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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



The Progress of the Rose in America 



EDWARD A. WHITE 



Professor of l-loruuUnrc , Cornell I' nrvcrsity 



"The interest in the rose cannot pass. The appeal of 

 the flower is practically universal. The variety in form 

 and color is nide and the adaptation remarkable. It has 

 become part of the experience of the race." — L. H. Bailey 

 in ''The American Rose Annual," 1917. 



PROBABLY no other genus of ornamental plants 

 appeals to so great a number of people as does the 

 rose. This is due in a large measure to the varied 

 characters of the many species and varieties, also to their 

 wide range of adaptation to dififerent soils and climates. 



It would indeed be interesting if there were available, 

 photographs of ancient American rose gardens, or of roses 

 growinsT in greenhouses during earlier periods of the 



were as nearly ideal as it was possible to have them. 

 It has been within a comparatively few years that Ameri- 

 can rose breeders have been working to produce ideal 

 species for the landscape, the garden and the greenhouse. 

 To see the splendid results of recent achievements in rose 

 breeding, it is necessary to visit our best public parks, 

 to make the June pilgrimages with the members of The 

 American Rose Society to their test gardens, to visit the 

 gardens of American rose enthusiasts, or to attend some 

 of the large exhibitions of cut-roses, such as the National 

 Flower Show in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Winter exhibi- 

 tion of carnations and roses at Hartford, Conn., or the 

 New York Flower Show. In places such as these the 

 Ijest American rnscs niav be seen. 



T"^ 



t7' 





Foil Fieri Ihhrid of Ro.<a It'tilninnaiuf X R. Peine liuiui. (Courtesy of .liih-rican Rose Sin-iety.) 



commercial cutflower industry, so that comparisons might 

 be made between the earlier methods of culture and 

 those of today. Within the memory of the writer the 

 commercial growing of cut-roses has developed from 

 comparatively small ranges with a limited output, to huge 

 "rose factories" where the daily output numbers thou- 

 sands of blooms. When one sees the huge shipments of 

 roses from some of the large rose production centers 

 one wonders where they all go. However, the American 

 people demand them all to beautify their homes, to cheer 

 the sick, to carry expressions of sympathy to the afflicted, 

 to make more joyous the marriage ceremony ; in short, to 

 brighten and make glad every occasion and to enable 

 the American people to "Say it with Flowers." 



The history of the development of both garden and 

 greenhouse roses in America is interesting. During the 

 early vears of rose growing little attention was paid to 

 breeding varieties suited for our peculiar conditions. We 

 took what the Europeans sent us and supposed they 



The native species have not played a large part in the 

 development of better American types. A few, however, 

 are suited for ornamental landscape effects. Among 

 them are Rosa setigera, R. blanda, R. Carolina, R. lucida 

 and R. nitida. Canina and rubiginosa are l-Airopean 

 sjiecies which have escaped from cultivation. It has been 

 the species from Europe and Asia that have so largely 

 inlluenccd the present day type of ornamental roses. 



Those who had an opportunity to visit the late Dr. 

 Van Fleet, at Bell, Md., and to see there his results with 

 hybrids of Rosa Willmottia, R. Hugonis, R. altaica, R. 

 rugosa, R. omeiensis, and R. Moyesii, realize how se- 

 riously rose progress in America has been retarded by 

 the "passing on" of a wonderful rosarian. His article in 

 "The .American Rose Annual" for 1''21 on "Rose-Breed- 

 ing in 1920 at Bell Experiment l^lot" should be read 

 by every lover of the rose. Speaking of the favorable 

 climatic induence for rose pollination during the .season 

 (if 1020, Dr. Van Fleet wrote, "The harvest in matured 



