In THIS post, I showed how 11 of 14 cuttings of the climber 'Pink Pillar' had calloused and were almost to the point of producing roots after spending two weeks wrapped in newspaper in my cool basement. After transferring the cuttings into pots and putting them on the mist bench in my greenhouse, though things looked like success was inevitable, every single cutting died.
Not to be discouraged, I decided to try this method of propagation on a tea rose, Comtesse Riza du Parc. Teas form roots fairly easily, so it seemed like a good candidate to give it another go.
This is 'Comtesse Riza du Parc' ... isn't she lovely?
The cuttings shown below were taken on August 6. I scored the side of each cutting, dipped it in Hormodin #2 rooting hormone, wrapped the bundle of cuttings in damp newspaper, wrapped the newspaper packet in Saran Wrap, and put it in a cool spot in my basement. Today, I unwrapped the cuttings and found this:
Five of the cuttings have calloused nicely, and two of these have little root sprouts. One of the cuttings is brown on the end and I threw it away. I have potted the five calloused cuttings into small pots and put them on my mist bench and I hope like crazy that they will grow roots.
I will let you know how they do.
(Final update ... every single one of these cuttings died shortly after being planted. My percentage of success with newspaper wrapped cuttings is exactly ZERO. This may work for other folks in different areas of the country, but it does NOT work for me and I will no longer use it or recommend it.)