24 



The Florists^ Review 



Fbbboabx le. 1922 



grafts on tho Kaggcd Robin wood, after- 

 wards rooting them above the point of 

 union. The section between buds is 

 used, thus insuring such absolute free- 

 dom from sprouts that Mr. Howard says 

 it is safe to give an ironclad guarantee 

 against wild sprouts, an important 

 point. 



The sight of these California rose 

 fields of hundreds of acres is one never 

 to be forgotten. Literally they make 

 the "desert bloom like a rose." Just a 

 few miles from the city of Los Angeles, 

 at Alhambra, there io another firm that 

 annually grows about half a million 

 roses, the Western Eose Co., and even 

 in November tho company's fields were 

 a mass of bloom, looking like an im- 

 mense carpet of all colors from a little 

 distance. But after the water is with- 

 held the foliage soon turns color and 

 the plants ripen preparatory to being 

 dug in December. 



The San Fernando Valley. 



The wonderful San Fernando valley, 

 just at the gate of Los Angeles, spread- 

 ing about forty miles oast and west to 

 the coast range and perhaps thirty miles 

 north and south, was only a few years 

 ago given up to sheep and cattle ranges, 

 barley fields and other extensive ranch- 

 ing. Now almost every acre is taken up 

 with citrous and other fruits, nurseries 

 and truck farms, the waters of the great 

 Los Angeles aqueduct having been 

 turned into it, increasing its production 

 a thousandfold. 



Marvelous as has been tho production 

 in other lines, there is, probably, no 

 other piece so interesting to the horti- 

 culturist as tho seventy acres near the 

 foothills which are ]ilanted to roses by 

 that noted firm, Howard & Smith. Their 

 many activities have frequently been 

 chronicled in The Kevicw and no ])art 

 of tlicir business is iiKirc iiii|iort:uit or 



gets more attention than this. In all, 

 about 750,000 rose plants are grown 

 and the great majority are budded 

 plants, Ragged Robin, Manetti and 

 other stocks being used. 



Cultural methods here are different, 

 of course, from those used in growing 

 own-root plants. All eyes are cut out 

 of the stock cuttings, to prevent any 

 possibility of suckering, and the cut- 

 tings are tied in bundles. These 

 are placed on sand and calloused, 

 being afterwards planted out in 

 their positions in nursery lines and 

 allowed to make one season's growth. 

 The buds from selected varieties are in- 

 serted in the fall and, as a rule, remain 

 dormant until spring, when they break 

 strongly. The tops of the stock are 

 cut away and the plants develop rap- 

 idly. The soil in this part of the valley 

 is a deep, friable loam, heavy enough 

 to get good results, yet sufficiently open 

 to produce a wonderful root growth. 



Further Experimentations. 



The time taken to grow a good budded 

 plant is just about the same as that of 

 an own-root plant, but it takes almost 

 as long a season thoroughly to estab- 

 lish the stock and this, of course, will 

 always make budded plants more costly 

 than own-root stock. Much experiment- 

 ing and observation in the matter of 

 stocks for various purposes and vari- 

 eties have placed Howard & Smitli in 

 the position of getting the best possible 

 results from any varieties exi)eriinented 

 with and it may be mentioned in pass- 

 ing that this active list of varieties is 

 now 20(1 strong. 



Those growers liaiidliiiK own-root 

 stock begin to jiropagatc in early fall 

 and, naturally, wlicii so many plants are 

 needed, the pr(i|]agating beds are ex- 

 tensive. Glass frames, canvas and other 

 coverings are nscil. according to loca- 



California's Foremost Hybridizer of Roses> Fred Howard, and Mrs. Howard. 



t ion and the condition of the stock, and 

 the preparation of the land, the plant- 

 ing of the millions of young stock, irri- 

 gation and cultivating make the rose 

 plant grower a busy man the year 

 around. Early in the year the shipping 

 alone makes a big job, as the plantsare 

 sent to every corner of the United 

 States, Canada, Mexico and even South 

 American and Eurasian points. 

 What Does the Future Hold? 



The business, in fact, is world-wide 

 and at low compilation there are at least 

 ."),000,000 plants shipped annually. 

 While southern California growers only 

 have been mentioned in these notes, it 

 should be said that the northern grow- 

 ers, at Oakland, San Jose and other 

 points, are equally prominent and suc- 

 cessful. And there is no end in sight, 

 for, with restrictions now in force on 

 imported roses, the great and increasing 

 ilemand formerly filled from overseas 

 has to be taken care of somewhere, and 

 there is no more feasible place than 

 California. 



So far as the writer is aware, none of 

 the growers mentioned handles tree or 

 standard roses, and although some local 

 men, notably P. W. Jannock, of Pasa- 

 dena, grow these in increasing quanti- 

 ties, it would seem that there is room 

 for a greatly increased production along 

 this line. While Ragged Robin, Climb- 

 ing Brunner and other similar roses may 

 do well as standard stocks for local 

 use, a hardier stock, such as Rosa canina 

 or the Manetti, would have presumably 

 to be used for eastern shipments. With- 

 out being a prophet or the son of a 

 l)rophet, it is safe to say that the pro- 

 iluction, large as it is, will still further 

 be increased. But the grower who is 

 wise to his opportunities will not bo con- 

 tent to grow plants "good enough"; 

 he will produce such stock that consum- 

 ers all over the country will be anxious 

 to pay good prices for it, because it is 

 l)roperly grown and prepared for harder 

 conditions than those that obtain lo 

 cally. 



These notes should, possibly, have 

 been headed "Outdoor Rose Culture," 

 for no mention has been made of the 

 wonderful strides that have been taken 

 by the greenhouse rose growers. Take 

 the vicinity of Los Angeles alone: Ten 

 years or so ago all the indoor roses sold 

 in that city would not have taken one- 

 half of one of the present big ranges to 

 urow, but now such growers as Walter 

 Armacost & Co., Wright's, Roy F. Wil- 

 cox & Co. and Amling Bros, are sending 

 their products away by the million. At 

 the .\mling range alone, about 50,000 

 I'lants were benched, in all the popular 

 forcing varieties, in the five houses, each 

 40x400 feet. This year's addition to the 

 great range of Walter Armacost & Co. 

 would be far more than this. Other 

 growers, also, have made more or less 

 extensive additions. What will the next 

 ten years bring? 



BUSINESS EMBARRASSMENTS. 



Oklahoma City, Okla.— The Stiles Flo- 

 ral Co., finding itself unable to meet 

 current obligations because of the 

 shrinkage in its business, has called a 

 meeting of creditors, Februarv 18, at the 

 offices of Keaton, Wells &" .lohnston, 

 600 Terminal building, to discuss an 

 extension on accounts. The assets are 

 declared to be $100,000 and the liabili- 

 ties $75,000; so it is expected an ex- 

 tension of time on the indebtedness will 

 enable all obligations to be met. 



