1.
How much sun do roses need?
Roses prefer a full day of sun. Give roses at least 6 hours of direct
sun a day. Morning sun is especially important because it dries the
leaves which helps prevent disease.
2. Which roses can be grown in shade?
In general, roses do poorly in shady conditions. Plants bloom less,
are leggy, and are more likely to get diseases. However, many Hybrid
Musks and some Albas can tolerate partial shade.
3. How much water do roses need?
Roses appreciate lots of water. Water generously, at least 1 inch/week,
preferably 2 inches/week during growing season. Water every 4-7 days
during the summer when needed. Each bush needs about 4-5 gallons/week
during the hot summer.
Roses get all their food either through their leaves (foliar feeding)
or through their roots. The only medium for transporting food is water.
Infrequent deep watering is preferred to frequent light watering to
help promote a deep root system. Deep root systems help the rose to
survive both droughts, and winter freezes. Frequent, light watering
causes roots to form very near the soil surface, making the plant
more susceptible to summer 'baking' and winter freezes.
Try to avoid getting the leaves wet (which promotes disease) when
watering late in the day. However, on hot days wetting the foliage
can reduce transpiration and relieves heat stress
4. How do I propagate roses?
There are two primary ways to propagate roses. Asexual reproduction
is usually used to produce a duplicate of the parent plant. Sexual
reproduction, i.e. growing roses from seed, is primarily used to create
new varieties of roses.
Common methods of asexual propagation of roses are softwood rooting,
hardwood rooting, and bud grafting. Limited space permits only a brief
description of softwood rooting.
Old Roses, English Roses and Miniatures are generally good candidates
for rooting cuttings because they usually grow vigorously on their
own roots. Modern Roses such as Hybrid Teas and Floribundas are usually
sold budded onto different rootstock. Some Modern Roses do grow vigorously
on their own roots, while others do not. Below is a description of
softwood rooting from Karen Baldwin with some changes.
ROSE PROPAGATION 
MAKING THE CUTTING
Preferably take a cutting on which the
bloom is barely spent, so that all the petals have just recently
dropped off. It is okay to take a cutting earlier, but at least
make sure color is showing in the bud. These are indications of
the maturity of the wood in the stem -- you want something in between
the extremes of greenwood and hardwood.
Try to have at least four separate leafsets under the bloom, and
a five-leaflet set at the bottom of the cutting. (Each spot where
the leafsets meet the stem forms a "node," where the bud eyes are,
and from which roots can form. Hybrid teas tend to have fewer "nodes"
spaced farther apart than Old World roses, and thus require a longer
cutting, generally speaking). Make a clean bottom cut with a sharp,
clean pruning tool 1" below the last node. Try to leave about 1/2"
of cane above the top leafset.
Keep your cuttings fresh in water while you gather more, until you're
ready to plant them.
PLANTING THE CUTTING:
Fill a 1-gallon zip lock baggie 1/4 to 1/3 full
(about 3") with STERILE loose potting mix. (e.g., 1/2 peter's potting
soil and 1/2 vermiculite). A 2-gallon ziplock baggie may be better
since it will give the leaves more room, but use the same depth
of soil you'd use in a 1-gallon baggie, since you'll be watching
for roots growing through it, later.
Moisten the mix but do not make it extremely wet. Use 1 tsp. miracle
gro per 1 quart of water, to provide some initial nutrients (which
may help avoid yellowing and leaf-drop). With your hands, firm the
soil down well, within the baggie. The soil should be very damp,
but there should be no standing water in the bottom.
Snip off the stem a little above the top-most leaf set (i.e., remove
the flowering part). Try to leave about 1/2" of cane above the top
leafset.
Strip off the bottom two sets of leaves (where the stem will be
pushed into the soil).
Score the bottom part of the stem along its length (vertically)
for an inch or so. (An exacto-knife works nicely for this purpose,
but fingernails will do fine.) Roots will form along this score.
Dip scored end of cutting into rooting compound, a couple inches
deep. Knock off the excess (you can get too thick a layer). Stick
the cutting a couple of inches into the soil.
If insects have eaten the leaves during previous rooting attempts,
you may wish sprinkle a very small amount of diazinon or other insecticide
on the soil surface. Be especially careful if you are using chemicals
indoors.
Mist the cutting and the interior surfaces of the baggie with a
spray bottle filled with the following mix (to avoid fungus and
mildew growth in the closed "terrarium" environment). Do not use
spraycan fungicides or insecticides ... in the closed environment,
the chemicals can overwhelm then kill a new young plant. 1 quart
water 1 tsp. miracle gro 1 tsp. baking soda (no more!) 2-3 drops
dishwashing liquid (to make it cling)
Zip baggie almost shut. Breathe into it 'til it expands kinda like
a balloon, and zip the rest of the way closed. (Keep it closed unless
it deflates enough to warrant breathing into it again.)
Put in bright, INDIRECT light - (e.g., behind sheers in a southeast-facing
window) WARNING!!! if it gets direct sun or too much heat it will
scorch (eventually turning black) and likely die! You may have to
experiment a bit to find the best exposure; you might hedge your
bets by placing some in different locations until you find the best
spot for your house.
Clear away any leaves that might drop from the stem, reinflating
the baggie after removing them.
POTTING THE CUTTING:
Look for roots along the bottom of the baggie in two or three weeks. A few stubborn ones may take six weeks, and there is a report of one incredibly obstinate plant that took over 10 weeks!
Acclimation to air outside the bag is tricky. To be careful, (1) when you see some top growth, unzip the baggie just a little for a few hours the first day, then seal it up again. (2) For the next few days, unzip the baggie the same amount, but leave it open for a few more hours each day. (3) Next, leave it open all the time, but increase the amount the bag is unzipped each day for about a week, until it's fully open. Don't rush it.
Put good soil into a 1-gallon pot, leaving room for the addition of the new plant and its soil. Place the baggie atop the soil, and cut the plastic away (this can be slightly tricky). Firm the soil around the plant only very lightly.
Keep the same lighting in the same location (protected from too much direct sun) for a week, leaving the cutting unmolested to give its disturbed roots a chance to heal.
PLANTING OUTDOORS:
After they have spent a week in their pots, you
can either move them into more light inside for the first winter),
or (preferably) move them outside.
When moved outside, set them in indirect sun at first, bright but
shaded, and leave them there for a week. (If your area gets cold
at night, you may need to move them inside at night for a while.)
The next week, move the plant bit by bit toward and then into full
sun. (Note: Gro-lights don't normally put out nearly enough light
for roses, though it can probably be done.)
When kept inside for their first winter, especially in zones 5 and
below, place them in a spot where they'll get more light. (When
planted outside in the same summer they were rooted, even with a
heavy mulch, many more will be lost to winter kill since the new
little roses won't always have enough roots to carry them through.
Also, chinooks (intense, warm winds) do their damage too. By keeping
them inside for their first winter, and planting them in the spring,
they will be better-established by the next fall.)
Remember that your rose will grow in size; prepare a good-sized
area of soil with added organic material as appropriate to your
area.
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