How cool! Probably the decomposing leaves provided the perfect rooting medium, and it got some moisture, and some light. If you tried this on purpose it would probably not work!

Some people are able to just stick cuttings into the soil and the root - not me. The only time that worked for me was on Grandmother's Hat - I had been told it would, and stuck in 3 cuttings, which I did cover with plastic bottle covers, and all three rooted!

Jackie

I suspect it depends on a lot of variables . . . The quality (and pH) of your soil and water, and the weather conditions. Probably more likely to work in Ireland, which at least gets rain, than in my arid SoCal conditions.

Still -- it's a miracle, isn't it?
Life persists. :-)
Maybe, entropy DOESN'T always win.

Jeri

That's terrific! Like Jackie says, it probably wouldn't work if you tried to do it on purpose, lol.

Will it take long for other lateral canes to break? The main cane is so long and I can't see any signs of bud eyes.

Patience. That is a brand new rooted cutting and it may be 2 or 3 years before it matures and starts to look like a decent bush. Whether you see them or not there are leaf nodes along that cane but there is no way of knowing if or when it will sprout them. It may send up new shoots from below instead. Just take good care of it and watch and wait. It's all you can do.

Thanks. I will be patient. :-) I've never had a cane that long decide to be a bush. I think the process of watching it grow, as opposed to my short little cuttings from my floribundas, is going to be different. I shall emerge from the experience a more patient person ;-)