New Hardy Rambler Roses for All of New Hampshire. 



New hardy rambler roses for all of New Hampshire is the goal of the 

 rose breeding experiments at the University of New Hampshire. From far 

 northern Manitoba, Canada, have come several roses capable of surviving 

 the winters thexe. Temperatures often remaining as low as -50°F. for weeks 

 have proven the hardiness of these plants in Canada. Without any form of 

 winter protection, these roses alone survived the winter of 1951-52 in the 

 University of New Hampshire rose garden at Durham. These far northern 

 roses have pink flowers. Most are single flowered and "wild" in appearance. 

 One is a rampant rambler and the others are bush types, both dwarf and tall. 

 The Red Leaf Rose makes a handsome landscape plant in itself. 



These hardy northerners are being hybridized with the prize winning 

 varieties of hybrid tea roses and ramblers which we all like but cannot grow 

 in most of New England because of the very low winter temperatures. Some 

 time may elapse before hardiness and "high quality" may be mated success- 

 fully, but the offspring will be well worth waiting for. 



E. B. RlSLEY 



Inbred Gladiolus. 



The gladiolus is one popular flower that can always be depended upon 

 to grow well in New Hampshire gardens with reasonable care. Available 

 varieties of glads do have their weak points, however. Many are very sus- 

 ceptible to ravages of disease; some have weak, brittle, and crooked spikes; 

 others produce too few flowers per plant; and hardly any emit noticeable 

 fragrance. Present-day varieties are complex hybrids and when further hy- 

 bridized seldom yield superior offspring. Thus our problem is that of pro- 

 ducing parent varieties capable of producing tomorrow's superior offspring. 



The procedure is similar to that used in producing hybrid corn varie- 

 ties so familiar to everyone today. For example, a variety having a weak but 

 pleasing fragrance and little ability to pass that fragrance on to its off- 

 spring is self-pollinated or inbred. This intensifies both the fragrance and 

 the ability of some of its seedlings to transmit that quality. After a few 

 generations of inbreeding, we have a variety that will pass pleasing fra- 

 grance on to all of its offspring. Then and only then can we mate "fra- 

 grance" with other desirable traits from other glads and be confident of 

 producing new and better flowers for tomorrow. 



Visitors to the University of New Hampshire Horticulture Farm may 

 see this work in progress. 



E. B. RlSLEY 



Low Stature Lilac for Home Planting. 



.A lilac grown at Durham from seeds collected in Korea holds promise 

 for a low-growth shrub for home grounds with limited space. The plants 

 grow to be four feet tall and has a compact growth habit. The highly fra- 

 grant light purple flowers are borne in large clusters that blossom late after 

 other common varieties have finished flowering. The dark green leaves with 

 a distinctly wavy conformation have remained free of mildew. The lilac has 

 been propagated readily by softwood cuttings. 



E. M. Meader 

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