Hmmm. I've never rooted roses in water. I've always rooted them in soil. Since you have 8 starts, maybe plant half and keep them moist, etc. and leave half in water as you have in the past?

What variety is the mother plant?

Carol

I've planted unrooted suckers and had them root and grow; interestingly, one of the roses was 'Belle Amour', which I've never succeeded in rooting from cuttings. So I'd say it's worth trying. I planted my suckers in fall--my usual season for starting cuttings and planting plants in the open garden. You have a different climate from our hot and dry summers and I suppose can propagate this time of year.
I've heard a few times of rooting cuttings in water, but it's not the usual method. Rose cuttings in the ground that haven't rooted will leaf out but soon die. I don't know about your suckers, but would guess that they wouldn't do worse in a pot than they would in water.

{{gwi:274958}}

This is the mother plant, I have not been able to ID it yet. So just stick them in the ground and hope for the best?

I've had good success planting suckers without roots in the milk jug/soda bottle greenhouses that I use for rooting roses from cuttings. (no rooting hormone, tho, for suckers) I plant the suckers, put the bottle on top, and sit the container in a cool, shady place till roots are visible.

In cases where I can wait to separate the suckers to plant them separately, I have been known to dig down and slice the connection between the sucker and the mother plant, leaving the sucker in place for a few months to form its own root system.

Suckers usually come up from a horizontal fleshy root growing fairly close to the surface. Usually there are few if any fine roots associated with the sucker. So if you take the sucker with a few inches of fleshy root, it is not ready to supply itself with enough moisture to withstand sun or dry winds.

I've had success potting them in a 1-gallon and keeping them in full shade for three weeks, then gradually increasing exposure. If low humidity causes wilting, a temporary baggie will help, but don't let the leaves stay wet with condensation all the time.

Preferably I do what hartwood said, sever the underlying root 2-3 inches to the side of the mother plant and wait till fine roots form. Then sever the root on the outboard side and you can take up a rootball for potting or planting out with temporary shade.