by Lucynda Rowen

Created on: September 20, 2008

Roses are beautiful and smell wonderful and a favorite of just about every Gardner in the world. Unfortunately the good ones are not always cheap.

Way back when I first moved into my new home and my budget was limited I decided I wanted roses in my garden but I didn't have the money to buy them. What I did have though was a talent for growing things, a pair of gardening sheers, and a car.

When spring arrived I hit the road on the look out for vacant homes with roses planted in there yard. When I found a rose bush that I liked I would stop and tuck the gardening sheers in my pants or under my shirt. Then I would walk around the yard pretending to be looking at the house (It would either be for rent or for sale) and then I would casually clip a few of the roses and take them home with me.

To cut pieces long enough to root you need to cut the stems the length of a pencil and make sure to cut the stem at a leaf nodule. When traveling in a car looking for roses you need to take gallon sized plastic bags with you that have a folded damp paper towel inside of them. This is to keep the stems fresh and un wilted. When you get home you need to cut the end of the stems to a point, cut off the bloom and all but one stem with leaves on it, kill any bacteria on them by carefully washing them in anti bacterial soap, and then dip them into powdered rooting hormone. Then stick them into individual, small, sterile cups full of sterile, potting soil (sterilize the dirt by cooking it in the oven, its smelly but it works). Once securely in the dirt put them in sterile gallon sized plastic bags (sterilize them by carefully pouring hot water inside of it, swish it around, and then pouring it back out of them), seal them, and then sit them in a north facing window. It can take several months for them to root but during this time you want to keep them out of extreme temperatures and only expose them to indirect sunlight. You will know they have rooted when they start putting out new leaves.

Don't be disappointed if all of your cuttings don't root. Even with every precaution taken you can only expect 50% of your cuttings to root. For this reason I recommend taking several cuttings of the same species of rose just so you can make sure to get at least 1 plant out of your efforts.

Once you get good at this you may find yourself not only with a beautiful rose garden but also an excellent source of profit. These rooted roses can be sold online in auctions or even at road side stands.

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