290 



Growivg Roses from Seed. 



Vol. XI. 



Growing Roses from Seed. 



To the amateur this opens a field of very| 

 interesting amusement; it gives an ohject 

 vvitli which to fill up profitably every lei.siire| 

 moment, in impregnating, saving the seed,] 

 sowing and watch mg every movement ofj 

 the plant till it develops its beauties of inflo- 

 rescence, which, if it prove of new charac- 

 ter, is an ample compensation for the time 

 spent upon the process; if not worthy, it is 

 at least a good stock to be used in budding 

 or grafting upon, and even then causes no 

 loss. In the centre of many roses there is 

 a number of thready filaments surmounted 

 by what botanists term anthers; these are 

 small oval forms which, when ripe, contain 

 a quantity of pollen or yellow dust, which 

 can easily be perceived between the finger 

 and the thumb after giving them a gentle 

 pressure. This pollen, though to the naked j 

 eye a fine powder, and light enough to be^ 

 wafted along by the air, is very curiously 

 formed, and varies very much in different| 

 plants. Under the microscope each grain 

 of it in the rose is a membranous round 

 bag, which remains entire, and can be kept 

 dry and perfect for days and weeks. On its 

 application to the moist tip of the pistil — 

 which in the rose is a stiff protuberance in 

 the very centre of the flower — it bursts with 

 great force. When flowers are designed to 

 be operated upon, the one intended to pro- 

 duce the seed should be deprived of its an 



rose. Ten years ago we had no idea of a 

 Noisette Rose of as fine a yellow as Ilarri- 

 sonii, and as large as Noisette Lamarque; 

 such Chromatella, or the Cloth of Gold, is 

 said to be; perhaps ere this work is through 

 the press the plants in my possession will be 

 in bloom, to prove or disprove the assertion. 

 The seeds will be ripe about the first of 

 November, and can be retained in the cap- 

 sule or fruit till the time of sowing, taking 

 the precaution to bury them in sand, where 

 they will be safe from the depredations of 

 mice, who are very fond of them. Early in 

 the spring choose a sheltered spot in the gar- 

 den, free from the shade or drip of trees; 

 enrich and break up the soil very fine, make 

 the surface quite snn)oth, take the hips from 

 their winter quarters, break up the fruit, and 

 sow the seeds thinly and evenly on the toil ; 

 take the back of the spade, or a board, and 

 press the seed level with the ground, then 

 cover them with about one-fourth to one-half 

 of an inch of sand ; if sand cannot be ob- 

 tained take leaf mould, or soil from the 

 woods, finely sifted, for the purpose ; in dry 

 weather give occasional waterings. Many 

 of the seeds will come up the first year, and 

 the balance will make their appearance in 

 the second; the third year they can be 

 transplanted to beds or rows to remain till 

 they bloom, which will generally be the 

 fourth or fifth year. It is truly astonishing 

 to see the variety produced — red and white, 

 rose and pmk, may all be seen springing 



thers early in the morning, which can rea- from seeds of the same plant, and from sin- 



dily be done with a pair of fine scissors; 

 then during the day, or within two days, 

 take a fine camel hair pencil, and obtain, 

 about noon, the pollen or dust from the plant 

 or plants with which you intend to make the 

 cross, and apply this dust to the pistil of the 

 roses from which you have previously ex- 

 tracted the anthers. It will require some 

 practice before proficiency can be attained 

 in the operation, but a little attention will 

 insure some success. The organs are fit for 

 the operation when the pistil has a glutinous 

 appearance on its summit, and the pollen is 

 dry and powdery. The flowers may be one 

 or two days old ; rain is fatal to the opera- 

 tion — dry weather, therefore, must be chosen. 

 Patience and assiduity can accomplish won- 

 ders in this department of rose culture; the 

 persevering efforts of the French cultivators 

 have been so very successful within the last 

 ten years, that we do not at all despair of 

 seeing a yellow Moss, a yellow Provins Rose, 

 or even striped roses, combining every shade 

 from white to black, and there is no reason 

 why there should not be produced a perpet- 

 ual blooming climbing Moss Rose, of any 

 colour at present known in the family of the 



gle to the most double ; none but such as 

 are of the finest form, very prolific, and pos- 

 sessing a good habit, should be reserved for 

 culture. Our climate is so favourable to the 

 maturing of seed that there is no reason why 

 we should not only equal, but surpass, any 

 European country in the cultivation of this 

 " Queen of Flowers." 



The blooming of seedlings can be readily 

 hastened where time and convenience will 

 admit. As soon as the young plants have 

 made three or four leaves, lift them very 

 carefully from the seed-bed with a trans- 

 planting trowel, and put them in pots of rich 

 light earth; then place them in the shade 

 and give a gentle watering and spriqkling 

 over the leaves for a few weeks, when they 

 may be planted into the ground to remain. 

 I have in this way grown plants eighteen 

 inches high the first season. They will, by 

 this method, generally bloom the third year. 

 The seeds are covered with a thick tough 

 shell, which, if allowed to get perfectly dry, 

 and kept in that state for a considerable pe- 

 riod, will take two years to germinate, and 

 perhaps not grow at all; regular moisture 

 appears to be indispensable for keeping the 



