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Nothing is prettier than a fence or trellis blanketed with the crimson blooms of a climbing rose. Climbers can be used to frame doorways, decorate pergolas and cover empty, windowless walls or chain link fences.
Beautiful? Yes and expensive. But, if you, a neighbor or a friend have a single healthy climbing rosebush, you can make dozens of new plants from softwood cuttings in a single season. Here’s what you’ll need:
1. New canes from a disease-free climbing rose.
2. A sharp knife or garden clippers.
3. 4" or 5" pots for individual cuttings or window-box type planters to hold for or five new plants.
4. Potting mixture made of equal parts sand and peat moss.
5. Rooting hormone.
6. Stakes
7. Clear plastic bags.
Gather your materials and prepare your potting mixture. Fill each pot to within 1" from the upper rim and moisten the potting mix. Take your cuttings from the top two or three feet of this year’s growth. You can start them anytime. But, if you take them late in the season, you’ll need room inside to keep your plants until they can be set out in the spring.
After taking off the top 2" or 3" of the cane, make 6" to 10" cuttings. Remove the lower leaves from each cutting, leaving only two groups of leaflets on each stem. Dip the bottom of each cutting in the rooting hormone and set the cuttings in mixture so they are covered at least half way up each stem.
Put enough stakes around the outside of the pot to ensure that the plastic will not touch the leaves. Then cover the pots with clear plastic to create a greenhouse effect.
Then put the pots in a warm, well-lit place away from direct sunlight. When you notice new growth (usually in one to two months), the roses have formed roots and you can remove the plastic bags and grow the new roses in a shaded place for at least two to three weeks before transplanting into the garden. Feed your new plants with a water-soluble liquid fertilizer and take care not to let the roots dry out completely.
They should begin to grow vigorously produce new canes during their second season. The next year you will be able to enjoy a wall or fence or doorway covered with blooms that will rival any nursery-grown stock.
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