Topic: How do rose cuttings work?

[grawrc]

I've always wondered how rose cuttings work. Most roses are grafted onto a rootstock which affects their overall growth, so if you take a cutting from above the root stock would it not revert to the growth pattern of the top bit of the rose?

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

yes

I think where you have the graft below soil level, over time you will also get roots forming of the grafted (nice) rose, so maybe it ends up the same as a proper cutting

[Robert_Brenchley]

Roses come fairly easily from cuttings taken this time of year. Thanks for reminding me!

[grawrc]

Yes but why???

[ellie2cats]

I have taken rose cuttings with some success.  Usually do it when I am pruning late summer or early autumn.  Healthy looking shoots with no flower buds (or nip them off), I strike them in a tall plant pot 9 to 12 " with some sand in the base.  Stand the pot in a quiet corner  and forget about it for a few months and hope to see new growth in the spring. Put about 4 in and if I am lucky 2 may strike. Costs nothing but a wonderful feeling of achievement when you see your fist bloom. Good luck
ellie2cats

[PurpleHeather]

Grafting on to root stock is common with lots all varieties of shrubs and trees.

They use a quick growing root, graft a slow growing variety to it. The grafted variety then grows at the speed of the host.

That is the simplest answer I can give you.

[grawrc]

Yes, thank you. I fully understand that. That is not the problem. As long as the grafted part of the rose is attached to the rootstock I am quite clear about why and what is going on. That is also why suckers are so vigorous compared to the grafted rose.

No I'll try to rephrase my question.

When I take a cutting from a grafted rose I detach the highly bred slow-growing bit from the vigorous rootstock and so I would expect the cutting which can no longer draw on the reserves of the rootstock to produce a much less vigorous shrub. But that doesn't seem to happen. And I wondered if anyone knew why?

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

grafting of roses onto rootstock isn't (just) about vigour. It's to produce a great many, all the same, quickly. Also disease resistance etc

Remember with apples for instance, grafting is sometimes done to produce something that is less vigorous

[grawrc]

Mmm ... very plausible and I'll accept that as a partial explanation.  Still not convinced it's the whole story though but thanks- I'll just go and do the cuttings.

Maybe I could graft Rambling Rector on to a less vigorous rootstock......  :-\ :-\

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

something I found with one of our roses - the climbing Cecille Brunner, which is an absolute beast, is that with moving houses and taking cuttings, after about a cutting from a cutting from a cutting, it stopped climbing, and formed a 4ft bush. Had to buy a new one