to 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



March 25, 1909. 



SPRINGFIELD'S ROSE INDUSTRY. 



[A synopsis of a paper by George D. Leedle, 

 of Springfield, O., read before the American 

 Rose Society at Buffalo March 18, 1909.] 



In Springfield and its suburbs, the a»- 

 nual crop of small rose plants consider- 

 ably exceeds 4,000,000, and in a season 

 of liberal planting and favorable con- 

 ditions for propagating, the aggregate 

 would probably approximate 5,000,000. 

 Quite a large percentage of this product 

 is consumed by the concerns issuing mail 

 order catalogues which go to the homes 

 of the people, the remainder going to 

 florists and nurserymen for the various 

 purposes of retailing as pot plants, bench- 

 ing for cut blooms, bedding for orna- 

 mental purposes and landscape garden- 

 ing, and for lining out in the nursery 

 row to become fiehl-grown bushes. 



Propagation. 



To accomplish this result 400,000 or 

 more young plants from li/>-inch to 2V_.- 

 inch pots are planted on the benches in 

 rows five to six inches apart during the 

 period from January to April, depending 

 upon the ability of the sales department 

 to make room by early shipments of stock. 

 Pretty high temperatures are then main- 

 tained, the sunshine being largely de- 

 pended upon for daytime heat, and from 

 perhaps May to August, the wood is cut 

 as it happens to come into just the proper 

 state of ripeness, according to the judg- 

 ment of the grower in charge, the num- 

 ber of successive growths and cuts vary- 

 ing from one to three a<'cording to the 

 variety, season and demand for each 

 particular sort. Occasionally, a belated 

 lot of stock plants remains on the 

 benches and propagation in the opposite 

 season is resorted to, but this is only an 

 emergency measure, the preference being 

 to adhere closely to summer propagation. 



The wood is made up into cuttings 

 of from one to six eyes, according to 

 variety, rarity, condition, abundance, de- 

 mand, season and various other govern- 

 ing circumstances, usually in the summer 

 months, but occasionally the work is pro- 

 longed into the fall. The rooting is ac- 

 complished in hotbeds and requires from 

 two to six or more weeks, according to 

 variety and weather conditions, the per- 

 centage of the strike depending largely 

 upon the skill and experience of the 

 grower and his ability to master ad- 

 verse weather and other conditions; but 

 some percentage of loss is inevitable un- 

 der the most favorable circumstances. 



In the Pots. 



Potting of the rooted cuttings is the 

 next step, these going into 1%-inch or 



2-inch pots, then set down on the benches, 

 watered and carefully shaded for some 

 days, until strong enough to endure the 

 direct rays of the sun. During the au- 

 tumn sunshine, substantial roots and tops 

 are made, until the nutriment in the pot- 

 ful of soil is practically exhausted; then 

 a shift is made to a 2-inch or 2%-inch 

 pot, as the case may be, and occasionally 

 to a 3-inch pot, by special order. 



During the winter, the rose houses are 

 run at a quite low temperature, ap- 

 proaching the freezing point for some 

 sorts, and in fact some of the hardier 

 sorts are allowed to sustain a genuine 

 freeze occasionally. By this method the 

 plants are given a rest during the win- 



in harmony with and not contrary to na- 

 ture herself, and nature is proverbially 

 kind to all who obey her laws. > 



Own Roots Used Exclusively. 



The own-root method is likewise be- 

 lieved to bo in line with nature, being 

 followed exclusively here, and is found 

 in the long run, and with the far greater 

 majority of final purchasers, to produce 

 the most satisfactory results for all con- 

 cerned. For a retail catalogue mail order 

 concern, the perplexities which would 

 arise from the sending out of grafted or 

 budded rose plants by the millions to 

 amateurs all over the earth would be such 

 as to make the life of the correspondent 

 a burden. As to the comparative advan- 

 tages of grafted stock for certain cut 

 flower sorts, I would not be qualified to 

 speak. While quicker results may be ob- 

 tained, the observation of the most ex- 

 perienced members of the Springfield 

 Florists' Club through many years leads 

 them to claim with confidence that in 

 the long run, all things considered, the 

 own-root rose plant will outstrip its 

 grafted competitor in the production of 

 cut flowers, and is superior for all other 

 purposes. They argue that being "on 

 its own Jegs, " it must necessarily run 

 longer and faster than when tampered 

 with by any artificial process. 



In this particular market, the summer 



George 3^ Leedle. 



ter season, and are permitted to take a 

 fresh start at the approach of spring. 



Herein, as held by the rose-growing 

 fraternity in this particular locality, lies 

 the value of the sUmmer-grown, winter- 

 rested idea, namely, that summer is the 

 natural season for all things to grow and 

 winter is the natural season for all 

 growing things to rest. Consequently, by 

 following tViis method, we are working 



propagation idea has also the advantage 

 of bringing the crops into shipping size, 

 strength and condition at just the right 

 times for supplying the various demands. 

 Beginning in January, rose plants are 

 wanted for sending by mail and express 

 to the southern states for early planting, 

 and this demand works gradually north- 

 ward to northernmost Canada ; about Feb- 

 ruary the retail florists begin to secure a 



