Wish me luck with these rose cuttings

[Forgoodnesssakejustletme]

When we moved here 17 years ago, we had an older lady living next door. She had previously been a tenant farmer with her husband and when he was alive they won Britain in Bloom awards for their beautiful garden. She developed dementia and was eventually moved into a care home, where she still lives aged about 102 now. Her daughter send us a Christmas card each year with a brief update and tells us her mum is still alive but mostly sleeping now. Her old farm is about to be demolished to make way for a new housing development. I walked over there this evening and took some cuttings from a rose which grows at the side of the house. Fingers crossed they take so I can give her daughter a rose bush from her mum and dad. Any ideas which rose? I think it is a large bush rose rather than a climber as it is about six feet tall but not rambling (unlike this little story). Wish me luck.🙂

@Forgoodnesssakejustletme what a beautifully kind thing to do. I would be over the moon if I was the daughter and someone had been so thoughtful ❤️

@Someaddedsugar thank you - I could honestly cry! She was such an inspirational woman, living independently for so long. She rode her pushbike well into her 80's, going into town and round about. We would hear her running up and down the stairs- her heart must be so strong which is why she has carried on so long I guess. So interesting to talk to and a little sad to see her demise.

She sounds like a wonderful woman. My own grandma was in her late 90s and sounds very similar, and also was diagnosed with dementia late in life. I think my parents would have been so touched if someone had done what you're doing with something so special.

Are those the cuttings in the picture, or are those reference samples for identification?

Ideally, you should take cuttings from non-flowering branches. Cut just below a leaf node. Remove all leaves except for a small one at the top. Plunge the cuttings into gritty soil to two thirds of their depth. Make sure the soil is moist. Put the whole pot into a large plastic bag and tie it at the top, then just leave it out of the sun, checking every month or so and removing anything that has rotted. Don’t disturb the pot until you see roots coming out of the bottom - will be several months.

@MereDintofPandiculation I thought they should be from non flowering stems but on googling it, most sites advised to use a recently flowered stem as the hormone levels are higher????

OK .. maybe you could do a mixture? See which works best?
Useful if you can use recently flowered stems, as if you're taking cuttings in late summer it can be difficult to find anything else.

@MereDintofPandiculation they're cut and in now so fingers crossed. 😊

What a kind thought. Typing this with fingers crossed for you.

@IcakethereforeIam aww thank you 😊