How Does a Rose Flower Reproduce?

Cutting & Rooting

One of the most common ways to reproduce roses is to propagate the parent plant with a cutting. This method is also referred to as asexual reproduction and is used to start new rose bushes from existing plants. Old roses, miniatures and English roses reproduce well with the cutting and rooting methods. The best cuttings are taken from a section of the parent plant where the flower has just recently finished blooming. Flowers that have four separate leaf sets beneath the bloom and a five-leaf set at the base of the cutting are prime candidates for rooting and reproducing a new rose. The spots where the leaf sets meet the stem are called nodes; this is where the new roots may form.

Successful rooting techniques call for removal of the bottom leaf sets and the rose flower before scoring the stem and placing it into a rooting compound, which encourages root growth. Placing the stem into a baggie with vermiculite or potting soil aids root reproduction. When the roots form, plant the cutting in a pot with potting soil for at least a week before moving it into the rose garden.

Bud Grafting

Another form of asexual rose reproduction is bud grafting. Growers wait until there is strong, healthy growth on the rose plant before attempting to graft buds. This is typically during the middle of the summer. To graft buds, growers take them from the newer growth from last season and insert them into a T-shaped slice on a growing stem of a stock rose bush. Grafting tape helps seal the buds into place, and they are then left alone to reproduce.

Seeds

Reproducing roses from seed is primarily useful to create new varieties of roses. The flowers house seeds in the rose hips, which can be removed when they are fully red and ripe, not dried out. You can germinate rose seeds in a baggie filled with damp vermiculite. Store the baggie in the crisper section of your refrigerator for 90 days, then remove the seeds and place them in a pot with sterilized potting soil until they germinate, in about one week. Seedlings with four to six true leaves are ready for their own pot where they can grow until they are large enough to be planted in the rose garden.