338 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



July, 1914 



for budded or grafted plants, and a greatly 

 exaggerated fear of the possibility of wild 

 suckers starting from the stock on which 

 the choicer varieties are budded. This 

 danger of suckering, while always possible, 

 by the use of suitable types of stocks, prop- 

 erly prepared, is reduced to a minimum, 

 and the occasional wild shoot which does 

 appear is so distinct in appearance that 

 any amateur, who is sufficiently interested 

 to plant a choice rose, will readily recognize 

 it and remove it as soon as it appears. 



At very little cost every amateur can 

 settle this much-agitated question for 

 himself. Take any one or all of the fol- 

 lowing list selected at random from varieties 

 recommended in every American catalogue 

 as being excellent bedding or garden roses: 

 Caroline Testout, Jonkheer J. L. Mock, 

 Killarney, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Lady 

 Ashtown, Mme. Jules Grolez, Mme. Leon 

 Pain, Mme. Ravary, Prince de Bulgarie, 

 General MacArthur, La France, Duchess of 

 Wellington, My Maryland, Mrs. Aaron 

 Ward, Lady Alice Stanley, Mrs. Wake- 

 field Christy Miller. Secure a strong two- 

 year-old, own-root plant from a reliable 

 source, at the same time procuring a good 

 two-year-old budded plant; plant the two 

 side by side, and we are certain that, long 

 before the season is well advanced, you will 

 be convinced of the superiority of the 

 budded stock and will plant only budded 

 plants when obtainable. 



J. T. Scott, Professional Florist and Com- 

 mercial Plant Grower in N. Y. State, Says: 



In answer to your question "Which is 

 the better — own root or budded roses" I 

 would, true to Scotch tradition, answer 

 your question, at least in part, by asking 

 another: "Why budded roses?" 



The roots of the present-day Hybrid, 

 Tea, and Hybrid Tea roses are very sparse. 

 Some Tea roses, particularly, have but one 

 main root and a few straggling laterals, and 

 every one who tries to transplant roses 

 that have been growing in one place for 

 several years knows what poor roots they 

 have when lifted, and how hard it is to 

 successfully transplant them. Because 

 their roots are sparse and wiry they natur- 

 ally need a heavy, stiff soil — or as we 

 say in horticultural parlance,- "a rose soil" 

 — and heavy feeding with various fertilizers 

 to bring out their best qualities. Such 

 natural soils are frequently found, and on 

 their own roots roses nourish in it to perfec- 

 tion. But unfortunately all soils are not 

 good rose soils. 



Rose soils can be made, but usually the 

 expense is greater than the thing is worth. 



The roots of our wild roses, the canina, 

 rubiginosa, etc. (which are used for bud- 

 ding on) are fibrous. They naturally grow 

 on rough, gravelly, shallow, and poor 

 grounds. They belong to a hardier race 

 and can stand abuse and neglect. Roses 

 that are budded on such roots can be 

 planted in any kind of a soil and will give 

 good results — but be it remembered that 

 any kind of a plant responds to good treat- 

 ment. Budded and grafted roses respond 



much quicker than own root roses do. A 

 two-year old budded plant is bigger than a 

 three-year old own root plant, and a young 

 grafted plant will be larger at the age of two 

 months than an own root plant will be at 

 the age of six months. 



I well remember the time about ten years 

 ago when Robert Simpson, of Cliftondale, 

 N. J., read a paper in Philadelphia before 

 the American Rose Society on the advant- 

 ages of grafted roses for greenhouse use. 

 The largest rose growers of the country 

 attended that meeting and almost every 

 one of them ridiculed Mr. Simpson's 

 theory r . Every one of those men is to- 

 day planting grafted roses. In less than 

 five years they all fell in line. Mr. Simp- 

 son's story told the truth: "You get much 

 quicker results; you do not have any more 

 root trouble with eel worm; you can water 

 grafted roses every day." 



A prominent and successful rose grower 

 was asked recently if he was not afraid of 

 souring his ground by using so much water, 

 to which he replied, "If it sours we will 

 wash it out." Any one can water grafted 

 roses but it takes an expert to water own 

 root stock successfully. These are the 

 facts that converted the skeptics, and the 

 rule that applies to indoor roses also ap- 

 plies to outdoor stock. But of course 

 there are exceptions to every rule. 



