First Rose

In August I took twelve small cuttings from roses planted in front of an old stone house on campus. The house was scheduled for demolition after I and my co-workers moved to new offices.

I took the cuttings, moistened them and put them in a plastic bag until I could get them home. Later that evening I trimmed each side of the cut end, dipped them in rooting hormone, put then in small pots containing a mix of peat, perlite and vermiculte. After watering the mix I placed clear plastic bags over the pots to retain moisture. I kept the pots on our north facing deck in a bright area out of direct sunlight.

When I saw signs of new growth I removed the plastic bags and monitored the moisture daily until cold weather when I moved them into the greenhouse. I lost only one cutting that never rooted.

For a short period of time I had an infection of thrips that I treated with a water hosing outside and periodic spraying with neem oil.

Not long ago I noticed a bud on one of the plants. It has opened and looks healthy.

I shared offices in the building with six co-workers. In the spring I'll divide the roses among this group so each of of will have one or two roses.