April 13, 1907 



HORTICULTURE 



495 



VICTORY HAS MADE GOOD 



Plac* your order* early for rooted cuttings. Prices $6 per lOO, $50.00 per lOOO. DISCOUNT FOR CASH WITH ORDER 



CUTTMAN & WEBER 



The Wholetale Florist Grower 



o« New York Lynbrook, L. I., N.r. 



43 W. 28 St., 



EXTRACT FROM "RAMBLING 



NOTES ON TREES AND 



SHRUBS." 



(Read Before the Nortli Sliore Horticultural 

 Society, by J. W. Duncan.) 



It is too .seldom the case that 

 enough attention is given by garden- 

 ers to the proper manner of planting 

 trees and shrubs. Why they do not 

 thrive better is often wondered at, 

 not only by the owner of the place, 

 but by the very men who planted 

 them. I believe that every estate 

 should have its own little nursery, 

 and that before plants are put in 

 their permanent locations they should 

 have, at least, one year in tliat little 

 spot where they will get a chance for 

 proper care with the pruning knife, 

 and have an opportunity to make those 

 fibrous roots . that are ' required to 

 make a healthy growth when put in 

 their permanent locations. 



The first step in transplanting a 

 tree or shrub is to have it properly 

 dug. This should be done so as to 

 save all that can be saved of the 

 fibrous roots, and when the plant is 

 being taken from one location to an- 

 other care should be taken that the 

 roots are well protected from the sun 

 or drying air, which will, in a very 

 few minutes, destroy the finest fibre 

 of the roots and check the plant just 

 so much in taking hold in its new lo- 

 cation. This is the main reason why 

 the gardener will do well to have his 

 own little nursery. There are few 

 nurserymen that take the proper 

 pains in digging their trees and 

 shrubs for shipment, and, consequent- 

 ly, a large percentage of them die or 

 do not recover their active growth for 

 a year or two. Perhaps the most im- 

 portant part, however, in tree or 

 shrub planting is to have the ground 

 properly prepared. If a tree or shrub 

 plantation is to be made the ground 

 should be deeply ploughed and sub- 

 soiled, having been gone over at least 

 once each way with both land plow 

 and subsoil plow. This will loosen 

 up the soil so that the roots will have 

 a chance for immediate action. If a 

 piece of ground is so prepared in the 

 autumn, planting may be done in the 

 spring; and, by the way, spring is the 

 most suitable time to plant all kinds 

 of trees and shrubs. Although some 

 species may do well enough if planted 

 during the autumn, yet. in most loca- 

 tions, better results will be obtained 

 if the planting is done in the spring. 

 Many deciduous trees will do best if 

 transplanted when the buds are just 

 about to burst open: I refer to such 

 trees as the maples, oaks, beeches, 

 etc. I have often heard it said, and 

 many eminent authorities agree, that, 

 for transplanting evergreens, the late 

 summer or fall months are the best; 

 but, be that as it may, I never would 

 recommend it, especially near the sea 

 coast. There is no better time, I be- 

 lieve, to transplant pines, spruces, 

 junipers, etc., than in the latter part 



of the month of April or just before 

 the new growth starts. Do not wait 

 until it is started, as is often done, 

 and that growth is checked for that 

 season at least. I have been told, 

 and I agree in the main with my in- 

 formant, that as good a time as any 

 to transplant rhododendrons and kal- 

 mias is when they are about to come 

 into bloom. Pick all the flower buds 

 off before moving, and the result will 

 be that the plants will immediately 

 start into a new growth and active 

 root action will set in. 



The pruning of trees and shrubs 

 is something that needs the most care- 

 ful consideration of the gardener. 

 How often do we see shrubs all cut 

 and butchered into the self-same 

 shape, and, in fact, we can hardl> tell 

 until we look closely what the shrubs 

 are. Trees require very little prun- 

 ing after they have got properly 

 started. All they need is attention, 

 to see that no double leader starts in, 

 or, perhaps, the shortening back of 

 occasional side branches which might 

 make the tree too unshapely. Ever- 

 greens require little pruning, but 

 should be given room to develop a 

 free natural growth, which is charac- 

 teristic of many fine species. Of 

 course, evergreens should have all 

 inner branches, which may become 

 dead, cut out. Special attention to 

 this work among some of the varie- 

 ties of retinispora should be given. 