Yellow roses as a rule do not take kindly 

 to any of the stocks mentioned. Sunburst, 

 one of the finest yellow roses, will not do well 

 either grafted or budded. The stock and 

 cion do not seem to agree. They do better 

 on the Banksia stock but this is not hardy 

 and cannot be used outdoors in our climate. 

 Sunburst is naturally a strong grower and 

 does well on its own roots. 



The hybrids of rugosa, such as Conrad 

 F. Meyer, Blanch de Coubert, etc., are 

 equally as good on their own roots. Frau 

 Karl Druschki, Gruss an Teplitz, J. B. Clark, 

 Ulrich Brunner, and the naturally strong 

 growing roses can all be successfully grown 

 on their own roots. 



A number of Tea roses when once estab- 

 lished are better on their own roots. 

 This applies to the Cochets, George Na- 

 bonnand, Belle Siebrecht, and the stronger 

 growing varieties. 



The complaints and criticisms that we 

 hear about budded stock do not arise 

 purely from the fact that they are budded, 

 but from how they are budded. Much of 

 our home grown and particularly our im- 

 ported roses are budded too high. They 

 are often budded eight to ten inches up the 

 stem. When planting the graft or bud 

 should be buried at least six inches below 

 the surface of the soil, and in order to do 

 this (with the high budding) the roots must 

 be at least from fifteen to eighteen inches 

 below the surface. This is much too deep. 



These long stems are also continuously 

 throwing suckers, and if unchecked arrest 

 the growth of the true rose. It is from this 

 that the complaints arise. If they were 

 grafted two inches or budded three to four 

 inches up the stem, this would be very 

 largely eliminated. 



When planted with the bud exposed to 

 the atmosphere, as we often see, failure is a 

 foregone conclusion. But when the bud or 

 graft is buried six inches, the true rose 

 forms auxiliary roots and in this way the 

 best results are obtained. 



The rule of exception applies very fully 

 to all the Rambler rose family. They 

 naturally are as strong stock as could pos- 

 sibly be used, and there is no need or 

 reason for budding them. They are also 

 easy to propagate, from green wood in sum- 

 mer or from dormant wood in early spring. 



George H. Peterson, Rose Specialist of 

 New Jersey, Writes: 



My experience in growing roses covers 

 two periods of ten years each, first as an 

 amateur, and then as a commercial grower. 

 As an amateur I confess that I was at first 

 an own root theorist myself, but actual 

 tests of budded roses of the same varieties 

 and in the same beds with own root stock 

 convinced me, admittedly against my will, 

 that in theory I was wrong. Budded 

 roses gave me more growth and flowers, 

 and more vigor to endure the cold of 

 winter. 



As I could see it, there was but one ob- 

 jection, i. e. occasional suckering from the 

 wild root; but after a little observation I 

 could detect at a glance the wild growths 

 and remove them quickly while young and 

 soft. And so, while still an amateur 

 grower, I grew to prefer budded roses to 

 own root, and in almost every class of 

 roses except the Hybrid Wichuraiana clim- 

 bers. The wild rose stocks make much 

 stronger, more fibrous roots, and hence 

 increase the feeding capacity of the plant. 



During my period as an amateur rosarian 

 the three* stocks most generally used were 

 Manetti, canina, and rugosa; and, it is 

 true, they all suckered more or less. But 

 to-day we have a form of multiflora from 

 Japan which has a wonderful root system, 

 and is practically suckerless. 



Of course, there is always more or less 

 inquiry for own root plants, and to endeavor 

 to meet this demand I have made thorough 

 attempts to grow own root roses out-of- 

 doors, both at home here and in North 

 Carolina and Georgia; but even with the 

 most thorough preparation and care, the 

 results have been a comparative failure. 

 Three years ago I abandoned the attempt 

 entirely. If own root roses could be grown 

 successfully out-of-doors it would be pro- 

 fitable for the commercial grower to so 

 raise them as the method of propagation 

 is most simple and quick, and much time 

 would be saved. 



On the Pacific coast and in the extreme 

 south, own root roses as a rule are much 

 more successfully grown than over the 

 balance and greater portion of our country, 

 but even there, properly budded roses 

 will do still better. 



Many of the very finest varieties of 

 Hybrid Teas today are too weak of growth 

 to be grpwn on their own roots, and were it 

 not for budded plants we would have to do 

 without them. 





