How to Propagate Roses: Step By Step Guide

When to Take Rose Cuttings

To “propagate” a rose means starting a young rose plant from a mature rose bush. Yes, you’re helping your plants reproduce!  There are many plants that you can propagate to make new baby plants.

The easiest way to propagate a rose isn’t from seed but from taking a softwood cutting, i.e., cutting stems off the bush.

As with most endeavors, timing is everything. For most varieties, the best time to cut is in late spring into early summer, just as the flowers start to fade. This is the time when they have the best likelihood of rooting. 

For about a year, you will grow the cuttings in little pots on a sunny windowsill or greenhouse, and then you will plant the following spring. The young rose bush will take about 2 to 3 years to flower.

Supplies for Propagating Roses

The process of propagating roses includes preparing the cutting for rooting, choosing a rooting medium, creating an ideal environment for rooting, and caring for the cutting until it roots. Here are the supplies you’ll need:

• clean, sharp knife
• buckets of water
• sterile potting soil and perlite
• rooting hormone powder (found at garden supply stores) encourage new roots to develop
• clean, sharp clippers
• Small, deep pots—preferably clear. These can be 2-1/2 inch pots from the nursery or even a coffee can.
• Humidity dome: empty plastic bottle, milk jug, plastic bag, inverted clear storage bin.

Steps on How to Propagate Roses

In spring, choose well-hydrated, healthy, mature plants for cuttings—without diseases or pests. Choose stems about the thickness of a pencil with 4 to 5 growth buds below the flower. Water your plants well the day before you plan to take cuttings so that they root well.

1. Using clean, sharp clippers, take a 6 to 8-inch long cutting of the current season’s growth.

• Clip off the flower above a growth bud at the top. The grow buds are the little nubs that stick ot.
• Then, shift down 6 to 8 inches and cut just below a set of leaves at a 45-degree angle.
• Trim off all but the top two sets of leaves (keep these!). Thorns can be clipped off, too.

2. Place in a bucket of water while taking several more cuttings. The success rate is about 50% to 70%, so take some extra if needed.

3. Fill deep pots with a 50/50 mix of sterile potting soil and perlite to make a fluffy, well-draining medium. Firm gently with your hands.

4. Cut a few shallow, 1-inch-long slits in the bark at the base of the cutting. Extra roots will grow from these cuts along with roots at the base. Dip the bottom of the cutting into water and then into the rooting hormone.

5. Make a hole in the moist potting media and slip in the cutting to about half its length. Insert the cutting at a slight angle, burying about 2 to 3 inches deep. Firm the soil around the base of the cutting, leaving at least 2 buds below ground and 2 buds above ground. 

6. Now place the pot in a humidity dome, a zip-top plastic bag, a glass cloche, a milk jug open on top, or a soda bottle open on top. I tend to recycle plastic bottles. If you’re growing a lot of cuttings, try a clear storage bin! Just put the small pots on the tray and invert the clear bin on top; drill a few holes in the bin.

Whatever you use, the cover needs to be clear so light can get through and be able to be closed to hold water. The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis suggests creating a “mini greenhouse” by covering the pot with a clear plastic bag and securing the bag with a rubber band. To keep the bag from touching the cuttings, which could cause them to rot, prop it up with sticks. 

7. Place cuttings in a place with moderate temperatures and indirect sunlight until good roots have formed. This step is why we prefer to use clear pots for cuttings. It allows you to see the roots without disturbing the soil and possibly killing the fragile roots. If you are using solid-colored trays or pots, you can check for roots growing out the bottom.

8. After a few weeks, you’ll notice condensation has formed within the humidity chamber. Check for root growth by gently tugging the cutting. If it resists moving, it is making new roots. When new growth appears, remove the bag or dome and gradually acclimate the new plant to sunshine. UC Davis says that it takes approximately four weeks for roots to develop. Then, it takes roughly six months for the rose plant to be suitable for planting into the landscape.

9. When the cutting is thriving, and you can see new leaf growth, you can pot it up into a larger container or plant it out in the garden!

Since the new plants are not grafted, they will grow on their own roots. They may grow more slowly at first but will eventually be hardier. Even if the tops die back to the ground, they can send up new growth in spring.

Transplanting the Cutting Into a Pot or Garden Bed

When you transplant a cutting raised from a cushy indoors to the outdoor weather, it must be “hardened off.”  These baby plants need to thicken their plant cell walls. Place the pots with your cuttings in a sheltered place outside for a couple of hours and gradually increase their time outdoors over 7 to 14 days. 

When transplanting into garden soil, ensure it’s loose and loamy (leaning toward sandy)—NOT clay or compact. If you don’t have the ideal soil, add organic amendments.  Roses prefer a slightly acidic soil pH between 5.5 and 7.0. A pH of 6.5 is just about proper for most home gardens. An accurate soil test will tell you where your pH currently stands. 

After planting your cutting in the ground, mulch it, water it when dry, and it should do well.  See our complete guide to planting and growing roses.

Tips for Successful Rose Propagation

1. Rooting can take several weeks, so be patient! If a cutting isn’t showing roots, leave it alone; roots must be visible. (Again, this is why we like clear pots.) If nothing happens after a few months, then the cutting isn’t successful.
2. Remember to leave some small leaves on the cutting because this encourages the cutting to root. However, remove most leaves from the cutting so it doesn’t lose moisture too quickly.
3. For the first year, keep your new roses protected from frost in a greenhouse, cold frame, or sunny window sill. Never let your rose cuttings get too cold. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Be aware that many new hybrids are patent-protected, and by law, you can’t propagate them without permission from the patent holder. If you’re unsure if you have a hybrid rose that is safe for cutting, ask the nursery where you bought it or check this site. To avoid a visit from the plant police, only take cuttings from old garden roses and heirloom plants that have been around for 20 years or more.
2. Gardeners can make their own potting soil. However, do not use regular garden soil as the medium to grow cuttings. It’s too heavy, holds a lot of water, and often contains weed seeds or disease.
3. It’s very difficult to grow roses from a bouquet; you can try it, but these roses are usually grown in hot-house conditions versus your outdoor rose shrubs and do not usually adapt well. 

Creating new rose plants is very rewarding, not to mention economical. Imagine filling a garden area with new roses! Propagating a rose bush is also a great idea to share a beautiful rose with family or friends—a gift lasting for years.