December 26, 1914 



H K T I C U L T U B E 



90T 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



( OXUICTEI) HV 



1/2/ '^V^^'M^*^^^^^^*-^^^ 



Questions by our readers in liue with any of the topics presented on this page will be cordially received and promptly answered 

 by Mr. Ruzicka. Such communications should invariably be addressed to the office of HORTICDLTUKE. 



Syringing 



There may be considerable cloudy weather from now 

 on, and any chance that is offered should be taken, and 

 the plants well syringed. This will help wonderfully to 

 keep the houses clean and free from spider when the 

 work is most rushing in the spring. It is then that the 

 spiders increase in numbers so fast that it is often a 

 hard job to control these troublesome pests. Go well 

 into all comers, and watch all places where the hose ends 

 meet. As suggested before in these columns, mark all 

 places where there happens to be a nest of spider, and 

 give these an extra syringiag, and if possible a little 

 good insecticide applied so that it will go weU under the 

 leaves. This will help clean them out, when followed 

 by a good syringing. Be sure to give the plants a vig- 

 orous shaking right after syringing, so that they will 

 dry off well before night. Then do not neglect the lime, 

 dusting it freely underneath the plants. 



Selection of Wood for Cuttings 



This work should be done very carefully, fur the 

 plants' vigor depends largely on the stock the cutting 

 comes from, and the kind of wood that the cutting is 

 made of. Select clean wood, not too hard, that has nice 

 live thorns on it. This will insure the proper state of 

 softness, and there will be little danger of getting any 

 wood that will be too hard to root well. It is still quite 

 early for propagation, and growers who require only a 

 small number of plants will do well to wait until about 

 the first of Februarv' before starting in propagating. 

 However, there are places where this is already well un- 

 der way, and wiU continue for quite a while to come. 

 Kunning a great many plants several seasons has done 

 away with a good deal of this work, and there is consid- 

 erable saving in this, too. Even Beauties will do well 

 the second year if they are handled right, and this re- 

 duces the cost of production a good deal. It will not 

 pay in the long run to use blind wood to pi'opagate from, 

 even though the plants are to be sold and not to be used 

 on the place. It will not take very long for growers to 

 find out what kind of stock is produced on the place, 

 and once anyone feels that they were stuck, they will 

 never send in another order to that place. We would 

 all do the same, and that is why it will pay to use only 

 the very best of wood for propagation. Make sure that 

 the wood in question is free from spider, as there is 

 nothing worse than spider on cuttings, where it will be 

 impossible to check it for six weeks or more. Should 



it be necessary to use wood that is infested, dip it iu 

 some of the insecticides advertised to kill spider, being 

 careful not to make the solution too strong and bum 

 the foliage. In dipping do not let the cuttings soak in 

 the solution, as that is not only unnecessary, but dan- 

 gerous as well. Push the cuttings into the pail, and stir 

 them around, after which they can be removed, and 

 then washed with clear water. With Killarneys, and 

 other roses of this type it will pay to pinch a lot of the 

 short stuff to make wood, and wood of this kind will be- 

 the very best that can be had. 



Making Cuttings 



This ought to be a well-known branch of rose growing, 

 and yet there are places where the methods used could be 

 improved a good deal. A very sharp knife is essential 

 to the successful making of the cuttings, and the sharper 

 it is the better. Have it so sharp that it will shave. 

 The idea is to make a very smooth cut, free from all 

 braises. If a dull knife is used, the wood will bruise, 

 as can be seen with the aid of a powerful microscope, 

 and wood like that will be more apt to rot than to root.. 

 Cuttings should never be made with a pair of scissors, 

 or shears, for these will bruise no matter how sharp they 

 may be. With Beauties, we lilce to make only one-eye 

 cuttings; that is, only one eye with a leaf above the 

 sand. Cut as close as possible to the eyes without hurt- 

 ing them, for the cutting will root easier if tlie cut is 

 made close to the eye on the bottom, than if cut a little 

 below. Do not cut into the eyes by any means, and use 

 a slanting cut with th« eye on the longer end on the 

 Ijottom and the same way on the top. If the top is not 

 cut near the eye it will look verj' bad, and we find it 

 hinders the eye from starting, and growing well after 

 the cutting is rooted. It is not neeessarj' to leave a 

 whole leaf, as this would take too much "sjiace in tlie 

 bench, and at the same time would be harmful to the 

 welfare to the cuttings. With Killarncy. Shawyer, Rus- 

 sell, and other varieties similar, leave the first two leaf- 

 lets, and half of the second two. unless the lii-st two arc 

 of fair size, and then they will suffice. With Beauties 

 it is much the same, and it is best to give the cutliuL'^ 

 only as much foliage as is needed to keen it alive. Ma\\\ 

 growers \vill separate tlie cuttings into two or more 

 o-rades, according to the liardness of the wmxl. This 

 method is all right wliere it can be worked out, but as a- 

 rale we find no time for work like this. Instead we use 

 a little care when putting the cuttings into the sand, 

 pushing the harder wood a little deeper where it will get 

 a little^more bottom heat, and then we keep the softer 

 wood nearer the surface, where the sand is a little 

 cooler. This way we find that the cuttings will root 

 almost evenly, and with little trouble. 



mention Queen Alexandra, Mrs. Perrj', Silberblick and 

 as leader. Princess Victoria Luise, the subject of our 

 cover illustration. Among the fiery scarlets, Goliath is 

 the most robust growing one, producing immense laro-e 

 flowers on long erect and stiff stems. Trilby is bril- 



liant red, Oriental King blood crimson and JIabogany 



a dark crimson maroon. 



^SoeAyOAxi-SScM^ 



Gleiuside, fa. 



