ROSE PBOPAGATION IN THE MINNESOTA NURSERY. 245 



They should then be thoroughly watered in. From this time they 

 must be very carefully watched. Special attention is paid to ven- 

 tilation, shade and watering until the roots have well started, which 

 usually takes from fifteen to eighteen days. After this, the plants 

 are placed in two inch pots and put into another frame without 

 bottom heat. 



In the commercial nurseries of the East and South, most of the 

 rose propagation is done in the months of January, February and 

 March. The wood is grown close together in a high temperature, 

 so as to produce slender shoots. The cuttings are taken very short 

 and rooted in tightly closed frames which are placed over the 

 benches in the greenhouse. In this manner the roots strike much 

 more quickly, and the process is consequently much cheaper. In 

 our experience, however, this method does not produce as strong 

 and vigorous plants as the one previously described above. 



Grafting. 



There seems to be a difference of opinion as to the compara- 

 tive value of grafting as a method of rose propagation, and each 

 grower must settle the question for himself. We have found the 

 best stock for grafting to be the rosa canina, or Manetti stock. 

 These should be potted in the fall, in three-inch pots, and then place 

 in a cold frame or cellar, where they will take root in the soil. 

 When well established in the pot, they are ready for the grafting, 

 which is usually done in the month of March. Any of the com- 

 mon methods of grafting may be used. The scions should never 

 be of a greater diameter than the stock, otherwise they will not 

 make a good union. As fast as the^^rafts are inserted, they should 

 be securely tied with raflfia. As soon as the grafting is done, it is 

 necessary that the plants should be placed and kept in an even and 

 suitable temperature, such as can be obtained in a greenhouse or 

 hotbed. A brisk bottom heat will quicken the action of the roots 

 and assist in a more perfect union of the graft. After three or four 

 weeks of this treatment, the plants should be shifted to a four-inch 

 pot, and by the 25th of May they should be ready to plant in the 

 field. By this time they ought to be from twelve to sixteen inches 

 high, and the planting should be done so as to place the union 

 about two inches below the surface of the ground. This will in- 

 duce the plant to throw out roots on the scion itself, and at the same 

 time it places the stock so far down into the ground that the 

 chances for it to sprout are reduced. By fall these plants will be 

 three to four feet high. 



