I use 10% hydrogen peroxide to moisten the medium too. I have found it cuts fungus and rot way down. I will have to try the 50-50 mix of perlite and vermiculite. Thanks for the tip.

Thank you so much for posting this... I love reading what is working for others! And I agree completely....sterility makes a huge difference. I am curious about how your cuttings do repotting them so soon? I too get roots in about 2-3 weeks ( If I had to wait 8 weeks I would be sure they are dead) but I wait a bit longer to re pot. I am thinking maybe this is unnecessary?

My experience has been if they have roots like the one above they do just fine.

This looks great. Can I ask what you do to the cutting before its dipped in the rooting compound? Do you scrape the edges? Do your clippings need to be very long?

The clippings are usually about 6 inches or so. If it's too tall it's hard to fit the bag over it. I use very sharp herb clippers and make just a few verticals cuts just into the cambium layer before dipping it. The edge of the herb clippers are very sharp and make very clean cuts, so I'd say it doesn't wound it all that much.

I've gotta try this!

" I use bottled water and put a couple tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide in each bottle of water. " What size bottle is it? Thanks.

I will give this a try the next time I root roses. I have had mixed success with the other methods.

I just use regular 16 oz. bottles but I don't think that really matters. I just look at it as the bottled water might have less stuff in it that may cause rot or otherwise interfere with the rooting process compared to the tap. Usually 2 or three of those bottles is a good amount to get the perlite wet but not too saturated after it drains.

Thanks for getting back to me with the information.

Yes thank you very much for answering my questions. I don't have any lights and wondered if you thought I could do this without lights? I may just go buy me some. I have rooted some but usually do it outside in the spring and have lots that rot. Your method sounds so easy to do so I guess I need to purchase me those lights even though I don't have much room left but hey I can dig up some of hubbys grass that he has way to much off. Right? Judy

I just use the cheap light that you can get at walmart.

How do I know what kind of light to get? There's allll kinds. Can You tell me what you all use? Judy

I use 4 foot grow lights from "gardener's Direct". They have served me well but aren't cheap. To my knowledge an inexpensive shop light with T5 or T8 bulbs will work just fine. I leave my cuttings under the light for as much as 16 to 18 hours a day.

Yes, I use the 4ft shoplight with regular florescent bulbs. I have used the grow lights but couldn't tell any perceptible difference in the growth. they didn't seem to last as long either. Mine are under them 24 hours a day.

Thanks yall!! I will give them a try.

I just leave mine on all the time because they are in my basement. I haven't even thought of putting a timer down there. But my room is unheated so that is why I leave them on.

I am glad you've found a method that's giving you a much better success rate than what you had been doing. I hope you don't mind my asking what your previous method was?

Thanks for sharing your success story,

Virginia

When I first started I was using different mediums such as potting soil, coir, or peat moss. I was also using water out,of the tap. I also wasn't cleaning the pots before hand. Once I changed to be doing everything as sterile as possible I went from mostly fails to anywhere from 80 to 90 percent success. Although, this year I've been trying to root "James Galway" and have had a lot of trouble. Most of them turned black and rotted. I'm wondering if this is just a difficult one to get rooted.

Thanks for the info. I haven't had any experience with 'James Galway', but it does seem like there's always at least one rose that is difficult for everyone!

Virginia

I just tried your method on Marie Pavie, and I'm sorry to say it hasn't worked. Darn. I may have to go back to my old, slow, way. I'll give the a few more weeks first.

Just wanted to thank you for sharing your tips. I was able to get 100% of the cuttings to take after 2-4 weeks (8/8 cuttings!). One had plenty of roots after barely 2 weeks.

I wanted to note a few things I did differently:

1. Medium was 50/50 perlite/organic potting soil

2. No rooting hormones

3. My pots were clear plastic cups (16 oz). The one that rooted at 2 weeks was in a small clear juice cup (8 oz).

4. No artificial light. 50% sat by the side of the garage getting full bright shade all day. 50% sat by a south-facing window inside the house, getting filtered light all day. We had mostly triple digit temperatures during these weeks.

Kachana, did you cover your cups with plastic? Thanks for sharing your method. I'm in your area and am going to try this with a couple of roses.

Yes, Lisa, they were covered with plastic. I started 8 more cuttings on 8/6/15, and as of today, I can see roots at the bottom of 4 cups already. All my cuttings had spent blooms, and I gathered the cuttings early in the morning. They are sitting outside getting mostly bright shade...I believe they get an hour or so early morning light.

Good luck! As the original poster said, having sterile environment really helps. And oh, I used tap water this time because I did not have bottled water at the time.

Thank you for the explanation and pics, Kachana! I'm going to do exactly what you did. Tomorrow morning, I'll take some cuttings. How exciting!

One last (maybe), question... are you supposed to put drainage holes in the cups? It sounds like no one is watering these cuttings once they put them in the cups, so maybe not?

Sorry if the answer is obvious and I'm just missing it. I hope I won't need too much hand-holding to get these roses started.

Kachina, I'm happy for your success. It really is amazing to see roots on what was just a cutting before. Good luck with your next ones.

Lisa, you should put a few holes in the cups to drain, but once the medium is moist and the cutting are stuck in it, put a bag on it and don't touch them. It's tempting to take the bag off and inspect them, but just leave them alone until they get roots. Don't add any water later. The cuttings don't need more water to produce roots. It's the humidity in the little mini greenhouse you make that helps the cutting make the roots. As long as you see a little condensation on the inside of the bag, then there is plenty of moisture for the cutting to take root. I've used the same method to root rosemary and lavender too. Good luck.

