March 21, 1914 



HORTICULTURE 



417 



ABOUT HYBRID TEA ROSES 



George H. Peterson, the rose and 

 peony specialist of Fair Lawn, N. J., 

 spoke before the Massachusetts Horti- 

 cultural Society on the afternoon of 

 January 17, on "The Hybrid Tea Rose 

 of Today." He began by saying that 

 this is the golden age tor the rose 

 lover, a happy condition brought about 

 chiefly by a certain class of roses, the 

 hybrid tea. 



Popularity of the Rose. 



"From time immemorial," said Mr. 

 Peterson, "the rose has been the fa- 

 vored flower of mankind, and today its 

 hold upon our hearts is stronger than 

 ever. It was not so very long ago 

 that the hybrid tea rose was practi- 

 cally unknown, and in those days, in 

 this country, we could enjoy roses 

 out-or-doors practically only in June, 

 witli the exception of the more or less 

 tender teas, which needed much care. 

 With the advent of the hybrid tea, 

 outdoor rose-growing has greatly 

 changed, and now one may have an 

 abundance from June to October. For- 

 tunately, the rose-bug or rose-chafer 

 is not with us after June, and in au- 

 tumn one can have hybrid tea roses 

 of even finer quality than in June. 



"Strictly speaking, the hybrid tea 

 made its advent nearly a half century 

 ago, but of the efforts at that time 

 practically only one variety is left us, 

 viz.. La France, a rose which is still 

 favored because of its almost un- 

 equalled fragrance. At first, this va- 

 riety w-as generally classed as a hy- 

 brid perpetual, and some of the Hol- 

 land growers class it as such even to 

 this day, but there is no question as 

 to the proper class in which it should 

 be placed. 



Advent of the Hybrid Tea. 



"There seems to have been little 

 done in that way until about twenty 

 years later, when Bennett sent out 

 some varieties, two of which, both 

 blush varieties, Grace Darling and 

 Viscountess Folkestone, are still quite 

 largely grown. In 1891 Lambert & 

 Reiter sent out Kaiserin Augusta Vic- 

 toria, which to this day in its color 

 has not been surpassed. About fif- 

 teen to twenty years ago two Euro- 

 pean growers took up the develop- 

 ment of the hybrid tea in earnest; I 

 refer to Alexander Dickson & Sons in 

 Ireland and J. Pernet-Ducher in 

 France, and up to this time these two 



firms have probably sent out more 

 new, fine varieties of hybrid teas than 

 all other raisers combined. During 

 the past five or six years, however, 

 McGredy & Son of Ireland have been 

 sending out some uncommonly fine 

 sorts. The hybrid tea rose is particu- 

 larly strong in the various shades of 

 pink, and of recent years various 

 shades of yellow and red have be- 

 come abundant, but in white we are 

 less fortunate. 



"In any given list there must be 

 some varieties omitted, which succeed 

 in some soils and climates, and in the 

 following abbreviated list I shall en- 

 deavor to give only such as are most 

 generally successful under the most 

 varying conditions and covering a 

 wide extent of country. 



Pink — Belle Siebreclit, Dean Hole, Jonk- 

 Iicer, J. L. Mock, Killarney, Lady Alice 

 Stanley. Lady Aslitown, La France, Lyon- 

 Rose, Madame Caroline Testout, Madame 

 Jules Grolez, Madame Segond Weber, Mar- 

 quise de Ganay, My Maryland, Radiance. 



Red — Cliateau de Clos Vougeot, EJtoile 

 de France, General McArthur, Gruss an 

 Teplitz, Laurent Carle, Richmond. 



Yellow — Dnchess of Wellington, Madame 

 Ravary, Marquise de Sinety, Mrs. Aaron 

 Ward, Mrs. A. R. Waddell, Snnburst. 



While and Blush — Bessie Brown, Flor- 

 ence Peniberton, Kaiserin Augusta Vic- 

 toria, Pharisaer. Souvenir du President 

 Carnot, White Killarney. 



"In addition to the above, several of 

 the newer varieties will no doubt be 

 found equally desirable as soon as 

 they are thoroughly tested out. 

 The Forcing Industry. 



"We have so far been considering 

 the hybrid tea from an .outdoor-grow- 

 ing standpoint, but there is another 

 phase of rosegrowing which, while it 

 appeals to few directly, interests us 

 all more or less, since in this country 

 the commercial growing of roses un- 

 der glass has become an important 

 industry. While we are considering 

 the Hybrid Tea rose it is at least In- 

 teresting to know that practically all 

 roses grown commercially under frlass 

 today are Hybrid Teas. 



The Hybridizers. 



"While on tliis side of the Atlantic 

 less attention has been paid to the 

 raising of new varieties, yet a few 

 very good ones have originated here, 

 and as a rule the hybridizer in Ameri- 

 ca strives for a forcing rose. In this 

 way we have Richmond, originated by 

 Hill of Indiana, who has also given us 

 General McArthur, probably the best 

 all-around red, for outdoor purposes, 



grown today. Cook of Baltimore 

 must be given credit for sending out 

 both Radiance and My Maryland, 

 both splendid forcing varieties and 

 outdoor roses as well. In fact, I con- 

 sider Radiance, weighing all its points, 

 one of the very best hybrid teas for 

 the amateur to plant. 



Cultural Facts. 

 "Now the question arises, what 

 shall we do to enjoy the hybrid tea 

 rose continuously during the summer 

 and fall? In the first place, a site for 

 the planting should be selected well 

 away from trees or shrubbery and at 

 least a few feet away from buildings. 

 The bed, for best results, should be 

 well in the open where it will get sun 

 for at least half the day. and yet be 

 somewhat sheltered from the wind of 

 fiercest storms. The bed or beds 

 should have at least fifteen to eigh- 

 teen inches of good rich soil, well ma- 

 nured, including an application of 

 bone, all of which should be thorough- 

 ly mixed through the soil, and not left 

 in layers. Any good garden soil can 

 be made to grow very fine hybrid tea 

 roses, but remember that the rose de- 

 lights in a rich, moist soil, so if there 

 is some clay in it, so much the better. 

 The careful grower may plant his 

 roses in the fall, but the average 

 planter in New England will find 

 early spring, before deciduous growth 

 begins, the best time; and the earlier 

 this planting is done, the better will 

 be the first crop of blooms which 

 should follow in about two months 

 from time of planting. In order to re- 

 ceive one's plants on time and to get 

 the best, the order should be placed 

 with your grower weeks or even 

 months in advance. In handling the 

 plants after arrival care should be 

 taken to expose the roots to the air 

 as little as possible, i, e.. in case of 

 dry. clear weather. Do not crowd and 

 double up the roofs into a small hole, 

 but spread them out naturally, and 

 when the roots are covered, tread the 

 ground firmly about each plant with 

 the foot. After setting, the plant 

 should be pruned severely, leaving 

 the canes only from three to six inches 

 long, according to strength, the weak- 

 er shoots being pruned closest. If 

 planting is done early, while the 

 ground is stil moist, little or no water- 

 ing will be required until the plants 

 begin to leaf out. From that time on, 

 however, frequent waterings should 



PARTIAL VIEW OF A. N. PIERSON ESTABLISHMENT. CROMWELL, CONN. 



ShowinK Two liose Houses on South Side. These Houses are S2xO(IO feet. 



