5 easy tips to grow roses and propagate from cuttings, with Harkness Roses | The RHS, by RHS - Royal Horticultural Society on YouTube. 6 min 12 s.
- Video length
- 6 min 12 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Choose a spot with at least 4 hours of direct sun a day and enough room for the rose to spread. Crowded plants grow poorly and catch disease more easily.
Clear weeds and loosen the soil, then plant the rose at the same depth it grew before. Firm the soil around the roots and water well.
Mulch in spring with a layer of well-rotted manure or homemade compost, keeping it clear of the stems. This feeds the soil and holds moisture.
Prune twice a year, in autumn and spring, cutting out dead, damaged and crossing stems. The right height depends on the rose variety.
Water and feed through the growing season and pick disease-resistant varieties. Good health and less stress help prevent disease.
Deadhead faded flowers in summer by cutting back to a strong leaf. This keeps the rose flowering for longer.
For cuttings, pick a healthy stem from this year's growth that is firm, not soft or woody. Cut a piece about 20 to 25 cm long.
Trim the cutting just below a leaf node and remove the lower leaves. Leave two or three leaves at the top and cut the base cleanly.
Push the cutting into a pot of free-draining compost so the lower nodes are buried. Water it, label it and keep it in a warm, sheltered spot.
Tips and common mistakes
Do not let cuttings dry out, but do not drown them either. Keep the compost moist, not soaking.
Clean your secateurs between plants to avoid spreading disease.
Take several cuttings at once, since not every one will root.
Avoid taking cuttings from soft, sappy tips, as they usually rot before rooting.
Questions
When is the best time to take rose cuttings?
Late summer to early autumn is a good time, when this year's stems have firmed up. Soft spring growth is harder to root.
How long do rose cuttings take to root?
Usually several weeks to a few months. Gently tug the stem after about 8 weeks. If it holds, roots are forming.
Do I need rooting hormone?
Not always. A clean cut and free-draining compost often work fine, but rooting powder can help tricky varieties.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