Yes, I poked 5 holes at the bottom. And I never add water. As James said, as long as you see condensation, you are good.

It is very exciting to see their progress and roots! I'm glad you posted what has worked for you here. I did not mean to modify you method, but because I was so excited to give it a try, I made use of the materials I had at the time.

Good luck, Lisa.

I think it's great that you found a method that works for you. Glad to be of help.

Kachana and James, thank you for clarifying. James, I'm so glad you mentioned that you do the same with those two herbs. I've never had any luck rooting either and would love to change that. I'll try this method with them, too.

Many thanks!

Lisa, how's your experiment coming along? Hope you are having some success.

I just started trying with Cary Grant today. Let see how it goes.

James,

Have you ever tried this method on hardwood or semi-hardwood cuttings?

FYI I'm using 2 1/2gal Hefty ziplock bags to house two containers of florist cuttings. They're really tall, and will hold bigger cuttings. Working really well so far. By having the pots totally enclosed inside the big baggie, they're keeping nice and moist.

That's a great idea! Since I'm only using 1 gal bag, my cuttings are only 5-7 in tall.

Hmm...need to try some florist flowers since my husband likes them so much. He doesn't care for the roses I like.

Hi,

I have tried rooting by following your tip with H202. I have used regular potting soil and washed it with peroxide water and used rooting harmone. I have used ziploc bag taped around the plastic pot. I do not have any lights. I kept my pots in basement. It's dark with low light. I see my rootings have some growth. It's been two weeks. I have some questions.

should I keep the pots near a window with some indirect light. Currently they are in almost dark.

how long should I keep ziploc bag around my pot. I am not able to see any roots as my pots are regular perennial black plastic pots. I just see new growth. I did not keep any leaves on my cuttings.

can you let me know what should I do with my cuttings in next weeks. We live in Ohio. I need to wait until late spring to plant them outside.

thanks

jasmine

Hi James,

Thanks for help. I will update progress with my routings. We have small windows in my basement. I will keep my pots near them. I am rooting first time to gift my friends. I am rooting " Easy Does It" rose. I have this rose and my friends like it a lot. Easy to maintain and very pretty with plenty of blooms.

Hi,

My cuttings did not root. I started with three cuttings. I checked all of them as stems are turning black. I checked by pulling and found out none of them has roots. I kept my root cuttings near window. I guess they used stored energy and sprouted leaves. I have seen lot of spiders around my pots. I will try again in spring may be with clear plastic cups. Thanks again.

jasmine.

I've never been able to get roses to root in potting soil, even when I sterilized it in the oven. I've seen where others have had success that way but it hasn't worked for me. I think the perlite or perlite and vermiculite mix is a more sterile environment. All of my first attempts at rooting roses were complete fails. I just had to keep experimenting until I found what works for me. I think some methods work better in different climate zones than others. Don't give up. Just keep tweaking how you're doing it.

Thank you for your response and suggestions regarding right soil. I will try again.

Has anyone tried the perlite/vermiculite method with also using bottom heat? I have my seed/light racks set up w heat mats and heat tape/film so I have that option. I find it helps root most things faster.

So far I've only rooted roses in my outdoor greenhouse but they take a long time to root that way.

Sultry, I have never tried that, but have a couple of mats myself that I'm going to use. I would think bottom heat would help more with root development as opposed to a generally warm environment that may put top growth. So far I'm have good luck with sterilized cuttings, even when taken in December before the bitter cold struck. Those are doing the best. I wish I could get the burrito method down, though. Mine just rotted and I had barely damp newspaper.

I’m trying it right now with my Louise Odier. I’m using 50/50 perlite and vermiculite. I bring the cuttings out during the day, and indoors at night on a heat mat. I also turn on a plant light until I vow to bed at night. I just started the Louise Odier cuttings, so we’ll see how it goes. Oh, and I’ve saved all the plastic cases from family that sheet and comforter sets come in, the kind with zippers. They are great for cuttings. Lisa

Vapovac, I got a few to root with the burrito method but most rot. It is just too humid and everything molds here. I hate it. Even inside the house everything like cookies and cereal have to be in airtight containers or they are not crisp after a few days. In AZ and other dry places, they could last a month in their original containers lol.

Lisa I hadnt thought if using the sheet bags for that. I have a bunch of large ones I saved over the years and used them to store winter sweaters etc lol. I might try it for cuttings. Its pretty humid here most of the year but our winters are usually much drier.

Thats funny about the down coat,GA girl. I am in NE FL and people have been wearing knit hats big coats etc this year. I dont mind a little cold so I can wear sweaters and boots. It really is a cold winter this year! I have bought a few things off ebay too. Its a good place to get expensive stuff at a discount.

I buy the huge bags of perlite at Home Depo. I think they are around 2 cu ft..not sure. I have a lot of potted plants so its much cheaper than the small bags. I will have to look and see if they have large bags of vermiculite.

~Sjn

sultry, I also discovered the large bags of perlite. HD seems to be the only one that carries them. I wish they sold a larger bag of pine fines AKA soil conditioner. I've never see the large bags of vermiculite as I used to use that a lot.

Having lived in Montreal for years, I'm totally prepped for cold weather. I froze there until I learned how to dress.

I bought my huge bag of vermiculite at Home Depot. I’ll double check, but I believe it’s the same brand as my giant bag of perlite, “Vigoro”. Lisa