962 



THE 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December 14, 1912. 



THE ROSE SEASON OF 1012. ^'""'^ '"f" omitted or not applied early 



^ enough. 



By tlie end of October we may consider It stands to reason that if our spraying 

 the rose season finished with^ so far as their or syringing is to make the foliage immune 

 blooming is concerned. But it was the from the attack and spread of mildew — -as 



it undoubtedly does— it is wise to keep it 

 up ; othei-^yise how^ can the young growing 

 foliage be protected And it is this that is 



severe snap early in that month which put 

 such a sndden stoppage to growth this 

 year. I have not in any season had roses 

 more full of an extra late lot of flowers than 

 was the case previous to that frost. From 

 my annual notes I see that in 1894 we had 

 just such an autumn after a very erratic 

 season. It was in May of that year that 

 we had the severe frost which played havoc 

 with the extra early growth then existing. 



But eighteen years ago we had not such 

 a wonderful collection of late-flowering 

 varieties. The hybrid tea class or section 

 had not then indicated the remarkable de- 

 velopments which have been made within 

 the past fifteen yeai^s. To mention a few^ 

 of the best will show how much better off 

 we are for varieties that are good in 

 the autumn, and have proved themselves of 

 immense value during such erratic and 

 widely different seasons as those of last 

 year and the present. 



Taking the hybrid teas alphabetically re- 

 ference must first be made to Antoine Ri- 

 voire. A. R. Goodwin, Betty, Chateau de 

 Clos Vougeot, Duchess of "Wellington, Ecar- 

 late, Edu \Moyer. General MacArthur, 

 George C. Waud, Jacques Vincent, Joseph 

 Hill, Killarnov, Ladv Ashtown, Lady Bat- 

 tersea. La Tosca, Lyon Rose, 'Madame Abel 

 Chatenay. Madame Jules Grolez, Madame 

 Ravary, ^Larquise de vSinety, Mrs. Aaron 

 Ward, Mrs. Arthur Munt, Mrs. A. R. Wad- 

 dell, Mrs. Harold Brocklebank, Mrs. Theo- 

 dore Roosevelt . Pharisaer , Souvenir de 

 IVFaria de Zayas, Theresa Bevan, and 



Theresa. If any reader wants really good 

 decorative roses all through the season, and 

 more especiallv in the autumn, hp can 



most severely attacked 

 earliest. 



as well as 

 I have rather harped upon this 

 point for some time now, and am pleased to 

 find so many of our most successful growers 

 are of the same conviction. 



I must hark back once more to 1891, 

 when the class for hybrid teas alone, was, I 

 believe^ first started. It was for twelve 

 varieties only, and seeing there were, at that 

 date, no more than ten ''exhibition hybrid 

 teas in the National Rose- Society's oflS- 

 cial list, it did not surprise me to find it 

 very indifferent. I think w^e may safely say 

 that half of the largest class — viz., 72 varie- 

 ties from all classes or sections — are now 

 made up from the hybrid teas. And yet av 

 that time many were of opinion there was 

 no future before this section 



A. PlPKB. 



the 



blown over in a moderate wind. Before 

 investing in the larger eight, ten, or 

 twelve-inch pots, one should have some'idea 

 in mind as to the use to whi-ch it is in- 

 tended to put them. In addition to a 

 good supply of pots, it is very desirable 

 to have a number of seed pans, lK)th for 

 sow^ing seeds and pricking them, out, as 

 well as for striking cuttings in quantity 

 of such plants as violas, lobelias, and pent- 

 stemons. Shallow pans are the best for 

 sowing most seeds, especially tho^e which 

 will soon be pricked out, but the deeper 

 ones are necessary for pricking out seed- 

 lings and striking cuttings. The supply 

 of pans for pricking out seedlings may be 

 eked out by the use of shallow boxes, such 

 as those in which many bedding plants are 

 offere<l for sale. 



