540 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



Januabt 26. 1906. 



As soon as the plants are large enough 

 to handle they should be transplanted 

 or put into 2-inch pots, shaded until 

 root action is well commenced, and given 

 plenty of air at all times. It usually 

 takes a year to produce the first flower 

 and these give us little indication, be- 

 yond color, or what quality the rose is 

 likely to be. Eibes. 



MME. CHATENAY. 



Thinking of planting some Chatenay 

 roses and not having had any expe- 

 rience with it, I would like to know if 

 its constitution is robust enough for 

 a back bench, also if grafted plants 

 are superior to those on their own 

 roots? I use grafted stock for all teas 

 on account of club root but thought 

 that perhaps Chatenay is vigorous 

 enough to overcome this. H. T. 



Chatenay, like all other roses, loves 

 light and sunshine and, though it pos- 

 sesses a strong constitution it would be 

 a mistake to give it an inferior posi- 

 tion, as this is a certain means of 

 weakening it. 



So far as I have tested it, there 

 seems to be no appreciable difference 

 between grafted and own-root stock but 

 perhaps m the grafted stock the foliage 

 may be a little closer on the stem. If 

 you are troubled with club root or eel- 

 worms it is always safer to use grafted 

 stock but as yet I have heard of no 

 complaint with this variety on that 



«*^°'«- BIBES. 



EARTHWORMS IN ROSE SOIL. 



Please let me know whether or not 

 the common fish worm is harmful in the 

 soil of a rose bed and, if so, the best 

 way to get rid of them. H. A. F. 



The common earthworm does no real 

 harm to a rose bed unless they become 

 too plentiful. They can easily be de- 

 stroyed by an application of lime water 

 m the nroportion of one pound of un- 

 baked lime to eight gallons of water. 

 Giving the bench a fair watering with 

 this will certainly get rid of them with- 

 out causing the least injury to the stock. 



RiBES. 



ROSE RICHMOND. 



It may be of interest for rose growers 

 to learn what we know of the new rose, 

 as we are located within a few miles 

 of Mr. Hill's place and are familiar 

 with the entire history of this fine new 

 variety. We visited the greenhouses 

 when the first plant was grown from the 

 seed and were at once well impressed 

 with the flower and plant. We saw it 

 the next season, when he had something 

 less than a hundred plants, when we 

 became so enthusiastic over it that we 

 made a liberal offer for the entire stock, 

 which- he very wisely refused, although 

 the amount was not small. When he 

 announced to us a few weeks ago that 

 he was ready to take orders, we imme- 

 diately placed a large order, the first 

 he received. 



As we have seen the rose during these 

 three seasons, it has always shown a 

 most vigorous growth, good health and 

 very free flowering. Looking at a bench 

 of it, it never has that uneven appear- 

 ance that most all benches of Liberty 

 have. It shows much of the habit and 

 form of one of its parents, Lady Batter- 

 sea. An unusually long pointed bud and 



a stiff, wiry stem even in the short 

 lengths, although it makes a large major- 

 ity of good standard stems. The color 

 is a grand red, very similar to Liberty, 

 but a little lighter. During a recent visit 

 we looked over about 3,000 plants in 

 full crop for some deformed or 

 "dumpy" looking buds, but did not 

 find one. 



The above is what we know of the 

 rose, and we have probably seen more of 

 it, and watched it closer than any other 

 grower outside of Richmond. 



Heller Bros. 



BE EXPLIQT. 



I have about 1,000 Brides and Brides- 

 maids and would like to know how to 

 handle them, whether to keep them warm, 

 or what? I have them in a house which 



is about 60 to 65 degrees days and 50 

 to 55 degrees at night. How would it 

 be to put them in the rose house and 

 cut them back? W. M. 



