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Winter: 2026

Pruning my grandmother's rosebush and propagating it from cuttings

Pruning Grandma's Rosebush and Propagation by Cuttings: A Technical, Step-by-Step Guide

Good evening everyone, and welcome back to the blog! Today I want to share a very special gardening day with you—one that combined garden maintenance, family memories, and plant propagation techniques.

I spent the day working on my grandmother's rose bush. Before pruning, the plant was overgrown, featuring a tangle of dead, crossing, and unmanaged branches that restricted airflow and sunlight. We carried out a thorough structural and sanitation prune, removing old wood to restore its shape. The difference is striking: you can now clearly see healthy main canes with vibrant new green shoots emerging. While working, I found a beautiful rose that was still in bloom, so I carefully cut it as a sweet keepsake for my grandmother. We also cleaned up the entire bed, removing all pruning debris and leaving the area pristine.

Using the healthy wood we pruned, I prepared several rose cuttings. As demonstrated in the video, I used a bark-stripping technique at the base of each cutting to expose the vascular cambium layer, which significantly encourages root initiation once planted in substrate. To ensure high humidity, I covered the cuttings with 3/4 of a clean 6.5-liter plastic bottle to act as a mini-greenhouse. Once they establish roots and grow, we will gradually "harden off" or uncover the plants step by step. I will be sharing the second part and progress of this project in an upcoming post!

Step-by-Step Technical Guide 1. Rose Pruning and Rejuvenation

Tool Sanitization: Disinfect pruning shears with 70% isopropyl alcohol or diluted bleach prior to pruning to prevent the spread of fungal spores and pathogens.

Internal Clearing:

Cut dead, diseased, damaged, or inward-growing branches down to the base. Opening the center of the bush improves air circulation and light penetration.

Slanted Cuts:

Make clean cuts 5 to 7 mm above an outward-facing bud. The cut should be angled at 45° sloping away from the bud so rainwater or dew drains off without collecting on the node.

Preparing Cuttings & Exposing the Cambium, Material Selection:

Choose semi-hardwood stems about pencil-thickness (15–20 cm long) from recently flowered stems with well-formed nodes.

Basal Cut:

Make a straight horizontal cut 1 cm below a lower node.

Exposing the Cambium:

Carefully peel or scrape off the outer bark/skin around the bottom 1 to 2 cm of the stem using a sharp knife or shears, exposing the green vascular cambium layer underneath. When placed in contact with moist substrate, the meristematic cells within the cambium react to the wound by forming a callus tissue from which adventitious roots readily develop.

Substrate & Planting:

Use a lightweight, free-draining propagation medium (a mix of peat, worm castings, perlite, and river sand). Pre-moisten the mix, make a hole using a dibber or wooden stake, and insert the cutting so at least 2 nodes are buried. Firm the soil gently around the stem to eliminate air pockets.

Mini-Greenhouse Setup & Hardening Off: Installing the Dome:

Cut the bottom off a clean 6.5-liter plastic jug (retaining roughly 3/4 of the bottle) and pierce small ventilation holes. Place it over the cuttings, pressing the rim into the soil to lock in humidity.

Environment:

Keep the setup in a bright location out of direct, intense sunlight.

Gradual Hardening Off:

Once the cuttings show new growth and root development, remove the bottle cap for a few hours daily. Gradually lift or unseat the bottle over several days ("descalzado") until it can be removed completely, allowing the young plants to acclimate smoothly to ambient humidity without wilting.

Interactive Image Viewer: My Grandmother's Rose

Filter Intensity:

📸 Rooting process log

Stem cut during pruning

Flowering

A memory of my grandmother

Initial state of the rosebush to be pruned

You can see my grandmother.

In her garden

Pruning completed

For later

Propagated from cuttings to reproduce the plant.

Details

From budding branches

Once they have leaves, they stay in place.

Preparing cuttings

For planting

In the next photo I show how I make a cut to expose the cambium

Exposed cambium

Under the Yolk

To induce root formation

Planted cuttings

In organic substrate

Time to wait for the bell and for the buds to sprout.

Bell and flowerpot

Pot with cuttings

To create a microclimate around it, encouraging the cuttings to sprout leaves.

Greetings and happy growing.!

I hope you find these tips helpful for your own gardening projects! See you in the next post with further updates. Best regards to all!

miércoles, 29 de julio de 2026