How to Clone Roses With Aeroponics

An aeroponic rose cloner is simple to make and works well to clone your favorite roses without using any soil. It is important to bear in mind, however, that roses are often grafted onto root stock that is different from the flowering part of the plant. When cloning such plants they will look the same, but they won't have all of the same characteristics as the original plant, and may be lacking in some areas such as winter hardiness or disease resistance.

Things You'll Need

10-gallon plastic bin with lid
2½-inch net pots
Marking pen
Air pump, for aquariums
Air tubing
Splitter for tubing

2 aquarium air stones, 8-inch
Drill with keyhole saw attachment, 2-inch
Silica stones, clay pellets or pea gravel
Digital timer
Sharp pruning shears

Instructions

- 1
  Put your net pots on the bin lid with the top against the lid. Leave at least 2 inches between each pot, and keep them 2 to 3 inches from the edge of the lid. When you have the best arrangement for your bin, draw an outline around each pot.
- 2
  Cut a hole inside each circle with the keyhole saw. The hole will be slightly smaller than the outline. This is where the plants will be when the cloner is assembled.
- 3
  Connect a short piece of tubing to the air pump. Connect the splitter to this tubing, then connect a longer piece of tubing to each side of the splitter. The tubing should be long enough to easily reach to the bottom of the bin when everything is in its final place.
- 4
  Plug one air stone onto the end of each piece of air tubing. These will provide the aeration needed to clone the roses. Place the air stones inside the bin, one at each end. Point them toward the middle of the bin so that the bubbles they produce will cover as much area as possible.
- 5
  Fill the bin with water to within 1 inch of the bottom of the net pots. Put the lid on the bin.
- 6
  Cut some healthy canes from your rose bush. Choose canes about the thickness of a pencil and with plenty of leaves and buds. Remove the end and cut the canes into pieces that are about 5 inches long.
- 7
  Strip all leaves from the lower end of each piece of cane and place them in individual net pots. Let ½ inch of the cane protrude out of the bottom of the pot. Fill the pot with a support medium such as clay pellets.
- 8
  Place one pot in each hole of the bin lid. The bottom of the canes should be ½ inch above the surface of the water; they must not touch the water. The popping bubbles will provide the aeroponic misting effect and allow the rose canes to grow roots after about 2 weeks.
- 9
  Set the timer to turn on for 15 minutes and off for 45 minutes, 24 hours a day. Plug the pump into the timer and the timer into the wall to start your rose cloner.

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