Dbcembeb 29, 1904. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



301 



^tiWWPMOflOMM^^^^^^ 



THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF 



GRAFTED ROSES m FORCING 



JR. 



BY ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY. 

 WABAN ROSE CONSERVATORIES. NATICK, MASS. 



COPYRIOHT, 1904, BY FLORISTS' PUBLISHINQ CO. 



The Author's Purpose. 



The subject of grafted roses as ap- 

 plied to the American system of forcing, 

 while now quite well understood in all 

 its various aspects by most of the large 

 and many smaller rose growers of the 

 country, still remains with some an open 

 question. It is not my intention to use 

 this opportunity accorded me to put 

 forth an argument in favor of having 

 all rose growers use grafted stock, but 

 to state, so far as is known, some of 

 the facts in connection with the first at- 

 tempts to improve the conditions under 

 which forcing roses are grown, and to 

 give a comprehensive description of ev- 

 erything connected with the successful 

 handling of grafted roses. 



If n^y readers will bear with me to 

 the end of my story I think they will 

 agree with me that this question of 

 grafted versus own-root roses is one 

 which no one man can decide for all, 

 but which each individual must work out 

 for himself, according to the character 

 of his soil, the varieties he is growing, 

 and the system of production which is 

 .best adapted to his requirements. While 

 the subject has been pretty thoroughly 

 covered from time to time by various 

 competent writers, it is thought that 

 it may prove of interest, at least to the 

 novice in the art of grafting, to cover 

 the whole story from the time some of 

 the first stocks were introduced down 

 to the present day. 



The only way a grower can decide 

 whether grafted roses can be grown by 

 him is by having a thorough under- 

 standing of the subject. Therefore the 

 treatment of the stocks, the operation of 

 grafting, the handling of the grafting 

 <:ase, and the subsequent treatment of 

 the plants, will all be given with con- 

 siderable detail. This, perhaps, while 

 seeming entirely unnecessary to those 

 who are already experts, will it is hoped 

 prove of interest to some who "mpy not 

 yet have had any experience in this 

 line. I trust that I shall make myself 

 80 clear that the veriest novice in the 

 art will obtain a clear idea of the prac- 

 tice, and perhaps even some who are 

 not strangers to the operation, but who 

 have not been as successful as they 

 could wish, will be helped in their work. 

 It is not the intention to tell merely 

 the proper but also the improper meth- 

 ods, and this latter knowledge is, after 

 all, that which often does us the most 

 good. 



Early Trials. 

 In 1883 Mr. Montgomery sent to 

 a large firm of nurserymen in Eng- 

 land an order for 1,000 of the 

 new rose, Catherine Mermet, all to be 

 budded on the seedling brier. This de- 

 mand, however, proved to be a stagger- 

 er for even a big firm, and after having 

 scoured the country they were able to 



deliver only 500 plants. While no 

 definite facts are available in regard 

 to the experiments with budded roses, 

 it is believed that this was the first 

 large importation of tea roses for forc- 

 ing, not on their own roots. 



As the importer of these plants had 

 had an extensive experience in Britain 

 with roses budded on the brier, he hoped 

 that by adapting this stock to the 

 American system of forcing he could 

 perhaps obtain the same satisfactory 

 results that had followed its use on the 

 other side, but in this he was destined 

 to be disappointed. 



The Brier Stock. 



These plants did very well up to the 

 first of November, better in fact than 



by that time the growth on the whole 

 was much inferior to the own-root 

 plants which had been flowering all 

 winter. Numerous experiments have 

 been made since on different varieties 

 but with practically the same results. 



From a forcing standpoint, then, this 

 stock had proved a failure, but never- 

 theless it must be admitted that for size, 

 form and absolute perfection of finish 

 of the individual bloom, the brier under 

 certain conditions is the stock to use. 

 As showing the high esteem in which it 

 is held in Britain I quote the following 

 from "A Book About Eoses," by Dean 

 Hole: 



I know that the Manettl will grow luxuriantly 

 where the brier will not grow at all; that in a 

 toward season it will prodnce some varieties 

 of the rose in their moat perfect form, those 

 especially which have the smoother wood, • • • 

 but I am nevertheless convinced that by far the 

 fireater number of the most perfect roses may 

 be. are, and will be (frown and shown from our 

 Indigenous. British brier, taken from hedgerows, 

 struck from cuttings, or raised from seed. 



From this, then, coupled with our own 



experience it is easily seen that because 



a stock may be good for one purpose it 



is not necessarily good for all. 



Success With Manetti. 



After this experience with budded 

 briers, Catherine Marmet grafted on the 

 Manetti was obtained from a prominent 

 Scotch firm. Grafted plants were called 

 for on account of the difficulty that had 



Alex. Montgomery, of Waban Rose G>nseivatories. 



f President American Rose Society and Pioneer Orower of Roses Grafted for Forclntr.)' 



own root up to that time, but from 

 November to April they were as sound 

 asleep as it is possible for a rose to be. 

 No amount of coaxing known in the art 

 of forcing could get those stocks to give 

 the slightest sign that they ever had 

 any intention of growing during the 

 short days of the winter months. From 

 April on into the summer, however, 

 they produced some good blooms, but 



been experienced in getting budded 

 stock. The newly budded teas were of- 

 ten winter-killed in the ground and con- 

 sequently, in order to produce plants in 

 quantity, the nurseryman had to resort 

 to winter grafting. 



Results from this experiment were so 

 satisfactory that during the next few 

 years all varieties were imported in in- 

 creasing numbers until, in 1886, the ex- 



