Make a Rose Arise
ROSE PETALS LITTERED across the floor and the gentle click of pruning shears are some of the sights and sounds that surround me when working at my favorite pastime — propagation. The creation of new plants is one of the great pleasures of the horticultural world and is, for me, the primary reason for being a nurseryman. Propagation lies at the very foundation of horticulture. Whether from seed, cuttings, grafting, or budding, the result is the same: a new generation of plants. Through centuries of trial and error, propagators have discovered the easiest ways to produce the many plants that gardeners have been interested in growing. A great deal of effort has been devoted to the growing of roses.
Several methods of rose propagation are used, and each method has its merits and problems. Some methods will work for some roses and not for others. Growing roses in the North — Canada, specifically — throws a curve into the equation, and it’s my contention that getting hardy roses on their own roots is a decided advantage over grafted plants. Be that as it may, both methods I describe can be used to
