I've heard of this but never tried it. I get good results from pushing the cuttings deeply into the ground, so I don't see the point of wasting a potato.

I would be very surprised if this actually worked.

You don't know until you try :)

That's true: So how long did your cuttings take to root in & sprout leaves? Did you plant them out?

Like Hywel I have put rose stems into the ground and they usually have roots in 6 months to a year. My 'new dawn' rose [my avatar pic] was taken as a stem in march 1996 and by autumn I was ready to plant against the wall. here it has stayed ever since.
I don't see the point of the potato but if it works then ...

The potato is suppose to provide the perfect environment for root development, food as it decomposes & the continuous moisture it needs.

Congrats on your success!

I wait until I see new growth on the cuttings. Like Seaburngirl said, it takes 6 months to a year. Maybe it would be quicker with a potato, or stop you from worrying about it drying out.
But I'm not in a hurry, and we get plenty of rain ... :)

Meh. I have used pots of damp sand in late December, and got roots and growth by early February. Planted out by late March. Note that most Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras only do mediocre on their own roots.

You live in hot Arizona Tugbrethil, I live in wet Wales so it takes longer ... but I would not call the growth I get from rose cuttings mediocre. In fact I have found they grow quite strongly.

These stem cuttings came from a bouquet of long stem red roses from a florist. Here is a pic. Not sure what kind of roses these are but would love to see these sprout.

http://www.growsonyou.com/photo/slideshow/334867-merry-christmas-happy-new-year-goy/member/bathgate

Thank you for you input.

i have put long stemmed ramblers in pots in summer in john inns and they took 1-2 months only

Really, OK Imagine a rose bush full of those giant red red roses like from the florist. That would be amazing. Maybe I'll have a bush to plant out in the Spring.