Note that if the rose you wish to root is 'Laguna' the Kordes climber, it was int. 1995, and is still in patent -- so should not be propagated. If your Laguna is one of the older editions, and is out of patent, there are a TON of ways to start roses from cuttings. All are good. Some work better with some roses, not as well with others. My friend Barbara Oliva said: "If you've tried to propagate a rose, and you've failed, you may be using the wrong method, or at the wrong time, for that rose." Under "ARTICLES" on the website of the Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group (see below) you'll find information on methods. You should also GOOGLE "Starting Roses From Cuttings" or "Rooting Rose Cuttings" -- which will give you a plethora of methods. Jeri Here is a link that might be useful: Gold Coast Heritage Roses Group

Peach are very hard from cuttings, but willow is a dead cinch. Take dormant cuttings in late winter or early spring and they will root easily . Works well with the old "stick in ground under fruit jar" method. Black Haw (Viburnum prunifolium) is common over most of Eastern US, even up here in PA. Clean off the pulp and soak in warm water overnight. plant about 1" deep outside and most will sprout next spring. These also root sucker a lot, and these can be divided off for new plants. Burr Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) acorns should be planted about 3" deep outside also. I'm a native Okie, born and raised there, but have been up here in PA for 35 years. Hope you have luck with these. George

Kristen, the reason why "damaging" the end of the cutting allows callusing is you're exposing the cambium layer, the juicy, lighter green layer just beneath the bark. This is the circulatory system of the plant and the tissue that differentiates, either forming more cambium to "knit" a bud to a stock or callus which further differentiates to form roots. Scarifying, or exposing more cambium by scraping off the bark to reveal it; smashing or crushing the ends to expose it or simply slicing through the bark to uncover more of it all have the same effect, though with varying results depending upon a variety of factors. The bottom line is, usually, the more cambium you expose, the greater the callus and number of roots. You might not have had good luck with softer wood cuttings possessing leaves because they transpire too much water, permitting the cutting to dry out. Traditionally, those with foliage work best in more humid conditions where they actually absorb moisture, keeping the cutting hydrated while it calluses and forms roots. Softer wood cuttings with a set or two of leaves are very successful under mist propagation. They continue producing chlorophyll, feeding the plant while absorbing moisture so the cutting continues performing as if it had roots, until it does. Often, this can be accomplished using Mel Hulse's Baggie Method http://paulbardenroses.com/hulse.html It also works rather well under more sophisticated greenhouse conditions. If your climate is humid and mild enough, it may work outdoors without artificial assistance, but I live in a more arid section of Southern California where outdoor propagation isn't successful without assistance. Are leaves necessary for success? If you're using soft wood cuttings during the normal growing season, and you have the right conditions and equipment, they make success easier, faster and more guaranteed. If you can't meet any of those conditions, they'll probably make it easier to fail. If the cuttings you strike with leaves fail with the foliage drying up, your humidity is too low when and where you're doing it. Where I am, they either perform as you've described, or if I put them under plastic, they mold and the cutting fails. That's why I have been so enthusiastic over the wrapping method. When done under the most appropriate temperatures with sufficiently hardened wood, it works like magic. Burying all but the top inch of a cutting has very similar effects and results as the wrapping method. You're keeping the cutting dark, cool and moist, all conditions required to stimulate callusing and rooting. After removing them from the wrapping when they are callused, and often rooted, I plant the cuttings deeply so the majority of the wood remains under soil for that exact reason. Why not? The suggested method of planting a bare root rose is to plant it then mound it with soil, keeping it damp, cool and moist until new foliage appears at the cane tops. At that point, you want to gradually expose more and more cane, permitting it to harden off to the elements rather than just stripping the soil from it and letting it fend for itself. The same is true for cuttings removed from a "close environment" of a baggie or greenhouse. They have to acclimate to the hotter, drier and sunnier conditions just as we do after being inside all winter when we begin spending more time in the hotter, sunnier spring and summer. Once I see growth beginning at the cutting tops, I tilt them out of the pots to check on root activity. If it's filling the bottom of the pot with roots, I'll raise it in the pot, exposing more of the cane by planting it higher, with more soil beneath it. If you can accomplish planting bare roots, uncovering them from the protective soil mounds once grow begins or putting the cuttings out higher just prior to or during a rain, it works excellently! The continual bath of rain helps stabilize them and harden them off very quickly, making your success even more of a sure thing. Kim

I'm working on trying the florist roses again. Last yr I had them in clear cups with 2-litre soda bottles over them, in an enclosed chamber I built with wet clay pebbles in the bottom of a plastic under-bed storage container and a heating pad underneath with a full-spectrum fluorescent light on them for several hours a day. They all fried. Now I'm potting them up and putting them inside zip-lock bags and misting water inside to make a greenhouse effect. They are in this big reptile "cage" my niece gave us yrs ago for the lizards we had. I have the fluorescent light on around 12-15hrs a day. No heat other than from the light. So far, after over 2weeks, I have 11 out of 12 cuttings of the orange rose IGUANA still looking green, supple and alive! One stem did turn black, but I expect to have a few do that. I also have a gorgeous dk purple rose called SHOGUN in there for almost a week. Those are still not even dropping the leaves yet. I got 2 1/2gal zip-lock bags and put two small pots in each one. Could probably get three in there. I'm using up old band pots from roses I've gotten from various suppliers, and when I run out I have the clear plastic drink cups that I'll use next. Oh and I cut the upper (buds) off and enjoy them in a small vase, and the stems get put in water with peroxide before they get potted up. I get my florist roses from Safeway Market because they are only $9.99 a dozen in the off season and they all have the names on the cellophane wrapper. Today I picked up a lovely ruffled green one called LEMONADE. I'm checking tomorrow to see what comes in. (They get them in Mon-Wed-Fri.) I'm really excited about these looking so good. Last yr they would turn black within a week. I really think it was too hot with the heating pad under them. Anyway, it's all an experiment I'm doing and looks like this time I might have found the best way to do it. Will keep everybody posted!