The gal at the greenhouse wouldn't come down on the price of the Dolly Parton rose bush that I wanted to buy for my momma...sooo I googled how to start one myself. It seemed pretty easy. I did buy my rooting powder from the greenhouse. I am trying to start two from Margaret's rose bush she bought last year for $9.99 from the same lady. This year she is not budging at $14.99. I am stubborn too. Here is my pictorial on what I did. I can't get the captions to work on these pictures so I will tell it all right here.
I cut them @ 12 inches just below a bump. Slice the bottom of the stem in quarters, cut off all leaves, flowers, etc, except for 3-5 near the top. Wet the bottom ( I used spring water and a green Fiesta cup - I might help..it might not ), dip the bottom in the rooting powder, give it a tap over the trash to knock off any excess, gently stick it in a pre-dug hole in a little container of potting soil. Cover it loosely, Then cover with a plastic bag-loosely. The information I read said to keep the bag as 'off of the leaves' as possible, so I used some knitting needles-hopefully it will work. Keep the plants moist. Leave it be for about two weeks and then give a gentle tug on the plant to see if it has grown roots yet. Tada. I don't really know what to do after it grows roots-haven't read past that. Just taking it one step at a time. {the Mechanics Wear gloves are great! I wear them all of the time I help Chris or cut thorny roses-I got them at Lowe's} 7/7/13 Update. The project was going well til a day or so ago...the leaves turned yellowish and there was only a smidgen of a new root. I will give it a try another time. :(
