■S-26 



HORTICULTURE 



Decembei- 12. 1914 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDCCTED BY 



Questions by our readers In Hoe with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and prompt 

 by Mr. Rnzlcka. Such communications sbould Invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICULTUBl 



^ , .ly uuHwered 



HORTICULTUBB. 



Care of Outside Roses 



I r Hot alicaily dojii.' it will be well to heap up a little 

 «artli to all the tender varieties of the outside roses. 

 Strawy manure will answer this pur])ose as well, and in 

 some cases better. Wherever there is danger from mice 

 it will he better to use soil, and heap this up alwut 

 eight inches around the bottom of all the plants. The 

 tall growing kinds will carry through safer if they are 

 tied up so that the snow will have no chance to weigh 

 them down and thus iireak them. To protect the canes 

 it will be advisable to wrap them up into a little straw, 

 or meadow hay, tying this fast, so that there will be no 

 danger of its blowing away, when the Iieavy wind comes. 

 As soon as the ground freezes, apply a mulcli of strawy 

 manure to all the rose beds so that they will have about 

 three inches of it at least. Horse manure as it comes 

 off the cars will be ideal for this purjxise, and will fur- 

 nish a little food for the plants as well. All tree roses 

 had better be carefully tied u|), wrapped into straw, and 

 then tied to heavy stakes so th.at there will be no danger 

 of tluar being broken down liy sleet and snow. Ram- 

 blers that arc on exposed rocks or stone walls with a 

 southern exposure, had better have a little protection 

 too, for the freezing and the thawing as the weather 

 -changes will not agree with them. They will stand all 

 the frost in the world, and so will other roses, but they 

 had better be kept frozen all the time, after they once 

 freeze, as it is the thawing and freezing that will kill 

 them. Scale will often infest roses outside, and it w'ill 

 be well to watch out for it, and mark well all places 

 where it appears, and see that these are well s[)rayed 

 with some of the insecticides that will kill scale and that 

 are advertised elsewhere in HourictiLTrHE. Wherever 

 any breaks on the grafted or budded stock are found 

 coming u]> from the nnits, they had better lie removed 

 at once, for they only jirey on the plant, taking the best 

 ■of all that the roots find, and after a while the plant will 

 die. Tobacco stems form an ideal mulch for outside 

 roses, and can be used summer and winter. They will 

 help keep out many insects that are injurious. They 

 can sometimes be had at a very low cost from the local 

 cigar manufacturer and if not can be bought from seeds- 

 men at a reasonable figure. It pays to use tiiem, if only 

 a little layer over the manure. Wierever the canes are 

 too long and will have to be cut down in the spring, it 

 -will not do any harm to clip them olT a little now, al- 

 though we would not advise regular jjruning at this time 

 ■of the year. 1 f iiruned now, they will have to be gone 

 over next spring again to remove whatever wood may 

 "have perished during the winter, and that will mean 

 ■doing one thing twice. Another thing that will need 

 attention is the labels. Go over all the labels now, and 

 see that (hey are 0. K. and will be readable next spring. 

 Cralvanized iron labels are not very expensive, and when 

 written on with acid the writing will never wear off. and 

 the labels stay put for years. 



Electric Light on Roses 



There are several electric companies ex]K^riinenting 

 with various forms of lamps that would affect the grow- 

 ing of the i-oses, or other flowers. We have tried these 

 lights both on roses and carnations, and so far have not 

 been able to see any better effects. The latest is a lamp 

 of tremendous candle power, throwing a peculiar light, 

 which is free from all red rays. It gives a ghostly ap- 

 pearance to everything around it, and to persons "espe- 

 cially, changing the color of their skin to a strange 

 greenish copper. It is very bad for the eyes, as the 

 light is very penetrating, but we are afraid it will not 

 come up to the rays of the sun or take the place of day- 

 light. Altliough these lights show wonderful improve- 

 ment, it will be (|uite a while before someone invents a 

 light tliat will alteet the growing of plants. 



About Grafting 



Mr, A. C. Ruzicka. 



Dear Sir: I am writing to asli you on wliicli is tlie best 

 stocl^ to graft Mrs. Aaron Ward rose, and also the best 

 way to graft saiue. 



Respectfully yours, 



N. Y, p. c, H. 



We would reconmiend Manettii stock and the ordinary 

 method of grafting, splitting the stock with a very sharp 

 knife, and inserting the graft on either side. Seal well 

 with wax and tie tight with raffia, and apply a little wax 

 or hot paratline to this with a brush; this will keep all 

 the air out, and will help the two to unite. Never move 

 the |>lants around directly after grafting, for the slight- 

 est touch is lialde to dislodge the two back tissues and of 

 course the graft will not take then. Put all grafted 

 stock in a iiousc by itself and arrange to give a good bot- 

 tom heat, say (>S degrees F. or possibly a little more. 

 Keep the top temperature cool, say r)4 degrees F. or even 

 as low as 50. if it can be doiit , until the stock and the 

 graft unite. The plants can then be brought into 

 warmer quarters. Iwttom heat done away with, and the 

 plants allowed to make a slow start. Do not hurry them 

 into growing too fast, as it does not pay. Have all the 

 wood that will be produced of good firm texture, and 

 nothing weak that will be subject to every disease that 

 comes along. For our ])art we would much rather buy 

 the plants already grafted and ready for ])laiiting, as it 

 is far cheaper to do so, when only a few are wanted. 

 Firms that make a specialty of this can not only do the 

 work better, but the plants may be Iwtter too, as they 

 grow them by the thousand as a rule, and have s])ecially 

 built houses for this purpose. 



About Shawyer, Russell and Six-foot Stems 



Mr. Ruzicka: 



Dear Sir — I am a private gardener, and liave a 100 foot 

 house of roses, Killarneys, Richmond. Hadley and Shawyer. 

 All do well excepting the latter, which is usually covered 

 with mildew. My employer has told me to throw it out and 

 grow Russell instead. Will you kindly advise me if this 

 rose is a good continuous cropper. 



Also I want to exhibit in the fall. Will you kindly in^ 

 form me how the long-stem Russell and other roses are 



