 1) The best time to root a rose, as my grandmother has said over and over, is to do it from September to November. Since it isn't that time of year during Valentine's Day, we will just have to make due.
2) With the rose in a strong condition, not limp or flimsy, and with at least two full sets of leaves near the top of the stem, prune the flower off so the uppermost part of the clipping no longer has the most tender part of the stem attached, but not so far as to cut off the two best sets of leaves.
3) Trim the bottom of the stem at a 45 degree angle so that it is roughly as long as a pencil. (Optimally, the stem would also have a diameter that is close to a pencil's, but again because beggars can't be choosers, we will have to make due.) Also, this trimming should take care of the part of the stem that becomes translucent in the water and is essentially beginning to rot.
4) Remove all but the top-most two full sets of leaves. Again, if it's not possible, use the best leaves on the stem.
5) My gram never had rooting hormone and so never used it. If you have some handy and think it might help the process along, by all means, give it a try. I have never used a rooting hormone and any plant that I have tried to root always takes off well in water or, in this case, dirt.
6) Find where in the garden you want your rose plant to be and push the bottom of the stem into the ground so that all but the top two inches are into the soil. Make sure that the leaves are out of the soil, they need room to grow and get plenty of sun. (If your soil is poor, I would recommend amending it before this step.)
7) Cover your grounded stem with a mason jar and push the brim into the soil so that you create a mini greenhouse. The size of the jar is not as important as covering it in wintery times. I would, however, recommend using the largest, clear glass jar that you have available.
8) Wait.
9) Come spring remove the jar and let the stem get the fresh air that it needs. Usually, if the rose is started during the months from September to November, there will be at least one brand new set of leaves coming off of the stem. Given the unusual time-frame, I would expect not much to have happened, at least not above ground. If given time to further mature into summer, I would expect a set of leaves to develop.
The next coming winter will be the deciding factor as to whether or not the plant survives. Because the plant is usually started in the winter, you already know whether or not the plant will survive, because it will either be brown and dead or green and growing come spring.
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