APBIL 7, 1921 



The Florists^ Review 



17 



PROFITABLE ROSES 



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BOSES UNDER GLASS. 



In Early Days. 



My first experience in growing roses 

 under glass began about twenty years 

 ago. In the particular district where 

 I was, American Beauty reigned su- 

 preme. Any bench that had head room 

 enough grew Beauties and nothing else. 

 Bride and Bridesmaid were grown on 

 the side benches, with occasionally a 

 few Perle des Jardins. Meteor for red 

 had a house to itself, as to do it well re- 

 quired a high temperature. 



At that time a man roomed in the 

 greenhouse shed and boarded in a board- 

 ing house on place, being paid $10 to $18 

 a month, according to his ability. It was 

 only an exceptional man that received 

 $20 a month. On the smaller places he 

 had to get up at 4 o 'clock and help pack 

 and take his turn at firing. To get a 

 position at the better establishments he 

 either had to have a friend or get his 

 name on it waiting list. 



The Transition. 



Beauty in those days was a different 

 rose from today. It was replanted with 

 young stock annually and produced 

 readily three times the flowers it does 

 today and of better quality. It was a 

 grand rose, but its day is over. 



When Killarney first came nobody 

 had a good word for it, but when its 

 possibilities under proper culture were 

 demonstrated Killarney and its sports 

 were supreme. On the place where I 

 was at that time we had 4,000 Killarney 

 one year; the next year we had 60,000 

 of this family. We still have Double 

 White Killarney, which, well grown, is 

 still the rose par excellence in its color. 



In red, meanwhile, we had General 

 MacArthur, which, while a fine rose, was 

 too single and opened too quickly. Lib- 

 erty was not dependable enough. Then 

 came Richmond, which for years had 

 the field to itself. Following that came 

 Milady, which with some growers is still 

 the only red, a beautilful rose when 

 well done. Hoosier Beauty would still 

 be extensively grown were it not for 

 Hadley, which when well grown is with- 

 out a peer in its class. I remember, in 

 March, 1917, at the show held in Phila- 

 delphia, a vase of Hadley with 7-foot 

 stems, and flowers in proportion. I 

 think it was the finest vase of roses I 

 have yet seen. 



In yellow we had Melody and Ladv 

 Hillingdon; the latter when well grown 

 was a real yellow. Then came Sunburst 

 and Mrs. Aaron Ward, which we still 

 have with us, and both are money- 

 makers for those who do them well. 

 Ward as a corsage rose is in a class by 

 itself. ^ 



Progress in Pinks. 



In pink we had Maryland, which with 

 some growers proved extremely popular, 

 as, properly handled, it was a great 

 producer. While Radiance was an easy 

 doer, the flower was not liked. Shawyer 

 had brief popularity. Antoine Rivoire, 



The address of Anthony Ruzickii. of Madtson. 

 ri» ;.■••.< ^''1 ?"**'• ^i"*"" "' Flowers, under 

 Club AprU T ^ ""^ Plilladelphia Florists' 



or Taft, as a fancy rose was a beautiful 

 flower. Lady Alice Stanley was well 

 liked by some and grown extensively. 

 Jonkheer J. L. Mock had its brief run. 

 Then came Mrs. Chas. Russell, wliich, 

 well grown, was the finest pink rose of 

 its day and is still popular. Then 

 Ophelia gave us a class of pink which 

 was an eye-opener. I have seen tlie 

 flowers of this rose in its different 

 stages sold as yellow, pink and, when 

 open, white. It certainly is in a class 

 of its own, and, with its sports and 

 seedlings, will be with us for many 

 years to come. Seedling of Ophelia and 

 Shawyer, came Columbia, the finest rose 

 of its color to date, a free grower, yet a 

 good commercial rose in summer or win- 

 ter, a money-maker at all times. A 

 house of this rose in crop, well grown, is 

 a sight to be long remembered. 



Next came Premier, which is taking 

 the place long held by American Beauty 

 and, as T recall the vases of it at the 



More than a quarter of a century 

 of experience with roses and a rep- 

 utation for producing some of the 

 best stock that is received on the 

 New York market lend more than 

 ordinary ^rength to the utterances 

 of Anthony Ruzicka on the subject 

 of his "queen of flowers." The sug- 

 ge^ions he gives in this article are 

 of great value to those less familiar 

 with roses and may be read with 

 profit by all those who grow the 

 florins' ^aple. 



