In California, my family had these beautiful rose bushes right next to the back door. As a child I didn't think much about them except that our dogs would lay under them when it was hot outside. They had these amazing roses that I completely took for granted as now I can't find any roses that match those produced on the bushes. Any time I go to a nursery I search for the perfect rose bush but always come up short, and I have never had success with starting roses from seeds.
The only times I find the perfect roses are in pre-cut bouquets. However, I don't buy them often and my boyfriend prefers to buy actual plants to surprise me since they will last longer. When wandering the grocery store the other day though they had the most gorgeous rose arrangement at a reduced price and I decided to spruce up the kitchen for a few days before attempting rose propogation.
We have all seen the "grow a rose from a potato" hack, placing a rose stem into a potato and planting it to produce a rose bush miraculously. I took it upon myself to test out a few other processes just in case those may be better or produce more viable plants. Taking all the information I have gained in my "plant lady" time, I went to chopping up the stems.
Taking the flowers off was sad but necessary and they are hanging in several different locations to dry out and preserve at the moment. After removing the flowers, I cut the stems into sections: longer portions with the final set of leaves, and just nodes. For the node only sections, I placed them into either damp moss or damp perlite. Each medium is often used in propating and allows for a similar geenhouse effect. The longer portions were split between either soil or leca. I am currently leaning toward the perlite or moss producing more success, but I am excited to see how it all goes.
Moss Propogation: Day 1 pictured above
Perlite Propogation: Day 1 Pictured above
Soil Propogation: Day 1 pictured above
Leca Propogation: Day 1 pictured above
Over the next several weeks I will be maintaining and observing these potential plants. They will all receive light and water appropriate to each growing medium. I will continue to post updates and share if any are successful. Hopefully at the end of this, I will have plenty of potential rose bushes that I could even share with friends. Stay tuned!!
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