I never had much luck either for a long time. Here's what I do now--I get some success, not 100%, but I can get many rooted.

Use professional strength rooting hormone--been using Rizopan #3, but many here like Dip-N-Grow--I'm gonna try this one again.

Take cuttings from a stem that's just finished blooming. Slightly scrape through a bottom bud on the cutting. Make a couple of scrapes on the end--make sure one wounds a bud-eye--before treating with hormone.

Very coarse rooting media--1/2 SHARP sandblasting sand, 1/2 coco fiber

Keep everything very clean--media, pots, etc. with a splash of hydrogen peroxide in a gallon of water for soaking & watering.

Intermittent mist made a huge difference--I used one of those cheap "porch cooler" kits that have 6 mister heads. You can get as simple or complicated as you like, but just turning it on a few times a day with the cuttings in a high-light area really improved my percentage.

These are things that helped me have some success. There are a lot of ways folks get cuttings to strike & there are some good videos & websites that illustrate different methods.

Good luck!

bluegirl, do you think I can cover the cutting with a plastic bag and make sure it has plenty of humidity.The photo is an example of what I'm on about.

A lot of folks do, but every time I've tried that (or the baggie method, or the mason jar method) my cuttings rotted. Yet many, MANY people have good luck doing that--I just never did.

I root outdoors--never had any luck inside, even in a bright window.

Some roses are just hard to root & some seasons are difficult to root in. I personally have had the best luck with cuttings taken after the first spring flush. Cuttings taken in Sept., when the weather starts to moderate but it's still warm often do well. And, as you study old posts, Kim (Roseseek) has discussed in detail a method that works for a lot of people the "burrito method" that uses DORMANT stems after the growing season.

Keep trying--you WILL find roses that take for you, & the time of year that works well.

My biggest failure has always been cuttings rotting, that's why I don't even try the high-humidity baggies anymore. Also, going to a well-drained sterile medium (sharp sand & coco fiber) that is moistened with water with a tablespoom or so of peroxide per gallon in it seems to cut down rot.

You can get a mister kit from Lowe's for about $25, and a timer for about $15. That made a difference in my success, too--big time. I have trouble running it now because my water is so mineralized the misters clog. But I used to run it with cuttings in nearly full sun in the spring & it really worked well--very high success rate.

For fall rooting, I set cutting pots on top of a hot bed of rotting hay/manure & had some pvc hoops stuck over the bed so I could cover the bed with clear plastic when the nights hit freezing. That worked very well, too.

finally, for me, roses that in general are easy to root are Chinas, Teas, & Noisettes. I have a lot more trouble with HTs , & species roses are the pits. But everyone is different--you WILL find out what works for you & your climate. Keep experimenting. And what a thrill it is when you first get roots :)

I have had all kinds of abysmal failure, and what finally worked for me: do NOT use sterile soil - instead get leaf compost, or worm casting enriched compost, or whatever kind of compost you can find at the gardening center - I use 30% compost, 40% ground bark, and 30% soil-free potting mixture - should be damp but NOT wet, and then use a baggie or whatever to keep in the humidity. I use a gel rooting hormone, but no actual wound - the wounding never helped me out at all - I discovered this after NUMEROUS abysmal failures - and then reading the work of Dr. Allison Jack, soil scientist. - paul m.

sunflowersrus222, does any type of honey work?

Burrito method never worked for me, cuttings just kept on getting brown.

I have 2 different types of honey. One is a cheap generic honey and the other is clover honey. I use both without any problem. I do make slight cuts (wounds) along the stalk near the bottom of my stems. Drip the honey along the end as well as those cuts. I have to say that I do not see roots coming out of those wounds i've created just out around the edge of the base where I've made the initial cut. Hope that helps.

Do I have to use these two types of honey as I don't know the type of my honey.

Edlyn12 I used spring clippings from my rose bushes to root. I had a few rose bushes that were getting a bit lanky already this spring. I cut off a long stalk that had a couple of blooms on it that were just about finished blooming. Cut off those blooms then cut that stem into a couple of segments and rooted each segment.