 The greater majority of the flowering 

 shrubs will be much better if left to 

 make a natural growth, rather than 

 to be cut to pieces, as already men- 

 tioned. All the pruning that needs to 

 be done with such shrubs as the vi- 

 burnums, cornuses, deutzias, wiegelas, 

 ligustrums, etc., is to cut out occa- 

 sionally any of the older branches, to 

 give an opportunity for new growth; 

 and this pruning may be better done 

 in the summertime or after the plants 

 have passed the blooming season. Of 

 course, there are shrubs that need 

 severe pruning; this may be done in 

 winter. Of this class I have refer- 

 ence to hydrangeas, althaeas, etc. 

 Many shrubs should receive attention 

 immediately after flowering in the 

 summer months. If pruning is done 

 in the way of cutting off the old 

 flowers, a second or continuous crop 

 of flowers will be had during the rest 

 of the season. Of this class of shrubs 

 we have several of the spireas, as cal- 

 losa, Bumaldii and salicifolia. 



SOME EXPERIENCES IN HYBRID- 

 IZING. 



A paper presented by John Cook before 

 the Florists' Club of Washington. 

 Hybridizing has been carried on by 

 botanists for nearly 200 years, but 

 more for scientific knowledge than for 

 the improvement of flowers, from the 

 florists' standpoint in particular. The 

 first hybrid tea roses were raised by 

 Wm. P. Bennett of England, and 

 the work was rapidly followed up by 



German and French rose growers. The 

 first American hybrid tea rose Sou- 

 (^enir of Wootton, was raised by the 

 writer of this article about twenty 

 years ago. It was the outcome of 

 crossing the BonSilene, with Louis 

 Van Houtte. In attempting to recross 

 this rose for several years, I found it 

 had a tendency to reproduce itself, 

 and I abandoned it. Then came 

 Marion Dingee, out of Caserte, a good 

 dark red rose, for out-door purposes, 

 Mrs. Robert Garrett, out of Sombreul 

 and Caroline Testout. Thousands of 

 seedlings have been raised, some have 

 produced extra fine flowers, but the 

 habit of growth and the production 

 of flowers for commercial purpose, 

 were not up to requirements. I found 

 that by recrossing some of these seed- 

 lings having the least faults, w© are 

 more apt to get good roses for com- 

 mercial purposes. I have one now 

 which has the good points for com- 

 mercial winter work; it is the sect)nd 

 generation of my white Madonna 

 and pink Enchanter and has a strong- 

 er growth than either of them, a stiff 

 stem and large pink flowers a shade 

 lighter than the Enchanter. Another 

 one which is the outcome of one of 

 my unnamed seedlings crossed with 

 another unnamed one, which had 

 American Beauty blood on the male 

 side, is now ten months old from seed, 

 and has produced during this winter 

 five beautiful shell-pink flowers as 

 large as the American Beauty, with 

 three and four foot stiff stems and 

 foliage larger and handsomer than 

 that of the Beauty. The future only 

 will tell how satisfactory this is going 

 to prove finally. 



There are many other recrossed 

 seedlings in sight, of which I will not 

 speak now. The trouble with most 

 of our winter flowering standard va- 

 rieties is that the organs are imper- 

 fect in ninety-nine cases out of a hun- 

 dred. This is true of the Bride, 

 Bridesmaid and Golden Gate. In red 

 we have good material to work on, 

 such as Richmond, Cardinal and 

 Liberty. The very best in pink is 

 Caroline Testout. Marie Van Houtte, 

 with its strong healthy growth, makes 

 a good seed bearer, also Etoile de 

 France. As this latter rose proved to 

 be too double, I thought of trying for 

 a less double rose, and so I used pollen 

 from Richmond; the result was two 

 seedlings came up, and bloomed for 

 the first time a month ago. One of 

 them was perfectly single, with a 

 more rapid growth than Richmond, 

 and the other one as double as Etoile 

 de France. 



I have several seedlings, where the 

 pollen was taken from three and four 

 different varieties mixed together, and 

 they are the richest color in red of 

 any I have ever raised. In most cases, 

 if you cross a white variety with a 

 pink one, the product will be lighter 

 than the parent pink, and if you cross 

 a pink rose with a red one, it will be 

 darker. For the seed bearer I would 

 use the strongest grower, and for the 