Having considered the compost and the 

 pots, the next question is the potting bench 

 or table. Profe.ssionals, of course, have a 

 potting shed and a massive bciuh. 

 eve ry co n \'e n i e nee 



at hand. 



SOME POTTING REQUISITES 



We all know how much more work we 

 can get through in a given time if we 

 have everything ready to our hand, and 

 this is particularly true of potting work 

 in the garden, where so many different 

 things are required for doing the work 

 really well. In an article on ''Potting 

 Composts," w^hich appeared in the Gar- 

 deners' Magazine of June 4, 1910, I dealt 

 with the materials which w^ere most com- 

 monly wanted in making the various pot- 

 ting composts for different kinds of plants, 

 and it seems to me these remarks might 



pplemented 



with 

 Certainly 



some sort of cover is necessary for keeping 

 composts from l>ecoming wet after they 

 have been made up, but those who have no 

 such convenience may do a great deal with 

 a stout table against a wall^ — -in a corner 

 by preference — with a shelter over it, or a 

 *movable protection of some sort, to keep 

 the compost dry. If the table is not suffi- 

 ciently substantial to stand the strain of 

 firm potting, in addition to its other load, 

 a stool some two or more feet high, should 

 be handily place<l by its side for tlie ]>ur- 

 pose. There is room in this matter for the 

 ingenuity of the amateur, not only tor mak- 

 ing himself comfortablo at his work, but 

 for providing himself with the conveniences 

 that are necessarv for effi<*ient potting. A 

 shelf iioaT' the table or l>ench is almost in- 

 dispensable for holding various small things 

 which are ronstantlv neefled. amone: which 



scarcely do better than select from this list ^^^^ ^^h^r matters which simplify and f^^^'^^'^ ho inc]ude<l two or three different 



and the few to follow from the tea-scented 

 and hybrid perpetual sections. 



expedite the work, especiallv when any 

 considerable quantity has to he done. 



types of 



one verv effective kind 



Som"p teas that have proved themselves ^"'^'1"''^ who have not a great quantity 



exceptionallv us(^ful. and introduced since 

 1894, are Corallina . Enchantress, Harrv 

 Kirk, Ladv Roberts, Molly S]ia7'man Craw- 

 ford, Peace, ^Tadame Antoine Mari, and 

 Souvenir de Pierre Xotting. From 

 H.P.'s I would srive preference to Ben Cant, 



Commandeur Jules Gravereaux. Frau Karl 

 Druschki Gloire de Chedane Guinoisseau, 

 Hugh Dickson, and Rouge Angevine. 



I did not intend to make anv h*st of roses 

 at the outset of these note^. but on refer- 

 encf^ thereto, I find them so frequently 

 mentioned as extra ^oo<\ each autumn s-ince 



of potting to do often use the most make- 

 shift arrangements, and put up with all 

 sorts of inconvenience, resulting in mu< li 

 iiiu ^^i^co^^f^rt and more or less unsatisfactory 

 the .How far anyone will agree witli the 



being marie out of tho handle of an old 

 broom or sjiade, rounded at one en<L and 

 chisel-sha)>e^l at tin 

 sizes of round ll;tt 



f>t lltM 



nf 



Different 



their introduction that T felt compelled to 

 name them now the planting season is upon 

 us. Tlve vear 191^ has been one of the 



■- 



worst for mildew T have knowTi. Tliis refers 

 onlv to gardens where no preventive mea- 

 sures were taken, and T am pleaded ho 

 able to write that this direful disease was 

 of little or no trouble, even durin.o: such a 



suggestions made will depend in part upon 

 the amount of potting work he or his gar- 

 dener has to do. 



