Hi Marge, congratulations! Using the rolling pin was a great idea and probably the easiest way to prevent them from molding. Some are going to form actual roots within the initial two week period while others won't. As long as there is callus, they are safe to plant. My experience (and your mileage may well vary) has been two weeks is optimum for them to form callus and still have sufficient stored resources to continue rooting and break into growth. I believe a heat may could help as long as you aren't planting the cuttings in foam cups. I don't know the heat would make it through the insulated cups, so I probably wouldn't use them on the heat mat. Otherwise, a source of about 70F beneath cuttings has been shown to be beneficial.

Hopefully someone who grows cuttings indoors under conditions similar to yours will add their two cents about humidity. I raise mine outdoors, planting them deeply in the soil to keep them moist while they develop roots, then raising them to expose more of the canes as they begin pushing growth so I don't need to mist them nor otherwise raise the humidity around them. This treatment helps them to harden off, acclimating to the conditions without having to mist or tent. Good luck! It will be interesting hearing how you succeed!

Congratulations!!!

Darn!!! :)

I tried the burrito method this summer, and it didn't work. I though roots had to be there, so I threw them away. Oh well, live and learn.

Thank you roseseek for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. I went ahead and planted them in clear plastic cups to start with. I decided they would survive better if I wasn't pulling them up every couple of weeks to check for roots. LOL I decided to use plastic around my shelf to bring up the humidity and provide more heat. It is 70 under there now. And I may have to find a small heat mat, I only have a large one.What percentage do you have that root?

If enough of my hardy roses root I may have to try chip budding.

This is so much fun, makes the long cold winters go by faster having my little "garden" in the basement?

Sorry about your loss Carol, but at least you have your seeds to play with. Oh and thanks to you also. I have my roses all tucked away per your advice on how you winter yours. Not so sure my husband is as thankfull, when he has to move them all in and move his snowmobile outside though.

Thanks again

You're welcome sowandgrow. What you did is parallel to what I normally do, though I use foam cups which insulate the soil ball from the extremes of my old climate's heat, preventing them from cooking and drying out too quickly. You probably also used more of a traditional soil mix for drainage. I use moisture control mix due to the extreme desiccation from my conditions. You are completely correct...once properly struck, cuttings should never be "pulled up" to check for roots. That is very much like ripping the scab off a wound to check for healing.

The soil needs to be firmed in securely around the callused cuttings. Roots won't form as quickly or as efficiently in too loose soil. I pack it in the cups around the cuttings so it forms a fairly well knit ball which is easily slipped from the cups intact, if I want to check for roots. I plant them deeply so their bottoms are usually within an inch of their bottoms. When they are growing well, it doesn't take long for roots to show themselves in an inch of soil. If I'm curious, it is completely safe to slip my hand over the top of the cup with the cutting between my fingers so I can hold the top of the soil in place with the palm of my hand. Using my other hand, I can slip the cup off the soil ball so I can easily see if there are any visible roots forming without disturbing them or the soil. Then, it's very easy to slip the cup back over the soil ball and put it back where it was.

Once I see roots beginning to fill that bottom inch of soil, it's very easy to remove the soil ball, add the quantity of soil needed to raise the roots to the level I want them growing, replace the soil ball in the cup and begin massaging the higher soil level of the original ball to fill the cup. I try not to disturb the soil surrounding the growing roots as much as possible so I don't interrupt their development. Yes, depending upon how much soil I have added to the cup, there will be a corresponding amount of soil left over from each cup. It's easy to take that bit of soil and use it to lift the next root ball higher in its cup.

Planting them deeply in the soil allows just an inch or so of the green cutting to protrude from the soil ball, reducing the surface from which the cutting can lose moisture while its roots are developing. Anything green also produces chlorophyll when temps are high enough (usually seventy-ish), helping to feed the cutting while it develops. Since I raise mine outdoors, both of these are helpful to rooting. As the optimum time for me to do it here is late winter to early spring, the sun isn't as extreme, nor are the heat and aridity. If the cups appear to be drier than I prefer, I'll water them as I do any other potted plant. I do punch four or five holes in the bottoms of the cups with a pencil for drainage. Even if a larger hole breaks out of their bottoms, the moisture control soil will usually knit together well enough to prevent its loss through the hole. When firmed in well, it's secure enough for me to use bands for the same purpose, though their straight sides makes slipping the soil balls from the bands as easy and securely as the foam cups allow.

I know your conditions are quite different, but perhaps hearing what works for me, in mine, might help give you ideas of how to do what you wish in yours. I hope so! Good luck! Kim

You're welcome!! Yes, my garage is tucked in pretty snuggly too!! :) My hubby may buy shelves next year - really strong ones.

Carol

Thank you again roseseek. I appreciate all the tips from someone who has had so much experience. I have bookmarked your post. Now I am thinking I should have gotten the cups that are taller so more of the stem would be buried. I think I will try the foam cups next time also as they may also seal in the heat from my lights. Yikes, you only had an inch or so sticking out of the soil? How long are your cuttings? Mine may be too long, should I nip them off? Some are 9-10 inches.

Yes Carol, shelves are good..more roses!!! Tell him they need to be long and wide to hold lots. LOL We used an old ramp, I think is was for putting the motorcycle on a trailor.

More roses!!! Yes!!

Carol

You're welcome! I chose the 16 oz foam cups because they fit the cutting size I wanted to use. Not every rose will provide them that length, but many will and those are the ones I wanted to be able to accommodate. For a five to six inch deep cup, I'll make six to seven inch long cuttings, at the longest, so when I plant them initially, their bottoms are only an inch or so off the cup bottoms. If you want to use shorter cups, try shorter cuttings. I also figured the longer the cutting, perhaps the greater the stored nutrients and moisture contained within the cutting.

You can cut your cuttings off if you want, but if they look good and seem to be handling what you're doing, why would you want to? If they look as if their tops are suffering, you could give it a try. You have to explore and experiment to see what works in your set-up. They may be just fine. Good luck!

I am rooting in promix with MF. Mine are 5 weeks and 2 weeks and under lights on a heat mat. Do I add osmocote very sparingly or just wait to transplant into rose soil in pots? I'm worried about no nutrition.

Of course, your mileage may vary, but I've never had any issues not having "nutrition" in the planting medium when rooting cuttings. IF you feel you really need "nutrition" for them, I would feel safer, personally, with an ultra weak liquid fertilizer application than anything pellitized. You can control the concentration with a liquid or dissolved fertlizer much more accurately than you can with something that is going to dissolve with water and heat. At this stage, the cuttings don't need much to continue growing. If your fertilizer recommends a tablespoon per gallon of water, try something like a quarter teaspoon per gallon, or even weaker. You can always add more if you think you need it. I would not use an organic indoors. Something like a Vigoro, Miracle Gro, Eleanors VF-11, whatever is fairly scent-free and which won't promote molds, mildews, fungi, insects, etc. should be just fine, as long as the plants are sufficiently watered prior to application and the application rate is sufficiently low to prevent burning. Good luck!

Thank you, roseseek, that really helps. It would be a shame to mess it up now. I might wait another week or two and consider planting up or very weak liquid fertilizer at most.