what are first signs that they are not going to make it?

can a cutting be planted upside down? or it doesn't matter

General info: take cuttings from a recently bloomed cane, with a few bud eyes. Strip off all but the top several leaves. A Commercial strength rooting hormone helps, like Rhizopon. SLIGHTLY scratch the lowest couple of buds--just barely through the edge--then dip the ends & scratched part in hormone. Tap off any extra powder. People have different cutting mixes they like. I do best with very coarse sand/peat mix. Poke a hole, put the cutting in, then firm the mix around it. The medium should be moist before you do this.

Then you have to keep the LEAVES & STEM moist--by misting, keeping them in a shaded protected area, etc. A lot of folks use the "baggie" method & sack up the entire cutting & pot in plastic.

My personal biggest failure is rot--the cutting leaves drop off & the stem turns brown. What helps for me is to soak the cutting mix in water with ~tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide in it to help keep down rot. I don't have a lot of luck with the baggie method--seems like too much humidity--but lots of folks do. Don't water the cutting for a week or so--it has no roots to take it up. What you're aiming for is to keep the stem & leaves from drying or rotting. You can get a cheap little amateur mister from a "big box" store--they sell them as "porch coolers".

If you have success, the cutting stays green, the buds swell & start to break leaves, & you'll eventually see roots coming out the bottom of the pot.

have fun--there are a lot of different methods & formulas for success, but this is some basic info. Check out "Propagation" link on top. good luck!

what happened if you plant a cutting upside down?

Sometimes, the orignal leaves fall away, and the cutting sits there, nekkid. That's OK. It's the part below ground-level that matters.

We use willow tea, soaking the cuttings in it before planting, and we also use a gel rooting hormone. I have read of studies that show that hormone and willow tea are both effective, but most effective when used together. DH does water cuttings when soil is dry (it usually isnt) with water containing willow tea and Nature's Nog.

We have a small greenhouse, now, but before we had that, we had good luck with the Terrarium Method. Baggies NEVER worked here. Not once. We used a cold-frame, tho, for years. Terrarium was better for us.

In the little greenhouse, we have a misting system, made of one of those patio misting kits. Works very well.

You can find some articles on propagating by cuttings at the Gold Coast Heritage Roses Groups website (see link)

Jeri