Had this querist been a little more ex- 

 plicit it would have enabled me to give 

 a more definite answer. For instance, I 

 have to guess whether the plants are in 

 pots or in the bench. If they are in 

 pots, as I presume they are, from the 

 freedom with which he speaks of trans- 

 ferring them to the rose house, I would 

 advise him not to cut back at all, but to 

 give them sufficient pot room and feed 

 occasionally with liquid manure. The 

 temperature at night is all right but they 

 enjoy a run up to 80 degrees when the 

 weather is bright, especially when free 

 ventilation can be piven. Bebes. 



tCWWtWItWMMWWMWMWWtWICMttWlWttWlWMM^^^^^^ 



THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF 



GRAFTED ROSES m FORCING 



■V ALEXANDER MONTGOMERY, JR., 

 WABAN ROSE CONSERVATORIES. NATICK. MASS. 



COPYIIIQHT, 1904, BY FLORISTS' PUBLISHING CO. 



Grafting Case for Few Plants. 



While on the subject of cases I may 

 mention a method that has proven very 

 satisfactory for a limited number of 

 plants, such as seedlings or a new vari- 

 ety, when the wood is scarce and needs 

 special care. Take a box of convenient 

 size, a cracker box is good, putty up 

 all the cracks, put an inch of well mois- 

 tened sphagnum moss in the bottom, 

 and place the case on the sand in a 

 propagating bed; set in the grafts, lay 

 on a light of glass, making tight with 

 putty, and let alone. After about ten 

 days handle the same as a regular case. 

 With careful grafting 100 per cent can 

 be taken out with this method. 



Grafting Dormant Wood. 



There is also a scheme that can be 

 used for dormant wood which does not 

 require a grafting case. It cannot be 

 recommended for general use, but only 

 in special cases, such, for instance, as 

 when a grower has parted with a five- 

 dollar bill for some "highly recom- 

 mended" French novelty and feels that 

 he possibly might get his money's worth 

 if only he could graft the few little dor- 

 mant eyes. 



To proceed, then, select good plump 

 stocks direct from the bundles, picking 

 out those which have not started from 

 the eyes. Take scions that are well 

 ripened and dormant. The operation of 

 making the union is the same as for 

 regular grafting except that after 

 tying it should be well covered with 

 grafting wax, which should be melted 

 in a water bath so that it may not be 

 hot enough to injure the wood. Afler 

 waxing they should be packed in boxes 

 in upright layers, with sphagnum moss 

 between, and placed in a house with a 

 temperature of 45 degrees. 



In from four to six weeks, or at the 

 time when the stocks begin to send out 

 white rootlets, they may be taken out 

 and potted, when they should be treat- 



ed the same as though they were newly 

 potted stocks alone, except that as the 

 roots begin to take hold of the soil the 

 temperature should be gradually in- 

 » creased. After the bud in the scion 

 has started to grow the temperature 

 should reach normal. 



This plan has worked well for graft- 

 ing dormant hybrid perpetuals and, 

 also, it can be used quite successfully 

 with dormant Kaiserin and Carnot. 



Beds or Benches ? 



Having now a good batch of choice 

 young stock, the question arises, are 

 beds or benches preferable? For plants 

 that are to be forced two or three years 

 in the same soil I should say most de- 

 cidedly use beds, for a variety of rea- 

 sons. The Manetti, being a gross feed- 

 er, requires plenty of room in which to 

 search for food. With our own rather 

 light soil we plant in from seven to 

 eight inches; but this matter of the 

 proper depth of soil is, of course, an 

 entirely local one and depends upon the 

 texture of loam which is available for 

 the work, a heavy, fine-grained clay 

 necessitating a lesser depth in order to 

 allow air and water to pass through it 

 readily. 



AGoodBed. 



A very serviceable and economical 

 bed is built as follows: Drive 3x3-inch 

 chestnut posts four feet apart along the 

 line of the outer edges of the bed; 

 the width of the bed will, of course, 

 vary according to the notions of the 

 grower. Spike onto the posts, on each 

 side of the bed, two lines of plank 8x 

 1% inches, leaving the bottom plank 

 raised two inches from the ground. Fill 

 in about six inches of stones or broken 

 rocks, placing carefully so as to allow 

 for free circulation of air. Over this 

 put three or four inches of coarse 

 gravel, dump in the soil and the bed is 

 ready for planting. In localities where 



