In the floriculture industry, vegetative propagation is a widely use preserver of cultivar characteristics in roses. The latest study aimed to evaluate the effect of powder and gel forms of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) on the adventitious root formation of two types of roses, i.e., Hybrid Tea Rose (Mr. Lincolin) and Floribunda (Iceberg). Both types of rose stem cuttings with lengths of 20, 25, 30, and 35 cm received evaluation with the application of Vapor Gard for one, two, and three weeks as an anti-desiccant. The rose cutting with a length of 30 cm treated for three weeks with Vapor Gard provided the maximum rooting percentages of 73%, 76%, 83%, and 83% for Hybrid Tea Rose and Floribunda, respectively. The Floribunda rose cuttings with IBA (gel form) resulted in the utmost percentage of rooted cuttings (93%), root length (15.7 cm), root number (21 per cutting), shoot number (four per cutting), shoot length (19.70 cm), number of leaves (20.0 leaf), and leaf area (19.6 cm²). IBA powder treatment was not significantly different from the IBA gel treatment in the leaf area for Hybrid Tea Rose. However, IBA gel treatment proved to be superior in all other parameters. This method combined IBA applied as a gel with longer cuttings of rose to generate an improved protocol for better rooting in rose stem cuttings. The successful use of this method has enhanced rooting in rose stem cuttings and can be functional for other valuable ornamentals and floricultural species.

Keywords: Hybrid Tea Rose (Mr. Lincolin), Floribunda (Iceberg) rose, IBA gel and powder forms, stem cuttings, root formation, root traits

Key findings: The current study indicated that the two rose types have responded differently to IBA applications in gel and powder form. The highest number of roots and their better growth were prominent in the stem cuttings of Floribunda rose type with IBA gel form (93%). Vapor Gard application for two weeks and IBA gel form in 30 cm stem cuttings significantly improved other parameters for both rose types.