8 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



June 10, 1909. 



CULTURE OF TEA ROSES. 



[A paper by Isaac Kennedy, of West Park, 

 0., read before the Detroit Florists' Club, June 

 7. 1909.] 



When your honorable fellow member, 



M. Bloy, informed me a few days ago 



that I was scheduled for a paper on rose 



culture, for June 7, it nearly took my 



breath away. I was under the impression 



that the question of rose culture had been 



thrashed out so thoroughly by our most 



expert growers that there was little left 



unsaid. 



However, I will do my best and en- 

 deavor to point out a few little items on 

 growing tea roses that have come under 

 my observation within the last few years, 

 particularly with reference to blooming 

 tea roses continuously on benches for a 

 number of years without drying off or 

 resting. Mine have been growing and 

 blooming continuously for over six years, 

 practically without rest, and they are bet- 

 ter this year than they were the first 

 year planted. We get along so well to- 

 gether that I intend to keep them in at 

 kast one year more, which means a few 

 more extra strips under the benches; as 

 it is, we have the braces now about a 

 foot apart. 



The Small Grower of Teai. 



These few remarks about rose growing, 

 as above stated, are not intended for 

 culture on a large scale, except in regard 

 to the cuttings; furthermore, they are 

 not intended for those who grow Ameri- 

 can Beauty, Richmond and other hybrid 

 teas, as the method of culture differs 

 from that of the tea variety. These re- 

 marks are intended for the small grower 

 who grows a few teas for his own use or 

 wholesales in a small way and cannot 

 afford to plant every year. 



The first and most important item is 

 the selection of the cuttings. Most grow- 

 ers select cuttings from flowering wood; 

 I do not. I prefer the little blind shoots 

 that spring out from the flowering wood, 

 commonly called heel cuttings, or, as a 

 friend of mine once remarked, "Those 

 little devils with the hundred eyes. ' ' 



Starting the Cuttings. 



When taking the cuttings, trim the 

 foliage off a little and cut away the 

 jagged end that still adheres to the shoot, 

 as nearly square as possible ; put them in 

 the cutting bed (any good bank sand will 

 do), give them plenty of water, with a 

 bottom heat of about 60 degrees and top 

 heat a few degrees less, and in three or 

 four weeks you wUl have as fine a bunch 

 of cuttings as you would wish to look. 

 at, with roots standing out like an open 



parachute, and as stiff as the ribs in a 

 ten-dollar umbrella. Be sure you get the 

 cut as square as possible; in no case 

 should tea rose cuttings be cuO>ii a slant. 

 The cuttings ought to be put in the 

 sand not later than December for use 

 the following year. When rooted, pot 

 into 2% -inch pots and keep on the cool 

 side until spring, by which time the 

 plants wiU have become almost potbound. 

 Instead of giving them a shift into a 

 larger pot, plant them out in the open 

 ground, taking care not to disturb the 

 ball, and in a short while you will see 

 those little ' * lads with the hundred eyes ' ' 

 assert themselves and make splendid, 

 stocky, hardy plants, which, when lifted 

 and planted in the houses in July or 

 August, will be a thing of beauty and a 

 joy all winter. 



The First Season's Forcing. 



The outdoor treatment has built up a 

 good, strong constitution, which will bet- 

 ter stand the forcing treatment during 

 the dull months than those grown inside 

 entirely. The idea in keeping the ball 

 intact when planting out is to obviate 

 the danger of serious shriveling when 

 transplanting into the benches. When 

 planted they will require frequent syring- 

 ing until established. The question of 

 soil, to my way of thinking, does not 

 cut so much of a figure as formerly; any 

 good, strong soil will do, not necessarily 

 sod. It is the after treatment that 

 counts. My reason for making the above 

 assertion is the fact that my roses have 

 not had a change of soil for six years, 

 with the exception of an inch or so 

 of top-dressing every fall. 



