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July 26, 1906. 



The Weekly Florists' Review^ 



577 



that today there is hardly any large 

 place where grafted roses do not pre- 

 dominate. 



The grafting is done on Manetti which 

 is imported from Europe, and usually 

 arrives by the middle of December. The 

 stocks should at once be unpacked and 

 potted or heeled in a cool place, cover- 

 ing about two-thirds with soil, which is 

 afterwards well watered. They then can 

 be potted as convenient, but it must be 

 done before the wide rootlets get too 

 long or the stocks commence to grow. 

 They are potted in as small pots as pos- 

 sible, placed in a temperature of 50 to 

 55 degrees and should get a thorough 

 watering. After this the spraying of 

 the wood two or three times a day is all 

 that is needed. When root action com- 

 mences and the buds begin to swell, they 

 are ready for grafting. 



The grafting in itself is very simple. 

 Make an oblique cut about one-half to 

 one inch in length as close to the pot 

 •IS can be conveniently done, cut the 

 ■scion to match the same, place the two 

 fiut surfaces together and secure them 

 firmly with raffia or twine. It is not 

 absolutely necessary that scion and stock 

 are of even size, but the bark of the 

 scion and of the stock must meet exactly 

 '''^ ^east on the bottom and on one side. 



They are then put in an air-tight 

 •^ase. This case may be of any size and 

 v^ ^® built in various ways. We use 

 the center of a bench in a house, cover- 

 ing it with sashes raised from two to 

 three feet above the plants. The bench 

 should have a thin covering of moss, 



over which is put a layer of sand. This 

 is well watered before the grafts are 

 placed in it. The grafts, after being 

 made, should be transferred to the case 

 without delay. The temperature is kept 

 about 75 degrees and the case kept 

 closed for about five days. By this time 

 the scion and stock will have sufficiently 

 calloused to permit a little air. This h.ns 

 to be given carefully. First give a 

 fraction of an inch, and gradually in- 

 crease, when in two or three weeks they 

 can stand the full air, but even then 

 they must be guarded from the hot 

 rays of the sun for a week or ten days 

 longer, after which they can be treated 

 like other plants. 



Care of Young Stcck. 



The treatment of own-rcot and graf- 

 ted plants is alike, except Ihat the graf- 

 ted plants should get the support of 

 cither wires or canes to prevent their 

 breaking off. As soon as the pots are 

 filled with roots, they must be shifted 

 into 3-inch and from these into 4-inch 

 pots, if such plants are desired, before 

 planting in the benches. During this 

 time the plants should never suffer from 

 want of water nor be kept too wet. 

 They must be guanled against mildew, 

 red spider or black spot. 



The importance of taking tlie best 

 care of the young plants should never 

 be lost sight of, and only the most com- 

 petent man should be trusted with this 

 department. It is here where we lay 

 the foundation for our future success, 

 and it should be well laid. 



Soil for Roses. 



To grow roses .successfully a rich soil 

 must be provided. A good fibrous loam 

 of a stiff rather than light nature is the 

 ideal soil. Where such cannot be ob- 

 tained we have to accomplish the pur- 

 pose by a combination of soils. As a 

 rule, most of our large rose places are 

 situated so that they are within easy 

 reach of good soil. 



The rose is a strong feeder and there 

 is scarcely any soil which will grow 

 roses up to standard without the aid of 

 manure. In most cases one-sixth to one- 

 fifth of manure safely can be added. It 

 should be well decomposed and thorough- 

 ly mixed through the soil. Bone meal is 

 also used extensively. I prefer to apply 

 this when the soil is on the benches, be- 

 ing then able to distribute it more evenly 

 through the soil with the aid of a hoe. 

 The bone meal may, of course, be added 

 at the same time the manure is, but as 

 we usually have unskilled labor to as- 

 sist us in this operation, we are apt 

 not to have it mixed in the right propor- 

 tion. I aim to use 150 to 200 pounds to 

 a house 25x200 feet. 



Planting. 



Having thus prepared our soil, filled 

 the benches and cleaned the house thor- 

 oughly of all rubbish, we are ready to 

 plant our roses. None but the beat 

 plants should be taken. We plant fif- 

 teen to sixteen inches apart, five rows in 

 a 6-foot and four in a 5-foot bed. The 

 soil must be pressed firmly about each 



