Select a strong, disease-free stem from an existing rose plant. The cutting should be about 6 to 8 inches long and include at least 3-4 leaf nodes. Using clean, sharp pruners, make a diagonal cut just below a node. This is where the roots will eventually sprout.
Remove the lower leaves, leaving only the top two or three. If there are any flower buds or flowers, remove them as well to redirect the plant’s energy toward root development.
2. Prepare the Rice
Take 1 cup of uncooked white rice and place it in a clean container. You can either:
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Grind the rice into a fine powder using a blender or grinder to make a homemade rooting hormone.
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Use the whole grains directly by dipping the rose stem into the cup of rice.
The ground rice powder adheres better to the cutting, offering more contact surface for the nutrients to transfer. However, whole rice can work too, especially when you’re planting the cutting directly in soil with rice grains.
3. Apply the Rice to the Cutting
If you ground the rice into powder, dampen the bottom end of the cutting and roll it in the rice powder, covering at least 1–2 inches of the stem. This step mimics the effect of commercial rooting powder.
If you’re using whole grains, simply press the end of the stem into the cup of rice to coat it, or mix the grains into the planting hole with the cutting.
4. Plant the Cutting
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