Hi, All! Hi, Pam!!!!
I am gonna visit this Forum since you all may have this Rose growing around northern Canada. Normally, I would spend time on the Mid-Atlantic Forum.
I am currently visiting my sister in Homer, Alaska. SOOOO nice here, and summery!
I have become obsessed with wanting to take a "start" of the double, dark, magenta Sitka Rose home and see if I can grow ir in Baltimore, Maryland (zone 7a). I just
L-O-V-E the fragrance!!!!!!! These grow all over the place here in the woods and in the gardens as well. I was told they are NOT native to Alaska, but were introduced from Russia. The true, native Sitka (Rugosa) rose here is the single, pink one.
Some questions:
1. Do you think if I dug away a new shoot from an established bush it would make it back home in a 5" pot or such? Long flight! CAN they be dug away or do they come from deep down from runners underground? What is the best way to propagate these?
2. Could these be grown from the seed pods (hips) they make in the fall? How long until it would be a plant of any significance? We have long, hot summers in Baltimore.
Any and all advice welcome asap. I leave for Seattle on Friday 7/21. Then home 3 days later.
Thanks!!!! Gita
How do I propagate the Alaskan (Northern) Sitka Rose?
Roselain,
Thank you so much for this information. I printed it out and will read it later.
When I get home and upload my pictures, I will send you one I took of this rose while here in Homer.
Gita
Hey Gita! Ü
What a wonderful place you've gone to visit.........I'm betting it's much cooler then Baltimore is right now (double the treat ;). Hope you have a wonderful visit with your sister (and DD in Seattle.....if I'm remembering her location correctly).
Pam
Hi,
Here's what I have decided to do with this "Sitka Rose Obsession".
I raided a big bish on a roadside of a bunch of cuttings. They have now been in water for 3 days. I plan to stuff them in a cut-off water bottle with a bunch of wet paper towels and hand-carry them home.
Then, I will do the rooting under glass thing with about 3-4 cuttings per pot and a cut off 2 liter soda bottle over the top kept outside in shade--even for the winter (protected).
If they root--they root. If not--I tried!
Heading home tomorrow AM!
Thank you all for any help offered.
Gita
Update.....
My cuttings really "fried" sitting for 6 days in a water bottle in all the 99 degree heat in Seattle (3 days) and then being stuffed under my seat on 3 different air flights until I got home. The Sitka Rose leaves were getting really crisp. I submersed them in water and H2O2 for half a day and they perked up a bit. My Raspberry (dug up) cuttings were sort of holding their own in a quart Zip-Loc bag in soil.
Anyway, I am now home. After really extended naps yesterday (to catch up with the jet-lag), I transplanted them all in soil. Holding my fingers on the Roses. I have them in an oval window-box and covered them in plastic. keeping them shaded. I think they will be a challange.... The raspberries will probably make it. Well---at least I tried!!!!!
Gita
A further update. (8/24)
All the Sitka Rose cuttings have croaked! At first, it seemed that they would make it. Then, they all started looking like roses that have Black Spot on them and soon dropped off all their leaves. I opened the plastic bag and sprayed them, but it did not help.
Should I save the bare stems in the pot and hope that there may be some life left in them??? They all look prety dead. I am sooooo sory that that they did not make it! I would have loved to have a bush of these in my back yard.
I also realize that out climates are so VERY different! Well, I tried!
The problem may have been that I did not fly home directly, but had a 3-day layover in Seattle (99 degrees there also) and that they had been hand-carried for 3 legs of different flights home in a small plastic shopping bag.
Out of all the Raspberry cuttings I think ONE is going to make it. It is green and growing.
Boo Hooooooooo.............Gita