How to Grow a Rose Bush from Rose Bush Cuttings

Last Updated: March 24, 2023 Approved

A walk along rows and rows of beautiful and varied rose bushes at your local nursery is a feast for the eyes and balm for the soul... until you muster the nerve to look at price tags. Ye Gads! Visions of how nice that bare spot in your yard is going to look once the new rose bush goes in fades into a frightening vision of your bank balance. Don't despair though. You can have your rose bush for free. If you don't mind waiting for it to grow, you can fill that bare spot in your yard using a clipping from one of your existing rose bushes. Read on to learn how.

Steps

1
Prepare the pot or area in your yard where you plan to plant your clipping. If you use a pot, fill about halfway up with soil and add enough water to moisten it. If planting it in the ground, dig a hole, add potting soil (for extra nutrients) and moisten.^{[1]
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2
Take a cutting from the rose bush you would like to grow your new bush from. It can be a whole branch or a stem.^{[2]
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- With your knife, gently scrape off 1–2 inches (2.5–5.1 cm) of the outer covering of the clipping at the bottom. This will allow the rooting hormone to get into the stem.
- Take a cutting from a relatively new part of the plant to ensure it grows.
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3
Moisten the part of the clipping that you just scraped and dip it into rooting hormone. Tap it a few times to remove the excess.^{[3]
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4
Immediately plant the cutting. If everything goes right, it should start to put out roots within the next week or so!^{[4]
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Community Q&A

Question

How often should we water, and how moist should we keep it?

Community Answer

You should water it once a week. However, if it rains you don't have to water it unless the water does not reach the plant. If you water your plant, you should see visible water droplets on the plant itself, and the ground under the plant should be darker. If you can see a visible water pool you have added too much water.
Question

What is hormone rooting?

Community Answer

It is a powder often used in growing plants from cuttings. Basically, it stimulates the cutting to grow roots of its own.
Question

How often should we water, and how moist should we keep it?

Community Answer

It depends upon the climate. Normally, in summer, you need to water the plant twice a day; in winter, you should water the plant once a day. Make sure the water drainage in the pot is working properly and is not choked.