What are the propagation methods for roses?

Roses are often propagated mainly by division, but they can also be propagated by layering and cuttings. Below we briefly introduce these three propagation methods.

Division propagation

One year before division, apply plenty of fertilizer near the root zone of the mother plant and water it, while keeping the soil loose and moist to encourage abundant suckering from 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, every year in November to December, after the plant has dropped 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 a large clump, each clump having 2 to 3 stems, and plant them separately with roots attached. After planting, cut the stem back at 20 to 25 cm above the soil surface, and after 2 to 3 years of cultivation they will form a clump and bloom.

Layering propagation

In the plum rain season from June to August each year, select vigorous current-year branches, bend them into the soil, notch the buried part and insert a clod of soil into the wound, bury it in the soil, fix it with a bamboo fork or a tree branch fork, and let the shoot tip remain exposed above ground. Keep the soil moist, and roots will form in 2 to 3 months. The following spring it can be separated from the mother plant and planted elsewhere.

Cutting propagation

Before budding in early spring, select vigorous, pest- and disease-free 1-year-old branches, cut them into cuttings about 20 cm long, and insert them at an angle into a cutting bed made of fresh river sand to a depth of 12 to 14 cm. Press firm and water, and keep the sand bed temperature constant. Roots form after about 30 days, and they are transplanted after sprouting. Sand-bed cuttings callus and root relatively easily, but they need to be placed in a sunny spot in a greenhouse or in an arched plastic tunnel in the field for cutting, and the management work must be meticulous. Softwood cuttings are generally taken during the plum rain season: take semi-mature branches, cut a 20 cm piece from the middle-lower part as a cutting, with 2 to 3 nodes and buds on it, insert it at an angle into the soil, press firm and water, and transplant after roots and shoots form; hardwood cuttings are mostly taken during the growing season from September to November.