Do I have to use these two types of honey as I don't know the type of my honey.

no you can use whatever honey you want to. I just use these 2 because thats what I have in the house. Either one works the same for me. If you saw my set up you would think its pretty funny and in no way would I get something to root. I have plastic disposable food containers that I've drilled holes in the bottoms for drainage, filled with MG potting mix, take my stalks and dip the ends in honey and stick down in the damp soil. Nothing special. I don't cover them with a bag or put them in a special room or put a plastic tub over the top. Nothing! Just sit them in the plastic tubs under my patio. They get very little if any direct sunlight. I just check them to make sure the soil is moist but not soaking wet. Stick my finger in a bit to see if its wet and if not then I add some tap water. Nothing special. In a week and a half I already have roots.

sunflowersrus222, sorry if I'm annoying you can I use regular multipurpose compost as that's the only compost I can find around my area.

See, this is what's neat--AND frustrating when trying to root roses.

Different techniques work great for some folks & are no good at all for others.

I know so many people that do the baggies & I could NEVER get it to work for me.

On the other hand, experimenting until you get that, "AHAA!"
method that works for YOU is fun.

Edlyn12 i never used regular multipurpose compost so couldn't say if it would work or not. Sorry but I've only used MG potting soil.

I would use what you have and see if it works. If not then next time try another method. It may take awhile before you find what works for you and your particular rose clippings.

Edlyn12 i never used regular multipurpose compost so couldn't say if it would work or not. Sorry but I've only used MG potting soil.

I would use what you have and see if it works. If not then next time try another method. It may take awhile before you find what works for you and your particular rose clippings.

sunflowersrus222, where do you keep your cuttings, in the light, in the dark etc.Do you keep your rooted cuttings in the pots till they rootball or when do you transplant them to their permanent position.I am currently trying the mason jar method but I can't see the cuttings until monday as they are up in my granddads house and that's in cork ireland.I hope I'm not annoying you.

under a shaded patio area. They get light but no direct sun. I wait till mine have a nice branch of roots and then put them in a larger plant. Once they get a nice size with lots of growth and seem to outgrow their pots I will plant them. You should check out youtube. Thats where I learned how to do it.

I planted a rose cutting yesterday which was dipped in honey.I will post an update soon.

As Bluegirl said, there a lots of methods, probably as many as there are people trying to root things, and they all seem to work for somebody. You just have to find the one that works for you, lol!

I've probably tried at least a dozen of them and none of them worked for me either. I came up with my own and so far it's working much better. Not perfect, mind you, but better. I don't think there's any method that works 100% of the time. You're dealing with living things after all and they can be contrary.

I use a similar method to what I do with my seedlings. Clear plastic cups with holes punched in the bottom filled with SEED STARTER soil (not potting soil) and out in the sun with the seedlings, no covers. I keep them watered, never letting them get completely dried out, and wait patiently to see roots in the cups. By the time the root structure is big enough to show on the outside of the cups they're large enough to pot up into regular potting soil. I have had the best success with this method and there's no "hardening off" time because they've been outside in the sun and elements the whole time. I lost a lot of cuttings in that hardening off phase so I took it out. Either they make it in the outside world from the git go or I don't want them.

The method that has been the most successful for me has been this. I take the rose stems and cut off some of the leaves so that there are maybe only 3 or 4 on the stem. Then I make a few vertical slits in the bottom of the stem. I make sure to cut all the way through the stem as this seems to work best.

I then dip the stem in powdered rooting hormone (purchased from lowes) making sure to get the powder in the cuts. After this, I take a small plastic cup of soil that I've already watered with superthrive (not sure if this makes a difference but it won't hurt) and I poke a hole in the dirt wider than the rose stem. I put the stem in the hole and gently smoosh the dirt around it so I don't rub off too much of the rooting hormone.

This goes into a clear bag and sits on a window for several weeks. When I get new leaf growth, the bag comes off and then it gets misted several times a day.. Thats pretty much it:)

Maude

SUCCESS!I have two cuttings which were covered with mason jars and both cuttings have a bud on them.I forgot about them till today.I am also trying a rose cutting with Honey.Will post updates.

maude80 you are the smartest person ive came across!! i was trying to figure out how i could get a clear pot so i could see if there was roots but i never thought about using the dixie cups..

i have been trying to root roses since the middle of march......and no luck!! all have turned brown.. i have wounded the stalks and applied rooting hormones, honey, and also tried just sticking it in the dirt.. i think im going to try cutting the stems and then dip the rooting hormones.. we'll see how this goes..

I noticed only one of the two cuttings survived.How do I harden off the cutting when the bud opens Thank You.

Bad news,the Rose cutting which I thought had rooted had a callous but the whole of the cutting was rotting.