In my last post (which was WAY too long ago) I showed you how I brought a bit of light and cheer into my greenhouse. Next thing on my list was to finish preparing the area where the baby roses will spend the winter.
Instead of heating the whole building to keep the little pots from freezing, using a TON of propane in the process, I'm going to use a propagation heat mat underneath the pots. I put two layers of insulation on the bench (one piece of solid foam and a layer foil bubble insulation, topped with the heat mat.
The mat is connected to a thermostat with a probe, to monitor and control the temperature of the pots. So far, it's working really well.
The read-out on the thermostat shows the temperature of the pot that contains the probe.
The sun warms the greenhouse during the day, and the mat should only be needed during really cold nights.
In the house, things are going gang-busters in the propagation area in my basement workshop.
I planted these cuttings at various times in October, and some of them are already showing awesome roots! (I attribute this to some good luck, careful attention, and a little bit of help from bottom heat provided by the fluorescent light on the shelf below the cuttings.) Roots usually show in four to eight weeks. It looks like these little baby cuttings are VERY anxious to grow up and become real plants.
Allow me introduce you to ...
"Haywood Hall" A Noisette rose that was found at Haywood Hall in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is one of the best Noisettes in my garden and very few people know about it. Because of this, I want to share it around to make sure that it doesn't disappear.
Spray of "Haywood Hall" in my garden last month.
Tag, showing the date that I planted the cuttings.
Growing roots like this after only three weeks!
'Pink Poodle' (a miniature rose from 1991) is very rare and, again, needs to be propagated and spread around to insure its survival.
'Pink Poodle' showing some deeper-than-normal color in cooler autumn weather.
Cuttings didn't even drop one leaf.
Visible roots in three weeks!
"Talcott White Noisette" grows in Hollywood Cemetery. It is a very old, very large plant, in an out-of-the-way location. As far as I know, no one has ever propagated it.
Visible roots in four weeks!
While I was in Harrisonburg, Virginia, last month, I visited Woodbine Cemetery. I always have my tools with me, and I took a few cuttings of the roses that I saw there. One of them was an incredibly fragrant Noisette-type rose.
The flowers on the cuttings perfumed my whole car.
The plant at the cemetery is 7-8 feet tall.
Visible roots in three weeks!
While the outdoor garden is slowing down, you can see that things are just getting started indoors. Soon, the basement rose babies will be potted up, and they will join their buddies to spend the winter in the greenhouse ... gonna have to tidy up some more to make space on the bench for them.
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To learn the method that I use to root roses, click HERE.