Fill with the closest to George Manders special mix as you can find or mix 1/2 peat and 1/2 pearlite and wet it the night before with boiling water. Then squeeze any excess out before to stick your cutting. Some do use regular potting soil, but many think these lighter mixes work better for some reason. Then you can "plant" the cup in the ground and cover it with the soda bottle. After 3 weeks or so (or whenever you want so long as you bury it again and cover) you can pull up the cup to see if you see any white roots near the bottom sides of the cup. One that takes, you always will see that, maybe not with a mini, never tried those. Some people tug on them; if they get resistance it means roots are probably formed but I don't recommend it. If you do what I suggested or what you proposed, water over the bottle with the cap on all around. I suppose you could in your case water directly in the ground but if you use a potting medium, it is not a good idea to water them directly. The ground all around inside where the bottle is secured will absorb the water and it will wick up into the solo cup through the holes. You should see moisture on the inside of the soda bottle again in an hour or so. But if you want it really badly and don't have many cuttings to work with, maybe that bud grafting method would be the best. I haven't tried that, but the reason I would not like it is that I like my roses to be own root and not have a graft so if canes come up from underground, I know they are not rootstock which you do not want.
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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
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mahew
15 years ago
I have a related question. I have several cuttings I have done in small pots with a mason jar rather than in the ground. Any one have an idea what I should do with them for the winter (in Michigan)? I don't want to plant them since I give them to other people.
minsue67
15 years ago
Rick, The only way I could successfully root a rose is with the mason jar method and I left the jar on through the winter and had success until I needed to dig them up and move them this spring. So this year I did it the way mahew did it and had greater success.

mahew, I am also in MI and now wonder what to do with them. My neighbor (who is big into roses) says to put them in my unheated garage and make sure they stay moist, not soggy. But being me and being very forgetful I moved mine into an unheated entry porch that has all south facing windows with undirect sunlight and I can remember to keep an eye on my new babies. Hopefully this works.

Mindy
rickl144
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Mindy,

Thanks for sharing your observations! It seems there is no requirement that they need to be dug up in the early spring, so I may just take off the jar after the danger of frost is past, and let the rooted roses stay put a bit longer in the ground before transplanting them to their final destination. I have had great success transplanting all kinds of plants by first root-pruning them with a spade several weeks ahead of time, making the roots form a more dense ball before transplanting.

Rick
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
15 years ago
Can I ask a few questions ??

About how many canes do you usually root under one mason jar?? I was wondering if I tried to put 4 or 5 cuttings in there if it would make it a fuller bush or is this thought goofy??

Do I use certain canes as in older versus younger or ones that have just had blooms on them or does it even matter??

Sorry but I am so new to roses period and I would love to cut some of my most favorite just for fun. Thanks a bunch, Judy
rickl144
Original Author
15 years ago
I'm no expert, but I do put multiple cuttings under a single Mason jar since some may not "take," not because I aim for a fuller bush. I try to space cuttings under a jar so I have a chance to separate individual roses' root systems, which limits the number under a single jar. (No one has told me the minimum recommended spacing between cuttings, so in my ignorance I settled on 1-1/2 inches apart or so.) If more than one makes it, I plan to try to move the extras to allow healthy root expansion. I get more cuttings, and taller ones, under a "sun tea" jar than a canning jar.

When I first started using Mason jars, I found they overheated and killed the cuttings unless they were in either natural shade (north side of an existing bush) or protected from direct sun by a strategically-placed piece of lumber. I started by relying on natural shade, which meant I rooted some cuttings in spots where I don't want mature plants, so they will need to be transplanted later. But if I shade the jar with something so it does not get too much direct sun, I can try rooting right where I want the mature plants to grow.

From my reading, to get an apparently bushier rose one should choose a variety that has a relatively compact growth habit (at least in mature width, if not height, which can be controlled by pruning) - not a climber or sprawler. David Austin recommends planting his roses in groups of 3 or 5, with individual plants spaced not closer than about 1-1/2 feet apart.

Hope this helps, from one learner to another.

Rick
Prettypetals_GA_7-8
15 years ago
Thanks Rick, I think I will give it a try. It sounds like fun. Thanks for your help. Judy
dansmithjr2002
12 years ago
hi i am new to rose cuttings but this year i started taking cuttings with some sucess but i lost a few with mason jars because of heat so i bought a plastic container and put my cuttings in 16 oz plastic cups i have several that did well two even had roses but i need advice on over winter cuttings i have in garden now december 13 th help

Outdoor Mason jar cuttings over winter?

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Outdoor Mason jar cuttings over winter?

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