Hi there,
I am in Sydney, Australia and took a challenge to propagate roses using cuttings.
I obtained a handful of lush cuttings from my parent's garden after they sold their property some weeks ago. It would have been a sin not to take the cuttings knowing how much love, patience and dedication went into growing them.
The cuttings were submerged into a bucket full of water for almost 2 weeks. The bucket was not covered and being in Sydney the heat and moisture helped in producing some humidity. I kept a regular check on them and they looked in impeccable health. No sign of 'death' or decay. After about 2 weeks I took them out and stripped them off their leaves etc... ready to transfer them into a garden pot filled with rose grade soil. Each cutting was inserted into its pencil deep hole in the same pot. The pot is under a tree where the cuttings do bathe in sunlight for about half a day. I regularly watered and fertilsed them as well but didn't use any root hormone or the like nor any other technique or strategy.
Four weeks later and to my heart sinking despair the once healthy green stems have now turned into a dark brown stick. I pulled one out today to inspect and it seems that it has almost decayed. The full length of the cutting is a dark brown almost black color. I doubt there is any form of life left in it. The other cuttings are also showing some signs of irreversible damage.
I have attached a photo or two to show the extent of damage. I am really grief stricken to see them dying away. These were really exquisite plants. Can someone please advise what I need to do. I may have a cutting or two that appears to look ok but I am not going to risk them dying as well.
Thanks and kind regards,
Tony