Rose Cuttings

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.  So, today we drove down to the Cyril  to visit Tom's brother and put flowers on the graves of his parents and grandparents.  His grandparents are buried in a cemetary near Cement. 

While we were there, I was struck by all the beautiful rose bushes that were blooming in that cemetary.  Many of the newer cemetaries won't let people plant flowers and bushes on the graves because it complicates mowing and upkeep.  However, this was an older cemetary with many of the graves dating back into the early 1900s.  It was such a beautiful and peaceful setting.  In addition to the rose bushes, there were many very old cedar trees with trunks 18 inches to 2 feet in diameter.

I decided to take cuttings from some of the rose bushes and see if I could root them.  I'm not into "fancy" roses that take a lot of care.  I figured if these were growing out in an old cemetary with no care, then they were MY kind of roses.

My middle son likes roses and I have watched him take cuttings.  So, I kinda knew what to do.  I borrowed Tom's pocket knife and took cuttings of about 4-5 inches long from the tips of the branches.  Then I put them in a sandwich bag I found in the car and poured a little water in with them to keep them moist until I got them home.  

On the way home, I called my son to see what to do next.  He usually uses 2-liter pop bottles that serve as a "mini" greenhouse to start his cuttings in.  But, since we don't drink much pop, I had to come up with another plan.  I ended up using clear plastic disposable cups that I filled with potting soil and put the cuttings in.   Then I put the cups into gallon zip-lock bags.  Here is the end result:

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that these make it and I will have some beautiful rose bushes, like the ones in the cemetary, in a few years.