Rose Propagation and Watering

Photo credit: T. Kiya from Flickr via creative commons license 

I’ve been growing rose bushes for many years now and I find that the longest living, most productive and fragrant roses are those grown and propagated from their own roots. If you propagate your own cuttings from heirlooms varieties, you'll be waking up to the most wonderful fragrance every morning. Below you'll find a short list of tips aimed to help you start propagating your own roses, and for those with experience please feel free to add to this list in the comments below.

Propagation Tips

Photo credit T. Kiya from Flickr via creative commons license

1. To select the most viable stems for rooting, pick those that have just supported a bloom. When the bloom fades the stem is ready to be cut. Cut about one foot of the stem below the bloom making sure it has 4-6 sets of leaves. Cut the bloom off, leaving you with 4 sets of leaves. Do this with at least 5 stems.
2. Use a one gallon pot to propagate each cutting. Fill it with potting soil and saturate it. Pat the soil down and make a hole about 4" deep with a pencil for the rose cutting.
3. Remove the last pair of leaves on the thicker end of the cutting and dip this in 3 inches water. Next dip the cutting in a root stimulant, such as Rootone, and plant.
4. In warmer climates, such as in California, the cutting should be rooted and ready to transplant in about 3-4 months. However, in colder climates be sure to plant the newly rooted bush the following spring.

If you're ready, now is a wonderful time to start propagating your roses. Once you've succeeded, it’s time to start thinking about irrigation!

Irrigating Propagated Roses

Hoses and soaker hoses just don’t seem to cut it for me when I am irrigating my roses; however a few of DripWorks’ products come to mind.

I personally love DripWorks’ Shrubbler, PC Shrubbler, and Soaker Dripline. All three work wonders and are perfect for watering roses in my garden. Plus, when connected to my drip system on a Timer I can go about my day worry free, knowing my roses are being properly irrigated while I'm away.   

Shrubbler

PC Shrubbler

Soaker Dripline

The Shrubbler emits eight fingers of water that can easily be adjusted from a basic drip to a 24" diameter circle. Their flow range is fully adjustable from 0-13 gallons per hour.

The PC Shrubbler also emits 8 fingers of water and is pressure compensating which will give you uniform coverage from each drip emitter on the same line. They can also be taken apart for easy cleaning.

Soaker Dripline is another great option, especially if you have more than 40 roses (our Deluxe Rose and Shrub Irrigation Kit waters up to 60 roses) or very low water pressure. It’s flexible, easy to use, and has emitters spaced evenly every 6”, 9", or 12" depending on your watering needs. Wrapping about 3' of the 6" Soaker Dripline around your plant will give each plant 6 emitters. Each emitter will provide 0.6 gallons per hour at 20 psi or 0.8 gallons per hour at 30 psi. This will give you 3 or 4 gallons per hour per plant. You could water up to 60 plants on a single 1/2" mainline using a 30 psi regulator or 80 plants by using a 20 psi regulator

If you’re looking to set up rose bushes on a drip irrigation system, check out our complete Rose and Shrub Irrigation Kits (See sale ad below). Each kit contains PC Shubblers to offer you the best tools and flexibility to irrigate your plants. See our Rose and Shrub kit video below to learn more about this incredible kit!

A surprising number of recipes using rose water, rose petals, or rose hips can be found on the web. This one uses rose water and rose petals to give a twist to a traditional scone recipe and was originally published in Flowers in the Kitchen by Susan Belsinger (Interweave Press, 1996). It has since been reprinted on the International Herb Association's website (www.iherb.org). Try searching for 'rose hips' for other recipes.

Rose Scones

Makes about 2 dozen scones

• 2-1/4 cups unbleached white flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 or 3 pinches of cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/3 C shelled pistachios, lightly toasted, coarsely ground
• 1 C cream
• 1 tsp rose water
• Generous handful of rose petals
• 1 C confectioner's sugar
• 1 Tbsp rose jelly or 1 Tbsp red currant jelly mixed with about 1/2 tsp rose water
• 2 or 3 tsp water

Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and blend thoroughly. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in the pistachios. Stir the cream together with the rose water. Rinse the rose petals and pat them dry. Cut them into a chiffonade (long thin strips); there should be about 2 tablespoons. Stir them into the cream and add the liquid to the dry ingredients and stir to form a soft dough. Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake the scones for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Prepare the icing while the scones are baking. Combine the confectioner's sugar, jelly, and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl and whisk until smooth. Add another teaspoon water if icing seems too thick; it will melt a little if the scones are warm. Remove the scones to a baking rack to cool slightly before drizzling them with icing. They are best served warm, right after baking. If you want to prepare them in advance, cool them completely without icing and store them in an airtight container. Wrap them in foil and gently reheat in a 325 degrees (F) oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle the icing over them while they are warm. Enjoy!

http://www.dripworks.com/category/rose-and-shrub-irrigation-kits

If you have questions or would like more information on our products 

call 800.522.3747 or visit our website at www.dripworks.com