You can just snap the spent flower off. I try not to remove leaves from young plants-- they are needed for growth.

This is what was recommended to me and it worked well. I rooted some CF in water after a bad storm, but had trouble getting them to transition into a soil environment. Someone on gardenweb suggested this and it works everytime (so far). Plant the cutting in very wet potting soil and let it dry out naturally (inside, not in sun, but bright light). Then water as needed and harden off outside. Somehow the really wet soil helps the roots to get acclimated to the soil. I've done a dozen this way with great success. It may take a little longer to get them in the garden this way, but it works. Hope this helps JR

I have my desert rose in a clay pot.. I do not water it until it is dry about an inch down. And cut back on water in winter. It is in a south window and gets lots of light in the winter. It goes out on my covered front facing south after all chance of frost is over. It loses some leaves in winter. I have had it for three or four years. I took a cutting alert it dry out on the end put in spot of regular miracle grow potting soil and it has started putting on leaves.. I would love to try planting from seeds.. My cutting even got water logged and started to turn mushy on the end and I cut it off jammed it back in soil and it started leafing out again. I think over watering is what kills most cactus roses.. I also fertilize with mirical grow and alter with blooms fertilizer in summer.

Wow, sydseeds that is amazing. Did a blanket of your winter snows come early and cover them for a long period, and then after they broke dormancy in the spring, did the temps stay above 32 degrees F. all during your early spring? If so, those conditions could be an improvement over what occured over our winter and early spring. Though we did not get as cold as your zone, Our trees and shrubs were stressed by temps swinging back and forth below and above freezing many times during the winter. Then when temps warmed enough for the trees and shrubs to break dormancy the night temps dropped below freezing again. That actually happened in early spring 2006 and twice in spring 2007 with the latter one dropping low enough to be a hard freeze. Since there was no blanket of snow cover during those times, such conditions caused lots of death to many of even our established trees and shrubs. If you took the cuttings in late summer, the twigs must have been much thicker than mine taken in spring just prior to my shrub beginning to produce bloom buds this year. Is that true? I would be a lot less concerned about mine if their main stems had thickened up some this Summer. Maybe this fall, they can get a little stronger by being out in full morning sun and afternoon shade. This is about the second week for them in the new location, and they do seem to be responding well. Anyway, thanks again for your encouraging report about how tough the hardy RoS cultivars are even in your much colder zone.