Own Root vs. Budded Roses 



r«n|HEN we first started this business over sixty years ago, foreign-grown 

 if tJ budded and grafted Roses were the only Roses to be had. They 

 mJiM were so unsatisfactory at that time that our Mr. Dingee, the founder 

 * of this business, conceived the idea of growing Roses on their own 

 roots for American homes and gardens. The undertaking was looked upon 

 with about as much favor as was Morse's telegraphic invention. To-day 

 Own Root Roses are just as much an improvement over the ancient system 

 of budding and grafting on wild roots as the railroads are over stage coaches. 

 Some Catalogue Houses, Nurseryman, Seedsmen and Department Stores, 

 who are without the equipment or knowledge of growing Own Root Roses, 

 import great quantities of these cheap budded Roses from Europe, where 

 they are grown in a wet soil, producing a quick, soft growth, and are 

 offered here as heavy specimen or Star size plants. The budding is usually 

 done on wild Manettia Rose stalks by taking a 

 bud from the original plant and inserting it 

 under the bark of the Manettia and binding it 

 thereon, as in Illustration No. 5. The first 



year the budded Rose makes a 



rapid, soft growth, probably pro- ' 

 ducing some blooms, but the 

 second year the wild root begins to 

 assert itself and grows with 



tremendous vigor, throw- 

 ing out wild shoots from 

 the roots, thus sapping 

 the life from the top, 

 which usually dies, as in 

 illustration No. 4. Note the shoot from the side 

 with the foliage thereon, which is the wild Rose that 

 will not bloom, or is it ornamental; also note the dead 

 branches of the original Rose budded thereon. This 

 is an actual photograph of a two-year, budded Rose. 

 Anyone who wants Roses and not wild shrubbery 

 should buy only the best or Roses grown on Their 

 Own Roots. Such are The Dingee Roses, known the 

 world over. We sometimes wonder why these budded 

 Roses are offered by some firms: selling them to an 

 unknowing and unsuspecting public, but, as Barnum 

 said, "American people like to be humbugged." We 

 are content to adhere to the principles laid down by 

 the founder of this business, who, notwithstanding the 

 many ridiculous claims put forth by men who were 

 ■yet unborn when Mr. Dingee was active in the busi- 

 ness of producing Own Root Roses, now claim to 

 have invented this method of production. 



OWN ROOT ROSES An own root plant is started 



by taking a portion of a branch from the mother plant 

 and putting in sand until the roots are formed at the 

 bottom, as illustrated in No. 1. This is what is known 

 as a rooted cutting. Note how the fibrous roots are 

 formed. In Illustration No. 2 we have a first size own 

 root plant grown in pots. No. 3 illustrates a two-year-old 

 plant grown in a 4- or 5-inch pot. Note the many fibrous 

 roots, which soon establish themselves in the soil after 

 planting; also how each shoot or branch is crowned 

 with a bud: how these branches are formed and how 

 the increase in size is made by making new shoots. 

 Compare this photograph with the one of the budded 

 plant (No. 4) and note how different. A budded plant 

 cannot increase in size unless the increase is made on 

 the weak budded branch and then very seldom, but 

 Own Root Roses increase in size each year, unless 

 destroyed, and are permanent, producing finer and 

 better blooms each season. They are the only Roses 

 suitable for the varying climatic conditions of our 

 country, and we cannot emphasize too strongly the 

 importance of knowing the kind of plants you -are 

 getting before placing an order for them. 



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