In regard to watering, I would say the 

 plants should never suffer at any time 

 for the want of it. If you would know 

 when they have enough, it is when the 

 water runs through the bench as through 

 a sieve. It is the continual little dabs 

 that sour the soil, not the thorough wa- 

 terings. 



Feeding and Syringing. 



The question of feeding comes next. 

 We apply nothing but blood, pure bone 

 (not the steamed variety), and liquid 

 manure. The blood we apply in liquid 

 form along with the cow manure, but 

 always after the beds have received a 

 thorough watering with clear water. We 

 also add a little lime about once a month 

 to the water, which has a tendency to 

 keep down eel worms, if there are any 

 indications of them in the soil. In re- 

 gard to temperature: If the soil is very 

 heavy the plants will stand a night tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees and a day tem- 

 perature of a few degrees higher. If 

 the soil is inclined to be light or gravelly, 

 I would not advise higher than 56 de- 

 grees at night, as the constitution is more 

 liable to weaken in a light soil than in a 

 heavy one. The bone meal we apply 



about once every two weeks and work it 

 into the soil. We never use a mulch 

 of any kind on the beds, as it is impos- 

 sible to determine what part of the 

 bed is dry or wet, when a heavy mulch 

 is used. 



Be sure to keep down greenfly aad 

 spider. Syringe the plants when they 

 need it, even if the day should be cloudy. 

 Syringe early and the plants will be all 

 right by evening, with a little extra 

 steam heat and air. Do not wait for a 

 bright day and let the spider get the best 

 of you. 



The Second Summer's Treatment. 



Keep the above treatment up all winter 

 and. when April comes you must begin 

 to prepare your plants for their summer 

 siege. The following is the way we do: 

 We graduully lower the night tempera- 

 ture in the houses until the plants will 

 stand 10 degrees below the normal with- 

 out danger to the proper development of 

 the flowers. Then we cut away all sur- 

 plus wood and keep them a shade on the 

 dry side until the new breaks appear, 

 after which we give a thorough water- 

 ing, with an appUcation of blood liquid, 

 and off they go again on their summer 

 cruise. During the summer months we 

 apply less blood and more bone meal; 

 about August we rest them up for about 

 ten days, go over the thinning out 

 process, and, as I said before, apply 

 about an inch or so of fresh soil, tie 

 them down and start them off again for 

 the winter. 



The shoots that come from the bottom 

 of the heel cuttings will make practically 

 a new plant each year. 



The culture of American Beauty, Rich- 

 mond and other hybrid teas requires dif- 

 ferent methods. 



In conclusion I would say that it is 

 absolutely necessary to keep a little sul- 

 phur on the pipes at all times during the 

 winter months, and be carefulof drafts 

 on the plants during summer. 



MULCHING BENCHED ROSES. 



In about two weeks I will plant a 

 house of Bride roses. They have small 

 tops, but fine roots. Here, in North Caro- 

 lina, we have very hot weather in the 

 summer, and the temperature in the 

 house, with everything open, often gets 

 up to 120 degrees. Should I mulch these 

 plants on the benches, or just depend on 

 frequent watering? E. E. G. 



Your young roses wiU enjoy a mulch 

 of loose material after they have taken 

 hold of the soil. By the time you have 

 gotten rid of the crop of weeds which 

 always follows the planting, the roses 

 have taken hold. Up to that time you 

 must keep the soil loose on the surface 

 by frequent scratching. This mulch 

 should not be heavy, but just enough to 

 keep the soil from baking, and the rest 

 must be done by watering. A good idea 

 is to put on about one-half inch of 

 manure and work it into the top soil of 

 equal depth. This material will allow 

 the air to penetrate, and at the same 

 time will prevent baking. Later, when 

 the roots have worked through the soil. 

 a heavier mulch will be required to pro 

 tect them from the sun. A. F. J. B. 



Jamestovtn, O. — H. C. Fenker reports 

 trade as excellent. For Memorial day he 

 sold every plant in bloom and many were 

 sold that showed no flower. He is more 

 than satisfied with the way bedding stock 

 has cleaned up. 



