Rose question

[southern28chick]

I have 3 rose bushes (red, pink and yellow) and a running rose bush (pink if I remember correctly) that has tiny roses and grows/runs on my wooden fence in my backyard. I'll get a picture later.

1st qusetion: How can I make new plants out of clippings? I think I've heard that you can clip a piece of the bush and it'll take root and form a new plant, like a grapevine does.

2cd qusetion: When my running rose bush first bloomed it was beautiful! But now when the caterpillers come out they live on the bush eating all the leaves and it never blooms. How can I keep the caterpillers off without killing them? Is that possible? I don't believe is pesticides.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Trisha the only time I did new roses I used rooting hormone powder and did the dry dip. I did not greenhouse the rose cutting so lost most of them, I like the discription here of how to use a pop bottle. Anyway this site has most of the info you need to get going. I have heard that pre treating the whole rose with the rooting hormone so that the cuttings really want to root is the best way but never tried it.

http://www.rooting-hormones.com/rose.htm

For the caterpillars you can either companion plant something that will deter them or plant something else for them to feed on, or bring in a natural predator like the predatory wasps.

 

[Carri]

Tricia,
You can also hand pick the caterpillars and put them in a glass of soapy water. They sink under the suds and drown. I think you may be able to spray roses with the soapy water?

 

[southern28chick]

Tricia,
You can also hand pick the caterpillars and put them in a glass of soapy water. They sink under the suds and drown. I think you may be able to spray roses with the soapy water?

I couldn't do that. I'm anti-kill. I know it sounds crazy to some folks but I don't kill anything on purpose...even bugs. :bee

Edited to add: Even in the house, I'm strictly catch and release.

 

[Carri]

You know... I thought about that after I posted... I think you've mentioned that before.
Maybe there is a natural predator?

 

[southern28chick]

You know... I thought about that after I posted... I think you've mentioned that before.
Maybe there is a natural predator?

I'm thinking about what adoptedbyachicken said:

For the caterpillars you can either companion plant something that will deter them or plant something else for them to feed on

Either that or I'll let the lil worms have it. I know...I'm crazy.

I actually remember my first kill. I was probably 2 because I was living in Arizona. I remember killing a fly that was in the house and crying for days after. I haven't purposely killed a single thing since.

 

[beefy]

most roses can be easily rooted by layering. just put a runner down on the ground, cover a portion of it with dirt and put something heavy like a brick on top to weight it down. it will eventually root and you can cut it off of the parent plant.

for bush type roses its probably easier to root some branches now with rooting hormone. try to get a piece that has leafbuds just starting to develop, those seem to root the best for me.

for a natural rooting hormone, put whatever you are trying to root in a glass of water with a willow branch, it exudes some sort of natural rooting hormone. i rooted a bunch of hibiscus and roses in water like this. some of them deleloped little hairlike roots, others just had what looked like bubbles on them. but i then took them and put them in soil and they ALL rooted.

for caterpillars you can try planting something to deter them like marigolds, sweetpotato vines, or PARSLEY! caterpillars love parsley!

 

[southern28chick]

PARSLEY! caterpillars love parsley!

PERFECT! Now where do I plant it? Near the rose bush, around it?

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

Plant the marigolds around the roses to deter the moths from laying there, and put the parsley near by but not right there so they have a 'better' option. It's kind of a push - pull to get them toward the crop your willing to let them have.

 

[patandchickens]

Tricia,
You can also hand pick the caterpillars and put them in a glass of soapy water. They sink under the suds and drown. I think you may be able to spray roses with the soapy water?

I couldn't do that. I'm anti-kill. I know it sounds crazy to some folks but I don't kill anything on purpose...even bugs. :bee

You know... I thought about that after I posted... I think you've mentioned that before.
Maybe there is a natural predator?

There is. Chickens.

Handpick the caterpillars (or knock 'em off onto a sheet laid on the ground), put 'em in a bowl, feed 'em to the chickens. The chickens will be delirious with (brief) happiness, and you will be feeding them Naturally And Organically, with nothing more on your conscience than the natural-born proper diet of chickens

Pat