Roses under jars?

[Allview]

Can a rosa rugosa be started by putting a stem in the ground and placing a jar over it? I remember my grandmother starting roses this way. Is it too late in the year?

Marilyn

[Phisherman]

That's how I recall many folks did it. The jar is left on the cutting throughout the winter months. When warmer weather starts, gradually prop the jar up for circulation. With temperatures in the 80's the inside of the jar will cook the stem. Many roses are grafted so propagating in this manner may result in a weak root system.

[David Hill]

".......... Can a rosa rugosa be started by putting a stem in the ground and placing a jar over it? .........."

I cant understand why if you are layering a stem you want to put a jar over it. It should root over the winter quite happily on its own.

It would be interesting for someone to try a bunch, half with jars and half without.

[Phisherman]

Roses will die if they freeze. Try protecting the young rooted cuttings at the first snowfall--with a mason jar, pile of leaves or compost to keep warm during the winter months but remember to remove it at the first sign of spring. My dad would pile 5 feet of leaves on top of his roses--with this method the roses were fortified with leaf mold. I think more care is needed with the jar due to excessive temperatures.

[David Hill]

"........ The idea of the jar is to create little greenhouse and keep the cutting from drying out. ....."

That I can understand, but the original said about laying a stem into the soil, not taking a cutting.

[onewaits]

When the ancient war dogs did battle on Mon, 04 Aug 2003 03:09:51 GMT, Phisherman did speak the following bit of wisdom:

Ah-HA! Thanks Phisherman! Next time I strike some rose cuttings, I'll try your Dad's method. I was mounding up the mulch (bark chips) around and on top of the new plants, but wasn't using that deep of a layer because I was afraid of rot setting in. Never even thought of using leaves. (DUH!) Well, there's always next year... Thanks again!

• * * * * Karen C. Southern CT / USDA Zone 6 Spammers be damned! I can't be emailed from this account...

"Gardeners know all the best dirt!"

[David Hill]

I have come across this idea with Fuchsias grown at Dyfrin Gardens

were grown in a series of beds with 12 inch box hedging all round, in the Autumn (Fall) they were cut back to about 6 inches and the beds were filled with leaves. These leaves protected them from the frost, and in the Spring would break down to leave a mulch of leafmould

[Zemedelec]

If you need cloches for tiny plants, save your glasses with chipped edges, stemmed ones whose stem has broken off, etc. zemedelec

[Jan Flora]

Those are for rooting cuttings in the windowsill ;-)

Jan