APKir- 22, 1909. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



A COMPARISON OF RESULTS. 



|.\ paper by L. J. Reuter. of Westerly, R. I., 

 r'l ,1(1 before the Uostoii Florists' Club, April 

 ::o. 1909.] ^.«i 



It has been somewhat of a puzzle to 

 mc to know what line to take in talking 

 (iTi roses at this meeting. Although I 

 sometimes find myself talking as though 



I really had definite ideas on methods of 

 ^rowing roses, I generally get back again 

 to the point where I think that I am only 



II student and that what seems to be a 

 settled fact today is surrounded by ques- 

 tions tomorrow. 



The subject "Koses" is broad enough 

 in a way, but when I come down here to 

 your shows I am struck with the idea 

 that the growers for this market know 

 quite a lot about roses. It would be 

 much easier for me to show what I don't 

 know than it would what I think I know. 

 Consequently I shall not try to say any- 

 thing regarding culture in general. The 

 Boston growers know some things about 

 growing almost any crop. Anyone who is 

 not aware of that had better come here 

 to some of the shows. He will see ex- 

 hibits of all kinds and will find that 

 within a not very great distance from 

 Boston there are located men who can 

 hold their heads up with the best in all 

 lines. So I have decided to say a few 

 words in the way of comparing the re- 

 sults from a few of our standard varie- 

 ties. 



Profits From Bride and Maid. 



Of course, we must consider Bride and 

 Bridesmaid first, and my first impulse 

 was to escape the bother of following out 

 a maze of figures and say that these two 

 varieties are alike in productiveness, but 

 I met a surprise there. Whether this is 

 only a local condition or not, I am not 

 prepared to say, but I found the Brides- 

 maid to produce the better. It has al- 

 ways been apparent to me that our stock 

 of this variety was a little more thrifty, 

 b<'tter able to resist mildew, etc., and I 

 was a little bit reluctant to pass by the 

 opportunity, while I was poring over our 

 records, of satisfying myself as to the 

 productiveness of these two olS standbys. 

 I found that our plants have cut as high 

 3s twelve blooms more of Bridesmaid 

 tlian of Bride for the year. This number 

 represents the limit, but in every case 

 Bride fell short. 



As to the average price on these two, 

 t'nTe is little to be said. They hold about 

 ^I'f; same in the long run. This leaves the 

 J^'idesmaid with an advantage. 



Killarney Leads at Present. 



Xext we come to Killarney. This va- 

 •■' *y takes kindly to onr conditions and 



we are able to get good stems and good 

 color, but it is hardly as good a pro- 

 ducer as Bridesmaid. However, there is 

 one important point to be considered; 

 we cut short and weak-stemmed blooms 

 of the latter, while on Killarney we cut 

 nothing less than No. 1 grade. All shorter 

 breaks are pinched and left for double- 

 joint stems. The market price also 

 favors the Killarney and, with the pub- 

 lic inclining to it when a pink rose is 

 wanted, we must place it at the head of 

 the list. 



How long this condition will last is a 

 question. Bridesmaid had been the only 

 standby as a pink rose for quite a num- 



The Kdltor ts pleased 

 wben a Reader 

 presents his Ideas 

 on any subject treated In 



SPSES' 



As experience Is the best 

 teacher, so do \7e 

 learn fastest by aa 

 exchange of experiences. 

 Many valuable points 

 are brouffht out 

 by discussion. 



Good penmanBhlp, spelling and gram- 

 mar, though desirable, are not neces- 

 sary. Write as you would talk when 

 doing' your best. 



WX SHALL BK GLAD 

 TO HKAR FROM TOU. 



ber of years and we are now glad of a 

 change, but the buying public are not 

 going to be satisfied with nothing but 

 Killarney as a pink rose, any more than 

 they were with Bridesmaid. 



Maryland^ Richmond and Qiatenay. 



Of the new ones, none seems more 

 likely to succeed in taking a share of the 

 honors than My Maryland. It will by 

 no means crowd out Killarney, but it will 

 find a place if it can be grown properly. 

 Regarding this I want to say a few 

 words later. 



Eichmond does not take kindly to our 

 soil. I can hardly think that other grow- 

 ers who cut such excellent blooms get as 

 low returns per plant as we do. We cut 

 good stock, but not enough of them, and 

 are trying to find a soil which will suit 



them better. Another year we may find 

 different results, but our experience thus 

 far has not been very satisfactory. 



Chatenay is a heavy producer, ranking 

 close to Bridesmaid, and is really a sur- 

 prise when the season's average is con- 

 sidered. In grading there is an advan- 

 tage at once, a good percentage of blooms 

 being No. 1 and better. There are two 

 main reasons why this rose is not more 

 generally grown. First, it has a bud too 

 light for warm weather. Until the cool 

 nights come on, it is impossible to cut 

 blooms with suflficient body for them to 

 be salable, and the same condition exists 

 by the early part of June. The other 

 reason is that the buying public seems to 

 consider Chatenay only as a novelty. A 

 limited quantity will find a good sale, but 

 I do not think it would be wise to plant 

 very heavily. 



Jardine, Rhea Reid, White Killarney. 



Mrs. Jardine has not been a success 

 with us, it being shy and also weak in 

 color during the time when the sun is 

 strong. A perfect bloom of this rose is 

 really handsome, and such blooms as were 

 offered in the Philadelphia market at 

 Christmas time would always find a ready 

 sale at a good price. 



Rhea Reid has been a stubborn variety 

 and we found it necessary to discard it 

 early this spring, because it was not pay- 

 iug and we needed the room. 



With the coming of White Killarney, 

 Bride will have its first strong competitor 

 and there seems little doubt that this 

 grand new rose will be received with a 

 strong welcome. It seems to be the gen- 

 eral opinion of the store men who had a 

 good chance to form an idea, that this 

 variety will prove a strong favorite for 

 some time at least. It surely will be as 

 good a producer as the pink Killarney 

 and consequently should be more profit- 

 able than Bride. 



More About My Maryland. 



Now for a few more words concerning 

 My Maryland. There has been a great 

 deal said about this variety lately, and 

 several articles in the trade papers which 

 have spoken well for the rose have kept 

 well within the bounds of truth. There 

 is no good reason for doubting the great 

 value of My Maryland as a forcing rose, 

 and not only is it good in winter, but it 

 is especially good in the summer. The 

 blooms have good substance, enough 

 petals, and hold their color so well that 

 it will surely be appreciated during July 

 and August. It is not susceptible to 

 mildew or black spot, and as a producer 

 I believe that the best we now have will 

 be pushed to hold first place. 



No doubt it has been inclined in some 

 places toward resting this winter, but is 

 that surprising? We did not know the 

 rose and its requirements, and practically 

 everyone who grew it took every eye that 

 could be used for grafting or cuttings, 

 robbing the plants so much that it is not 

 at all strange that the cuts were not 

 heavy in some cases. It is a fact, how- 

 ever, that it has been made to produce 

 well by quite a few growers this year, , 

 even through the most trying part of the 

 season, and I will venture to say that 

 next year will tell us a different story. 

 We do not know yet how good it can be 

 grown and it is probable that we have 

 heard the worst and only a small part 

 of the good. 



. .The Cut per Plant. 



I will try to give an idea as to what 

 some of the varieties I have mentioned 



