I'm trying to root my friend's City of York climber so she can completely cover her arbor. I've rooted roses before, but this one is different and I'm wondering if it's because it's a climber.

I stuck the cuttings June 4th, so it's been 3 weeks. When I was putting the cuttings in the dirt, I could tell which way the plant had been growing because one end of the stem was a little larger than the other. However, the leaves were facing downward, so they wouldn't get the light if I stuck them in the dirt in the direction they were growing.

So I stuck some of them in the dirt the "right way" and some of them "upside down" because I really wasn't sure which way I should do it. The ones that are "upside down" formed a callous on the end of the stem that was up in the air, and the other end of the stem which was in the dirt had turned black. The ones that are "right side up" have not even formed a callous, even though the "upside down" ones formed callouses over a week ago.

On the cuttings that had a callous in the air, I cut off the other end that had blackened, and put the calloused end in the soil.

Any advice of anything else I should do? Are climbers harder to root? This is a once blooming rose. Does that make a difference? I took the cuttings when the flowers were starting to blow.

Deanna

BTW, when I say dirt or soil, I'm referring to the soilless mix I use for rooting.