250 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



FEBRUARY 9, 1S99. 



all sides of a "house that contains many 

 large specimens in one picture, and 

 consequently the very clear photo- 

 graph from -which our illustration was 

 prerpared gives only a portion of the 

 luxuriant masses of varied foliage 

 with which Mr. Brown's conservatory 

 is adorned, but gives us enough to 

 create a desire for more o! the same 

 kind. 



The fine .specimen of Cycas circinalis 

 on the left of the picture is a note- 

 worthy plant that seems to increase in 

 vigor and beauty with age, while the 

 careless grace with which the tub 



and base of this plant is partially 

 screened by the rambling growths of 

 Cissus discolor adds much to the ef- 

 fect. This seems like a happy touch 

 of the gardener's art, "the art that 

 doth mend nature." 



In the right foreground one of the 

 Hoffmannias or campylobotrys is a 

 prominent feature, the strongly veined 

 velvety leaves attracting attention. 

 Some alocasias, crotons. Asparagus 

 plumosus, foliage begonias and various 

 creepers form a part of the under- 

 growth, while in the distance some 

 anthuriums are distinguishable. 



On the whole there is a general at 

 home appearance about the stock that 

 reflects great credit upon the garden- 

 er, Patrick Riley, under whose care 

 this establishment has been for several 

 years. H. 



LATEST FACTS ABOUT GR.\FTED 

 ROSES FOR WINTER FORCING. 



By .Alexander B. Scott. 



[Read before the Florists' Club of Philndelphia, 

 February 7, 1899.] 



The subject assigned to me this 

 evening is one of special interest to 

 every rose grower, and my decided 

 preference for grafted roses for winter 

 forcing is the result of my own ex- 

 perience. Five years ago I was an en- 

 thusiastic advocate of roses on their 

 own roots; my experiments up to this 

 time, however, had not been with the 

 winter forcing varieties, but with the 

 general list of Tea and Hybrid Tea 

 roses used in the mailing rose busi- 

 ness. 



In 1895 the Messrs. Dickson, of Eel- 

 fast, induced me to try some dormant 

 eyes of the winter forcing" varieties, 

 and from these I had splendid results. 

 Unfortunately, the mortality of these 

 dormant eyes inserted in Manetti 

 stocks was more than one-half, and 

 the following year we started graft- 

 ing. The varieties grafted and tested 

 side by side were American Beauty, 

 Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Perle des 

 Jardins, Bride, Bridesmaid, and 

 Liberty. The grafted American Beau- 

 ties grew much stronger than those 

 on their own roots during July and 

 August, but by January 1st the own 

 root plants were the best. 



Jvaiserin Augusta Victoria grafted 



stock took the lead from the start, 

 and although both were the same size 

 when planted, by September 1st the 

 grafted stock looked from 12 to 18 

 inches taller than the own root plants. 

 From September 1st to January 1st 

 we cut more than double the quantity 

 of flowers from the grafted stock, and 

 the flowers had much longer stems, 

 and were of better quality. 



Perle des Jardins: — I do not think 

 that this variety takes kindly to the 

 Manetti stock; it was more difiScult to 

 graft, and when planted out. grew no 

 better than plants of equal size grown 

 on their own roots. 



Bride and Bridesmaid: — ^The grafted 

 stock of these two varieties, and the 

 own root plants, were grown in the 

 same house and on the same tables; 

 the difference in the growth was so 

 marked that nearly every visitor to 

 our place noticed it. The grafted 

 plants sent up more strong canes from 

 the base of the plant, and the flowers 

 had stiffer and longer stems, and as a 

 whole were larger, although some of 

 the own root roses produced flowers 

 equally as large as the grafted plants. 



Liberty: — I may be pardoned if I 

 state that this new crimson rose is a 

 favorite of mine, and I believe that 

 when introduced, it will have a great 

 future. I planted both grafted plants 

 and those on their own roots, side by 

 side, and the difference in favor of 

 grafted stock was as great as in Brides 

 and Bridesmaids. 



When I started these experiments I 

 was in doubt as to which would be the 

 most profitable, but after a year's trial 

 I became a strong advocate of growing 

 roses for winter forcing on Manetti 



stocks, excepting only American 

 Beauty and Perle des Jardins. In 

 starting my new plant at Sharon Hill 

 last spring, I believed so thoroughly 

 in grafted stock that I used nothing 

 else in planting Bride, Bridesmaid, 

 Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Liberty, 

 Souvenir du President Carnot, and a 

 few Madame Hoste and Morgans. So 

 far, I have had no cause to regret my 

 decision. 



I planted all grafted roses, because 

 from my own experiments, and from 

 watching the stock of a few large rose 

 growers, I came to the following con- 

 clusions: First, grafted roses will 

 make strong, vigorous plants much 

 quicker than own root roses; second, 

 they produce as many, if not more 

 flowers, and the flowers grade 25 to 50 

 per cent more extras and firsts than 

 own root roses; third, the roots are 

 comparatively free from disease, and 

 so far, in lifting our grafted plants. I 

 have failed to discover any evidences 

 of eel-worm; fourth, grafted roses have 

 mare vitality than own root roses. I 

 have always been a believer in the 

 blood of a rose, and several years ago, 

 when growing young roses in large 

 quantities, as soon as I saw the vi- 

 tality of a rose weakening. I always 

 changed the stock, either in propagat- 

 ing from field-grown southern roses, 

 or in importing fresh stock from Eu- 

 rope. This question of vitality is true 

 today of our winter forcing roses, and 

 by grafting roses on Manetti stock 

 the vitality is quickened, and with 

 each succeeding year the standard of 

 growth can be kept up without having 

 to change our stocks. 



Grafted roses do well either on 

 benches or in solid beds. Personally 

 I prefer the latter, as I believe they 

 will carry over to the second and third 

 year better than when planted on 

 benches. In planting, I always keep 

 the union below the surface of the 

 soil, and if planted on benches, the 

 soil should be an inch deeper than for 

 own root stock. 



Stocks: — I have tried different va- 

 rieties of stocks, and I believe the 

 Manetti is best adapted for our pur- 

 pose. Roses grafted on the English 

 Briar have with me a decided tendency 

 to go to sleep in mid-winter. The 

 claim for the Polyantha multiflora 

 stock, was that roses grafted upon it 

 would produce more flowers of a more 

 perfect finish than iipon any other 

 stock. "With me, the roses grafted 

 upon it did not grow as vigorously as 

 upon the Manetti, and the flowers were 

 hardly as good. In using Manetti 

 stocks, we cannot get too good an 

 article, as we have too much at stake 

 to risk a poor stock, or one that will 

 throw up suckers and weaken the vi- 

 tality of the plant. 



All the cuttings of Manetti stocks 

 should be thoroughly eyed before they 

 are rooted, to prevent suckers from 

 coming up. To do this properly, more 

 time and expense has to be put on it, 

 and they are, therefore, higher in 



