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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



More About Budded Versus Own Root Roses 



ARTHUR SMITH 



I CAN say with absolute sincerit\- that it was a pleasure 

 to read Mr. Craig's criticisnis because I kuow full 

 well how valuable and worth while his opinions are ; 

 because it has always been a matter of regret to me that 

 there is so little discussion in the Chronicle connected 

 wuh the theory and practice of our profession as we can 

 always learn something from each other, and also, as far 

 as I am personally concerned, criticism, however adverse, 

 is always welcome, even if for no other reason than that 

 It shows the critic has done me the honor of reading the 

 article. 



Regarding the question at issue, it appears to be that 

 Mr. Craig to some extent misses the main point connected 

 with my statement that, "When a rose is upon its own 

 roots it is less liable to Winter-kill, for if it should be 

 killed to the ground it zi'ill invariably send up nczv growtlh 

 from belo2V." The main jjoint I wished to make is cov- 

 ered by the words in italics as, while I fully admit that 

 some varieties, especially among Hybrid Teas, do better 

 when grafted, at least for the first year or two, it seems 

 to me that in the case of roses upon their own roots a 

 more or less considerable portion of the rose is under the 

 ground and therefore protected. As :Mr. Craig states, 

 bur\ing roses (entirely) gives them protection (in severe 

 climates), therefore he will doubtless admit that when 

 only a portion is buried, as in the cases of roses on their 

 own roots, that portion will receive so much additional 

 protection. 



Having practiced gardening for two years in the Berk- 

 shire Hills district of Massachusetts, I know something 

 about the New England climate. While I never at- 

 tempted to grow Hybrid Teas there, I had some Hybrid 

 Pcrpetuals upon their own roots and wintered them out 

 of cloors without loss. As Mr. Craig says, far too many 

 roses are planted too shallow. I believe that when roses 

 on their own roots do die out it is invariably caused by 

 want of drainage, and in this connection am prepared to 

 admit that the manetti stock will live in a badly drained 

 soil when an own root rose will die, but neither in this 

 country nor in Britain have I ever known an own root 

 rose to die when the soil has been ]:>roperlv drained. 



T know that many thousands of grafted ro.ses are dis- 

 tributed in this country every year, but at the same time 

 there is one old-established nursery firm in my state that, 

 for the reasons I have stated, has for some time ceased 

 sending out grafted Hybrid Teas, and makes a special 

 point in its catalog that all these roses are upon their ozvn 

 roots. 



Naturally [ endorse what .Mr. Craig says about roses 

 doing so well in Great Britain, and, while grafting is ex- 

 tensively practised there, "own root enthusiasts'" are 

 very prevalent, and William Robinson of that couniry. 

 whom I venture to think Mr. Craig will admit is no mean 

 authority, in his '"English Elower Garden.'' writes some 

 very .severe strictures upon the practice of grafting roses. 



I fully agree with Mr. Craig that I ignored a large 

 number of good roses in all classes, principally by reason 

 of the fact that they are too numerous to mention. My 

 prejudice in favor of Paul Neyron is mainly on account 

 of its perfume, as .scented roses have during recent years 

 becf>me scarcer in our gardens, and also jierhaps because 

 there were .so many of this variety in the garden in I'.ng- 

 land where I spent my childhood flays. 



Damage from mice nesting in strawy manure is in- 

 variably caused by its being placed in ])osition too early. 

 This important point was unfortunately fimilted from my 



article, although I had emphasized it in a previous article 

 on Winter Protection of Hardy Plants. It is not neces- 

 sary for the good of the roses to put on this mulch until 

 after the ground has become frozen to the depth of an 

 inch, at which time the mice will have taken up their 

 Winter quarters elsewhere. 



ANOTHER READER COMMENTS 



T, A. Weston 



I X( )TE that "Florum .\nmtor'' in his interesting notes 

 ^ on ".Sweet-Scented Flowers" includes the musk, Miinu- 

 Ins uioschatos. He would confer a favor on many, es- 

 pecially in England, if he coiild say where there is a strain 

 of seed that will produce scented plants. For the past 

 20 years or so, scented musk has been a rarity. One may 

 buy nuisk seed or plants in England, but scented, no ; 

 the chance is one in a million and, as a result, the old time 

 demand for musk has vanished. No one can explain why 

 the scent has disappeared. 



I was interested, too, in Air. Craig"s remarks on roses. 

 Own root roses with but few exceptions, are utterly use- 

 less in England and I venture to believe that the slow 

 development of rose gardens in America in past years 

 was largely due to the policy of selling tiny rooted cut- 

 tings. Fifteen or more years ago these tiny scraps were 

 almost the only class offered ; good enough perhaps for 

 California, Florida or under glass where growing con- 

 ditions are regular. But even in such places the budded 

 or grafted plant is the thing in these days ; a few finns 

 prior to Quarantine 37 realized tliis,'and made a point of 

 importing English and Irish grown roses. 



If there was any question as to the uselessness of tiny 

 own root roses, it has been dispelled in recent years. 

 People will far sooner pay $1 for one good plant than 

 accept 12 rooted scraps. It is all a question of education. 



The so-called hustlers who in past years thought Eu- 

 ropean commercial methods were too slow have been 

 confounded and it is now a case of supplying strong open 

 ground bushes that will flower freely the season of plant- 

 ing. As people become more educated to what quality 

 in plants means, the less opportunit)- will there be for the 

 speed of merchants to make a living. It is idle to assume 

 that one can get by the customs that have stood the te.st 

 of time in Ein'ope just because we happen to he in .\mer- 

 ica. Now that perennials have come into their own. the 

 flooding of the country with mediocre stocks of seedlings 

 is not going to satisfy the enlhtisiast. Named subjects 

 frtjm re])utable raisers are what the people of iuu-ope 

 want, and when one sees the goods it is easy lo under- 

 stand. No, sir! real plant lovers want plants that have 

 individuality and c|uality and are not going to be content 

 with "flo])doo(lle" jjansies, pyrcthrums, dcli)hiniums and 

 the rest. Oualily plants whether seedlings or ])rop;igated 

 by other means, arc not obtained by f.-u'toi-y methods. 

 You have to start oft' with the real goods and then follow 

 the rules that older folk than we found neces.sary. 



\\ liich reminds me that the N. Y. .\gricultural ."^lation 

 has nf>w, after persistent experiments, announced lli.it 

 small potatoes planted whole, are equal or even belter 

 than large tubers cut in pieces. While the British and 

 |)restunably the German have for .scores of vears fol- 

 lowed this jjraclice, we preferred to cut our salable i)ota- 

 toes for ])lanling, desjjile the knowledge that the average 

 per acre in America and Canada is only half that of 

 iiritain ;uid ( lerman\'. 



