Kat,

I don't know if you read it, but there is an excellent article about starting roses from cuttings in last month's Ezine. However, I have talked with experts who have propagated cuttings for years, and others who have only done it few times. There are so many variables that I can only tell you there is more than one right way to propagate cuttings. Some roses "root like fire" -- Kim Rupert, other roses are almost impossible to propagate. I don't know why. Sometimes, it depends on the class of rose you are trying to propagate, the temperature, the amount of sunlight, water, soil, season and more.

People who propagate roses are always sharing tips on how to get a better "take". One rosarian swears you have to rip the cutting off of the plant at the heel of the cutting, another says you only need to cut off the cutting and wound the heel. You can get into conversations that go on for hours about what works best. The real answer is that you have to experiment and find out what works for you.

I believe the article written by George Mander posted to the HelpMeFind site to be one of the best on rose propagation... and I have read a lot of them.

I do think you should have the heel as a part of the cutting and it should be wounded, either by tearing the cutting off of the mother plant or by cutting it off and wounding the cambian layer. Even tho' I get a fair take on cuttings, I still don't consider myself an expert and am always experimenting and keeping notes. But it's important to remember that my beliefs in what works and what doesn't are based on MY experiments.

Whether your cuttings take or not may have nothing to do with the rooting hormone you are using. As I said earlier, there are a lot of variables.

Smiles,

Lyn
helpmefind.com