Having provided oneself with at least 

 the most necessary materials for making 

 potting composts, 'perhaps before having 

 done this, the great essential is a supply 

 of various sizes of pots adequate to anti- 

 cipated future need.s, always keeping those 

 of the same size together, wbicli is no small 

 convenience in all potting work. For 



striking cuttings and growing voung seed- 

 ling plants, thumbs, with aii" inside dia- 

 meter at the top of one or two indues. ar4' 

 very nsefid, though not so indisjx'nsable 

 as a ffillection of small and largo sixties, 

 with a similar diameter of three to four 



pircf < f.T wood with a 

 handle .in t]]o <entre an* alse verv usi-ful 

 for pressinjj; t In^ srn I when sowing seeds, 

 though tin's mav bf. done with th*> haso of 

 another ))an, T-ahels. too. in at least two 

 size.s. should alw-nv^; bo readv to liand. 

 an indelible p-nril sliould he kept in 

 box M-ith them. A small assortment 

 flower sticks f)f 



and 

 the 



of 



such 



often 



sizes as a r* 



wanted when potting plants should bo in- 

 cluded amonn; the<e small thinirs. 



Trifling as it mav seem. Iut\t'x nf irraded 

 potsherds are f)ne o 



tllM 



t <-ojive- 



milclPW-produrinc: soa^on whoro earlv .nnd inches, as those are ihe sizes of pots ordi- 



persistent measures had been ado])ted. The 

 use of thes^. at verv little cost aTul trouble 

 compared to the oleasurable results to- 

 cether with the elim.ination of vari<^ties that 

 have proved more than usually subiect to 

 mildew, has made this disease of far less 

 terror than pr^^viously. 



?V)me fitriking cases of this came before 

 me during the pa^t season. Manv little 

 <xardens near me contain a <'Onsiderable 

 number of roses, and it was verv noticeable 

 how the mildew upon one or two (and these 

 in exactly the same position) disfigured a»ul 

 nuite spoilt both plant and flow*-r, while 

 the nlants in other - were quite healthv. En- 

 quiries nnd i ]>servation jiroved th:it in everv 

 case of mildew the 



narily u.sed for rearing bedding-out plants. 

 Forty-eights, with a diameter of four and 

 a-half to five inches, can be used for flow^er- 

 ing small plants as well as for an inter- 

 mediate shift of larger plants, but they are 

 not so generally useful as sixties and 

 thirty-twos. The latter, together with the 

 slightly larger twenty-fours, with inside 

 diameters of ahrnit six and seven inclies re- 

 spectively, are tho pots for flowering pelar- 

 goniums and numberh^vs other plants of 

 me<lium size, botl^ in the open and under 

 glass. Tt should always b*^ borne in mind 

 that plants of a given size need larger pots 

 when grown in the open than under glass 

 not only Ix-cause evaporation is so mucli 



niences and time-saving aerov^ories at tlie 

 netting bench. One si^e should br suitable 

 for thumbs and sixties, another size for tln^ 

 general run of pof plants, while, if large 

 plants are ^rrown in pots, a sto'^k of largtM- 

 pieces should also be kept handy. Near 

 akin to this there shfinld alwavs he some 

 neat or fibrous turf for j^uitiiJij: over the 

 drainatre. while a st<u-e of quarter-in eh 

 born-s is ii-ef nl Uw the sa me r»ur>osr. as 

 well as for mixinc: with the soil of hard- 

 wood(H] plants, and theso whirh will o - upy 



the pots for a h^i'^thenefl ])fM-if>d. 



A 



Pftts 



preventive measures more active, but to keep them from being 



Eupatorium petiolare.— ^Most of 



the eupatorimnr. are of value for the supply 

 of cut flowers, espeeiallv durine^ the winter 

 months. The blossoms of all of them last 

 well in water. Ojip th.it T lik.^ verv niurh 

 is that whieh wa-. di<1rihntp'l under the 

 name of Eupatorium pctiolaro. bnt whieh is 

 now known as K. PnrpuH nionl'coln. Tt has 

 Ji" upright, frcelv-branrhed linl.Jf, and the 



flower heads, like litfh. daisies, are ])inkish 



at first, but lx^<'*uno v:h]U- after 



oxpan^iort. 



