MvT^Y^Ty*^^' ' 



OCTOBIW C, li)21 



Ffori 



The Fk)rists' Review 



21 



BUSH ROSES FOR POTS 



HEBE ABE HEAVY BLOOMEBS. 



Suggestions from Scottsville. 



The absence of azaleas at Easter time 

 since Quarantine 37 shut off the large 

 importations of these plants from Bel- 

 gium each year has put upon the trade 

 the need of finding the proper potted 

 stock to take their place at the great 

 plant day of the year. It has been no- 

 ticeable at Easter times since the em- 

 bargo was imposed that pot roses have 

 been in larger demand. It has been ob- 

 served also that the increased call did 

 not extend so much to the large speci- 

 mens, at $25, $50 and up, as to the small 

 ones which could be bought for a few 

 dollars. The absence of azaleas and 

 rhododendrons, with the mounting prices 

 of lily plants, is augmenting the demand 

 for potted stock at Easter which can be 

 sold at popular figures, and small rose 

 plants seem to have been much favored. 



In view of the advancing, rather than 

 receding, costs which greenhousemen are 

 facing, it is not to be expected that the 

 demand for popular prices will be met 

 by cutting down those asked last sea- 

 son. Particularly in view of the un- 

 willingness of good workers to accede 

 yet to material wage reductions, it can- 

 not be expected that trained rose plants 

 can be produced at lower costs. The 

 popular-priced roses must be those 

 grown in plain bush form, with no more 

 than a stake or two for support. In 

 producing these, perhaps, for less money 

 some suggestions come from Scottsville. 



Texas Bose Growers. 



At Scottsville, Tex., up in the north- 

 west corner of the state, George F. Ver- 

 halen grows several hundred thousand 

 rose plants, among large quantities of 

 other stock, for the nursery trade, each 

 year. With him is associated his father, 

 S. J. Verhalen, who during his years at 

 Scottsville lias studied the roses with 

 an interest and intensity tliat mnke his 



opinions and observations wortli 

 thoughtful consideration. Not only does 

 he spend the largest share of his time 

 in the rose fields when at home, but he 

 is constantly seeking information and 

 comparing notes when he visits nursery- 

 men and greenhouse growers of roses 

 while on his annual selling excursions. 

 The interest and observation of George 

 F. Verhalen rival his father's. "While 

 the occupation of both is growing stock 

 in lYirge quantities to ship in carload 

 lots to nursery firms big enough to 

 handle shipments of this size, their 

 study and thought have extended to flo- 

 rists' methods of handling roses. A 

 number of the varieties of roses grown 

 at Scottsville are those forced in pots 

 by florists and it is likely that, through 

 the distributing nurserymen, Scottsville 

 plants are used in some greenhouses for 

 forcing. Consequently some suggestions 

 are offered by them in the hope of aid- 

 ing florists to meet the situation result- 

 ing from the embargo on Belgian pot 

 plants. 



Matter of Varieties. 



One of these has to do with the mat- 

 ter of varieties used for pot forcing. 

 Some which form beautiful specimens 

 when much time and care are devoted 

 to them do not turn out so well when 

 grown more simply. Others naturally 

 are bushy and full and make a consider- 

 able show for the money. And, to prob- 

 ably the greatest percentage of the buy- 

 ers, show is what counts — ample foliage 

 and plenty of blooms. 



The roses most used for pot forcing 

 are those of the rambler, or polyantha 

 types, and the dwarf Wichuraianas. The 

 baby ramblers, or dwarf polyanthas; the 

 ramblers, or climbing polyanthas, and 

 the hybrid Wichuraianas include an ex- 

 ceedingly large percentage of all the 

 roses that are forced in pots. Some 

 hybrid perpetuals arc used and. for later 

 in the year, some hybrid teas, as well 

 :is a scattered few of otlifr types. Rnt 



the three classes first named comprise, 

 as already stated, by far the largest 

 percentage of all roses forced* in pots. 

 Some of the varieties are more florif- 

 crous than others. Some carry their 

 flowers in panicles, each of which will 

 bear n^any blooms. Such flower heads, 

 or trusses, may be noted in Graf Zep- 

 pelin and Climbing Orleans, both of the 

 rambler, or climbing polyantha type. If 

 these varieties are cut back hard, they 

 produce immense quantities of blooms 

 on I short, bushy plants that nuike a 

 striking show. 



Oraf Zeppelin for Forcing. 



The possibilities for forcing of Graf 

 Zeppelin have been recognized by E. G. 

 Hill, though he now handles no roses of 

 pot forcing varieties. In his catalogue 

 of 1918, Mr. Hill stated of Graf Zep- 

 pelin: 



"To our mind, this is the most beau- 

 tiful of all the hardy rambler roses; 

 every retail florist in the country should 

 grow it. One of its finest j)oints is that 

 it comes into bloom two weeks earlier 

 than Crimson Eambler, which makes it 

 doubly valuable. The color is pure 

 bright rose of irresistible shade; the in- 

 dividual flowers are large for the type, 

 borne upright in bouquets of irresistible 

 form. ' ' 



These "bouquets," as they are 

 termed in the foregoing description, are 

 what make this rose so full of possibil- 

 ities for forcing. Each one contains 

 from twenty-five to fifty and even sev- 

 enty-five individual blooms, and there 

 are from twenty to fifty such heads of 

 bloom on a 2-year-old bush. A number 

 of conditions enter into the floriferous- 

 ness of these plants. So let us consider 

 data taken in the fields of George F. 

 Verhalen, at Scottsville. 



To grasp the point, refer to the illus- 

 tration at the bottom of this page. There 

 are shown in it flower heads, or trusses, 

 from three varieties of plants. The in- 

 dividual blooms have been fastened to 



Note the Difference in the Number of Buds on These Three Varieties of Rambler Roses. 



