s The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



March 18, 1909. 



GROWERS WHO FAIL WITH ROSES. 



[A paper by Walter W. Coles, of Kokomo, 

 Ind., read before the American Kose Society, at 

 the Buffalo convention, March 17 to 19, 1909.] 



In traveling over the country visiting 

 floral establishments, we find that not 

 over twenty per cent of the small retail 

 growers make a success of roses. In 

 fact, by far the larger per cent do not 

 get 5lwmgh out of their rose space to pay 

 for the fuel. I have reference only to 

 the florist who grows roses, carnations, 

 and a general assortment of flowers and 

 plants in a limited area. I know there 

 are quite a number of florists, with but 

 10,000 to 25,000 feet of glass, who make 

 a specialty of roses and whose stock is 

 » credit to many of the larger growers. 

 But this paper is for the smaU, all- 

 around grower, and if it benefits even a 

 very small per cent I shall feel well re- 

 paid for the short time it has taken me 

 to pen these remarks. 



Lack of Suitable Conditions. 



The first great handicap is a lack of 

 suitable conditions. Carnations, bedding 

 plants and a general line of stock are 

 grown in the same house, in the same 

 temperature, with success varying from 

 fair to very good. Then roses are at- 

 tempted. Under such conditions they 

 cannot be kept at the proper tempera- 

 ture without hurting the other stock. 

 Often they cannot be properly syringed 

 on account of soaking other stock close 

 by, and red spider gets a foothold. Some- 

 times doors left open carelessly, or 

 necessarily for other purposes, cause a 

 draught and start mildew. On account 

 of spoiling tender stuff in the house, 

 fumigating is put off and aphis gets a 

 hold. Shading is put on for other stock 

 and roses suffer under their part of it. 

 Under such conditions it is practically 

 useless to try to grow roses. 



If a separate house can be devoted to 

 roses, the above conditions can be elimi- 

 nated. But even then there are usually 

 many difficulties. A night fireman is 

 seldom kept, and while the temperature 

 may be kept right in the daytime, it is 

 allowed to fall at night. Then the 

 grower usually has so many other duties 

 that the houses are sometimes neglected. 

 If the house was not built for roses, per- 

 haps the heating is inadequate and things 

 cannot be kept right, even with the best 

 of attention. 



Neglect Rather Than Ignorance. 



The above are conditions as they ex- 

 ist in hundreds of places. Added to this 

 is a lack of knowledge of rose growing, 



and greatest of all, whether the knowl- 

 edge be great or small, is the lack of 

 doing what is known. The grower knows 

 that he should plant early in June, but 

 it is put off on account of the press of 

 other work. He knows he should syringe 

 and fumigate regularly, but for one rea- 

 son or another it is not done. We will 

 give a few general cultural remarks, but 

 insist that the grower's success depends 

 on combined knowledge and doing. 



On such places the grower usually puts 

 in a batch of cuttings, roses, carnations, 

 geraniums, etc., in January or Febru- 

 ary. "When rooted they are usually potted 

 off and grown in the same house with a 

 miscellaneous lot of plants. The result 

 is usually a weak lot of plants, covered 

 with red spider and mildew. They are 

 shifted from 2-inch pots tq 3-inch and 

 sometimes grown under shaded glass. 

 Some time in June or July they are 

 planted on a bench, the glass still 

 shaded, and a few panes of glass out 

 here and there; which, however, he will 

 put in good shape next week. But next 

 week he is busy with the funeral work 

 and the following week the carnations 

 in the field must be hoed or weeded, 

 and he thinks the roses will grow if they 

 receive water once a day. 



The Sad Resttlt. 



The result is, that in September or 

 October, when his plants should be strong 

 and healthy for the winter, they are 

 weak and puny, but the red spider and 

 mildew are still with them. To make 

 matters worse, a few roses are needed 

 during the summer for funeral work and 

 the life is cut out of the plants, to save 

 expenses, as the grower thinks. A few 

 roses are usually cut in October and 

 November, at a time when they can be 

 bought at from $2 to $4 per hundred, but 

 from December 1 to April 1, when roses 

 are wanted and usually are scarce, his 

 plants are standing still and do not re- 

 turn enough to pay for the fuel it takes 

 to keep them alive. 



The Remedy. 



In the first place, the small grower or 

 retail florist who uses but an average of 

 seventy-five to 100 roses per week should 

 not try to grow his own cut roses. He 

 would make more money by buying 

 them from some good grower, but those 

 who feel that they must or will grow 

 their stock should plant nothing but 

 strong, healthy, clean plants. If they 

 cannot grow them they should buy them 

 and plant them in good, rich, new, mel- 

 low soil, sometime during the month of 

 June. If the house is shaded, even if 

 only slightly, see that the shading is all 

 removed. 



The next important thing is to repair 

 all broken glass and, as soon as one is 

 broken or blown out, replace it at once, 

 as you would have to do in winter. From 

 July 1 to September 1 give them lots of 

 air and lots of water at all times. I 

 firmly believe there are more roses ruined 

 during the summer for want of water 

 and air than from any other cause. It 

 is money well spent to hire suflScient help 

 in June to plant roses, as one month in 

 June and July for roses planted on a 

 bench is worth three times as much as 



Walter W. Coles. 



