by R. Renee Bembry

Created on: June 02, 2010

With the array of rose varieties available to gardeners knowing different methods of rose propagation can work wonders for saving money on plant purchases. Knowing how to propagate roses also allows gardeners to share their stock with other gardeners that love growing beautiful roses.

Plant Rose Seeds

The easiest way to propagate roses is to plant rose seeds. Choosing to plant seeds for rose gardens growers can be just as inexpensive, probably more so, that other types of propagation like budding and grafting discussed below. Growers choosing to sow seeds can order seeds online, from botanist magazines, or simply pick them up at nurseries or discount stores.

Seed packages show growers exactly what their roses will look like once they bud and bloom. This is great because growers know exactly what they are getting and do not have to wait for plants to bloom before deciding if they prefer one rose type and color over other types and colors. Here are some propagating methods to help gardeners along.

Graft Existing Rose Plants

Choosing to graft existing rose plants is another way to be sure the plants growing in your garden will bloom to represent the type and color rose or roses you expected them to be. If grafting your own roses you already know what they look like. If grafting roses from a friend or family member’s garden you more than likely will know as well.

To graft roses you will need to obtain rootstock to set cut scions. You will also have to acquire a tree-sealing compound to protect your grafted plants. Other items you will need include wire brad nails, a hammer, and a very sharp paring type knife.

During the actual rose grafting process you will essentially be cutting small twigs from one plant and placing them on bigger trunks or branches of other plants depending on the type of rootstock you acquire.

Bud Existing Rose Plants

Budding existing rose plants calls for similar procedures as does grafting. What’s more is that budding is easier than grafting and beginning gardeners may favor this method over grafting.

The best time to bud plants is during their active growing plants. This is usually early fall or in summer. Bud plants by cutting rose stems from one plant and inserting them beneath slit bark on related growing plants.

When budding plants the bud may look like it is not growing at first, however, as long as it looks alive it should be all right. Since this method calls for encouraging a rose of one type to grow within a rose a different type the two type plants must accept one another before the bud begins to flourish. This could take until springtime when the host plant begins to grow.

Once buds are showing liveliness remove a portion of the host plant stem that is close to the bud so that you can transplant the bud into a pot.

Propagate Rose Plant Bare-Roots

Go to your local nursery or discount store when bare-roots are in season and select the type of rose or roses you want for your garden. The best time to do this is when blooms are on the plants especially when plant tags come undone and there is no real guarantee of which type rose you are considering.

Purchasing bare root roses is great because they are less expensive than potted roses and they often begin to prosper faster than potted roses! The reason for bare root plants starting earlier than potted or other types of roses is that they get head starts because gardeners plant them in wintertime!

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