How to Propagate Roses? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Propagation Methods

Rose planting is often based mainly on division propagation, but layering and cuttings can also be used for propagation. Below we briefly introduce these three propagation methods.

Division Propagation

One year before division, apply sufficient fertilizer near the root zone of the mother plant and water it, while keeping the soil loose and moist to encourage abundant suckering at the roots. Because roses have a very strong suckering ability, the mother branch tends to wither after each new shoot is produced, so the young shoots near the root zone must be transplanted elsewhere in time so that the mother branch can still grow vigorously. Therefore, each year from November to December, after the plant has shed its leaves, or in February of the following year when the buds have just begun to sprout, you can dig out strong new plants growing beside the mother plant from the large clump, with 2 to 3 stems per cluster, and divide and plant them with roots. After planting, cut the stem back to 20 to 25 cm above the soil surface. After 2 to 3 years of cultivation, they will form clumps and bloom.

Layering Propagation

During the plum rain season from June to August each year, choose vigorous current-year branches, bend them into the soil, notch the buried portion, insert a clod of soil into the wound, bury it in the soil, and secure it with a bamboo fork or tree fork, leaving the shoot tip exposed above ground. Keep the soil moist. Roots will form in 2 to 3 months, and the following spring it can be separated from the mother plant and planted elsewhere.

Cuttings Propagation

In early spring before budding, select vigorous, pest-free 1-year-old branches, cut them into cuttings about 20 cm long, and insert them diagonally into a cutting bed made of fresh river sand to a depth of 12 to 14 cm. Firm the sand and water, and keep the sand bed temperature constant. Roots form after about 30 days, and they are transplanted after sprouting. Cuttings in a sand bed heal and root relatively easily, but they need to be taken indoors in a sunny spot or in a field under an arched plastic tunnel, and the management work must be meticulous. Softwood cuttings are generally taken during the plum rain season. Take semi-mature branches, cut a section about 20 cm long from the middle and lower part as a cutting, with 2 to 3 nodes and buds on it, insert it diagonally into the soil, firm and water it, and transplant it after it has rooted and sprouted. Hardwood cuttings are mostly taken during the growing season from September to November.