I n.' KMlsl.u !i, r.il'ii 



The Florists* Revie\^/ 



45 



1^ CARE OF THE CUTTINGS m 



^lisiSg^lfrrtlityiitTrtirTriiiTiii?r>fl?m?f^iSimaa?^^ 



PROPAGATING OWN ROOT ROSES. 



To Propagate or Purchase? 



Ill iiuist establishments icims arc 

 |ii()]iagati'il for grfoiihousi; i'orciiiy be- 

 1 WL'L'ii tlui iiioiitlis of Novembor .'iiul 

 March. A llorist incjuiriii;^ as to tlie 

 best metliods of projiatjatioii remarks 

 tliat in his estimation it seems to be 

 flieaper to buy all rose stock than to 

 l^rofjagato it. "The only advantage 

 in doing one's own propagating," he 

 says, "is that the phuits are on the 

 place when they are needed and de- 

 structive rose pests are kept away from 

 the establishment." It must be admit- 

 ted that the latter part of this state- 

 ment is important, since in some sec- 

 tions of this country today the ]dau1s 

 of some growers are badly infested with 

 midge and another still worse insect 

 which must be kept within bounds. 



Whether it is cheaper to buy rose 

 stock or do one's own propagation is 

 something of a question, but many of 

 the largest rose growers today make 

 contracts with reputable propagators 

 to do their grafting or j)roj)agating 

 for them instead of doing it themselves, 

 and concentrate entirely on the cut 

 flower end of the business, so as to 

 keep their benches working 100 per 

 cent every day of the year. The stock 

 of every reliable propagator, if grown 

 for sale, is examined once or twice a 

 year by the department of agriculture 



in liis state, and if the stock is cli'ati 

 lie gets a certificati' from the state In 

 that efl'ert. In buying rose ]'laiits, a^ 

 in buying auythiiig else, one must con- 

 sider the (|uality and I'leaulincss of lin- 

 stock in considering the cost. Of course 

 it would be bettiT to do one's own 

 jiropagatia;; than to buy inferior or 

 tliseased stock. 



Choosing Clean Cuttings. 



In propagating roses from cuttings, 

 it is lirst of aU imjiortant that the 

 foliage be absolutely free from mildew, 

 black spot or insects. Many growers 

 tail through lack of care in this respect. 

 They do not worry aljout mildew on 

 their stock because they feel sure they 

 can get rid of it as soon as the plants 

 get rooted. Any grower who benches 

 cuttings infectctl with black spot, even 

 to a small degree, should know that the 

 black spot will be greatly aggra\ated 

 and in most cases the foliage will fall 

 off entirely before the plants are rooted. 



Granted, then, that one has clean, 

 healthy stock to work on. the cuttings 

 should be made of half-ripened wood. 

 Ry half ri[)eued wooil is meant wood 

 that is in the stage when the flower bud 

 is ready to cut. This is the simplest 

 description of wood that is ready to be 

 put in the sand. The rose will make 

 roots whether cut above or below a 

 Joint. The ideal cut has three eyes, one 

 immediately beneath where the cut has 

 been made, and one or two above the 



si>il. Three cy.; . uttiiigs make jilant-. 

 HMicli more (iiiickly than smaller cut 

 tin;4s uiihoiii th' ••ye helow the ground 

 wlicu benched. When a threi- eye cut 

 ling is used, tiie jdants bi-gin almost at 

 once to produce growth shoot-. .V plani 

 that does nut ha\e a base eye \vheii the 

 cutting is inaile will not prijdiico ground 

 siiools nearly so quickly or in such 

 quantity as when the cutting is prop- 

 erly made. 



Temperature of House and Sand. 



The proper temi)erature at which to 

 keep tlie house is also imj)urtant. Many 

 growers blot out the north bench witli 

 plant cloth and use this for propagation 

 and it does fairly well. The ideal con- 

 ditions, however, are in a north house 

 where the winter sun will not affect the 

 temperature, and where the temperature 

 can bt> kept at 70 degrees in the sand 

 and (j;j degrees in the house itself. 



Koses can be grown in many ways, 

 but I am s])eaking now of the ideal way 

 and of till! coni]itioii> uu ier which own- 

 root roses are ]iro])agated must success- 

 fully. I may mention in passing that 

 wood from pl.Tnt< that have been e.\ 

 with nitrogenous fertilizer 

 iiL;h perc."iitag<» of loss in 

 l-ench. This is another 

 it sometimes pays to bu\' 

 who mtiki's a .•specialty 

 of growing young ])lanis. jjs he would 

 naturally pay more attention to the 

 condition of his woo 1 than to the condi- 



cessively tei 

 will gi\r a 

 till' cutting 

 reason wliy 

 from a dealt 



Rooting Rose Cuttings on a Large Scale in a Big Middle We.Mern Establishnnsnt. 