Xew York show, isWell' nainM, for it 

 certainly is Premior in its Color class. 

 Among the newer roses we have Dun- 

 lop, Pilgrim, Crusader and' Putterfly. 

 Of these only Butterfly has inade a hit 

 in New York. It is extremely 'pbpular. 

 The others are still on trial. Wx; have 

 other candidates for favor coming this 

 year, which, if needed, will find their 

 place or be discarded, as they must 

 prove profitable as well as popular. 



Soil for Boses. 



Soil for roses may be made from a 

 good sod taken from any soil that will 

 grow a good corn crop, laid in piles, 

 with from one-fourth to one-third good 

 cow manure, in alternate layers in the 

 fall. A lighter soil requires less manure 

 than a heavier soil. The compost should 

 he thoroughly chopped down and mixed 

 before filling the benches. At this time 

 apply to a bench 4x150 feet thirty 

 pounds of cither 16-per cent acid i)hos- 

 phate or finely ground bone meal. Both 

 are good and price usually governs as to 

 which is used. The bench is then ready 

 for planting. 



Young Plants. 



Every grower should try both grafted 

 and own-root plants of each novelty, 



unless for some reason the introducer 

 advises otherwise, as under some con- 

 ditions grafted and own-root do etjually 

 well, while under others either may 

 prove sui)erior. This should be deter- 

 mined b}' each grower for himself. 

 Usually grafted plants will do equally 

 well the first year, but be much better 

 as they get older. I have seen them 

 G and 7 years old and still quite profit- 

 able. In l)uying plants a grower should 

 bo particular wlierc he buys, so as not to 

 bring into his place some disease, which 

 it will take time and money to eradi- 

 cate. Doing his own propagating, he 

 should avoid weak and sickly plants. 

 The best bench on the place is none too 

 good for young stock. (Jrafted stock, 

 unless grown on a large scale, can 

 usually be bought cheaper and better 

 than the grower can propagate it, as 

 the average grower has not the special 

 facilities re({uired for this work. 



Choosing Varieties. 



As to varieties the grower must be 

 guided by the market to which he ships, 

 as popular taste varies. Every grower 

 should keep records of the number of 

 each variety he grows and also the daily 

 cut and money value of them. By this 

 means he can, at the end of the year, 

 tell which variety is paying him, so that 

 he can increase or decrease his plant- 

 ings accordingly. I cannot emphasize 

 too strongly the importance of doing 

 this. Unless a grower does this, he is 

 only guessing at his results. 



A grower must adapt himself to his 

 own local condition of soil and green- 

 houses. Many establishments have 

 houses in which roses cannot be grown 

 profitably in the winter. If these are 

 used for summer roses and rested in the 

 winter months, they will be found to be 

 profitable indeed if judgment is used 

 in selecting the varieties grown. 



Ventilation. 



Hoses v;iry so as to temperature re- 

 quirements that only general rules can 

 1)0 given as to tem})erature. Sudden 

 changes should l)e avoided. Night tem- 

 peratures of 58 to (50 degrees, with no 

 ventilation, suit the general run of 

 roses; with ventilation on, 62 to 68 de- 

 grees, varying to correspond with the 

 amount of ventilation used. On days 

 when you have watered heavily or 

 syringed, keep a little on the warm' side. 

 On (Jays when the houses are on the dry 

 side, they are better a little cooler. 



Temperature for cloudy days should 

 be 66 to 70 degrees, sunny days 72 to 

 78 degrees, varying between these as 

 houses are wet or dry, or depending on 

 outside weather conditions. 



In watering, the grower must be 

 guided chiefly by the condition of his 

 I)lants, also by his soil, but as a gen- 

 eral rule, if the plants are full of 

 growth and healthy, in a soil where the 

 drainage is good, more h;irm is usually 

 done by not enough water than too 

 much. 



Preventing Diseases. 



The common diseases of roses can 

 best be prevented by proper culture, 

 assisted, in case of black spot, by spray- 



