July, 1920 
I THE 
Watson on Roses Old and New. 
William Munro of Garrettford, one of our 
most expert Rose growers, in talking about 
the passing of the old timers of the cut (lower 
Rose world all except American Beauty made 
a remark worthy of note. Yes, said he, you 
talk about Beauty being the only one that has 
stood the razzle dazzle these thirty years. It 
has all right, but there's another one that’s 
going to stand just as long. And what’s it? 
sez I. Guess, sez he. Well, sez I, I’m not a 
Rose man but I’d say Mrs. Charles Russell. 
Wrong, sez he, its Hadley. H’m sez I, and 
why? Well, sez he, its got the guts to it like 
Beauty and its just as hard to do well. Rus- 
sell, on the other hand, is too easy and it will 
be overdone in a few years. So Mr. Grower 
put that in your pipe and smoke it. Bill ought 
to have been along with the Burton party 
through Montgomery & Bucks Co. last fall. 
It would have stirred some of them up a little. 
But on the other hand he might have been 
dumb as a clam — unless stirred up with a wee 
drap. It’s a hard job to get a valuable secret 
out of a man— expecially a business pointer. 
They don’t give it away at Sunday School. 
And speaking of past history our veteran 
florist, John Westcott, tells us that in 1875 
there were only two roses on the list in these 
days, Safrano and Marechal Neil. Later on 
Bon Silene used to come from Boston and 
with them came Bill Stewart, Nick McCarthy, 
Patrick Welch and Bill Elliott. That was 
about the start of the commission business 
in Phila. Among the first of the natives in 
that time was probably Bill Meehan — al- 
though Charlie Pennock and Bill Baker close- 
ly followed him. Of these three, the Honor- 
able William J. Baker is the only one left. 
William E. Meehan has been a fish com- 
missioner for many years, and Charles E. 
Pennock, as already stated, died in 1891. So 
we have to take our hats off to William J. 
Baker as well as to Samuel S. Pennock in 
this connection. 
Geo. Watson in Horticulture. 
The Ramanas Rose ( Rosa Rugosa.) 
This is a native of the coast sand-dunes of 
North-Eastern Asia. The thick, dark green 
leaves seem able to resist the attacks of in- 
sects and the diseases which often discolour 
the leaves of many Roses. The flowers of 
the typical wild plant from Japan are red, but 
there are varieties with pure white and with 
clear pink flowers. No other Rose is so hardy 
as Rosa rugosa, and, left to itself, it spreads 
into great thickets. No shrub is bettersuited 
to grow in exposed positions on the New Eng- 
land coast; it grows equally well in the rich 
soil of the garden, and no other Rose is so 
valuable in this climate for making low hedges. 
Valuable as the Japanese Rosa rugosa has 
proved itself as a garden plant, its greatest 
value is in its ability to transmit its hardiness, 
handsome foliage, and large flowers to its 
hybrid offspring. Among these are already 
several beautiful garden plants, which suggest 
that the plant breeder who wishes to produce 
new races of Roses able to grow and flower 
successfully in the Northern States must com- 
bine Rosa rugosa and its hybrids with other 
hardy Roses. Rose breeders are singularly 
reticent about the plants they have used in 
their work and there appear to be no printed 
records of the parentage of any of the rugosa 
hybrids with the exception of the two which 
have been raised in this Arboretum. One of 
the earliest of the rugosa hybrids, Madam 
Georges Bruant, has pure white, semi-double 
flowers, which continue to open until the com- 
ing of frost. More distinct is the Rose named 
Tlowcr (Brower 
ROSE 
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer This is a large 
shrub, with large, nearly double, clustered 
pink flowers. The foliage and flowers show 
little rugosa influence, but its vigor and hardi- 
ness are probably derived from the Japanese 
parent. Nova Zembla is a white flowered 
sport of this Rose. At least twenty other 
European hybrids of Rosa rugosa have received 
names. Some of these are not distinct, and 
others have little to recommend them as gar- 
den plants. In England standards with weep- 
ing branches have been successfully grown 
by budding this Rose on the tall stems of 
other Roses, and it would probably prove one 
of the hardiest standard Roses which could be 
grown here. It can be trained over a fence 
or arbour, but can be best used to cover banks 
and the ground under other shrubs or small 
trees. The two rugosa hybrids raised by 
Dawson at the Arboretum have proved to be 
good garden plants. In habit Lady Duncan 
resembles R. rugosa repens alba, but the stems 
are not so stout ; it can be used as ground 
cover or trained on an arbour or trellis. The 
flowers are rather smaller than those of R. 
rugosa, and pure pink, and the leaflets are 
smaller and very lustrous. This Rose was ob- 
tained by crossing Rosa rugosa with R. Wichu- 
raiana. The Arnold Rose, R. Arnoldiana, 
was raised by Dawson by crossing R. rugosa 
with the Hybrid Tea Rose General Jacquemi- 
not. It is a stout bush, with good foliage 
and large, bright, red, single flowers, and 
when in bloom perhaps the showiest of the 
Roses in the shrub collection. — Arnold Arbor- 
etum. 
Ohio State University, Columbus, 
Ohio, issues a bulletin entitled “About 
Roses,” by Prof. Alfred C. Hottes, well 
known to readers of The Flower 
Grower. It is presumed that this will 
be sent on request to those interested 
as long as the supply lasts. Some very 
practical suggestions are contained in 
this bulletin which consists of sixteen 
pages with a number of illustrations. 
American Rose Society 
Roses Suited to Various Localities. 
The American Rose Society in their 
Annual for 1920 publish a map show- 
ing localities suitable for the different 
classes of Roses which is of exceeding 
value to Rose growers. 
Generally speaking the southern 
states south of Tennessee, parts of 
Texas and Oklahoma, and parts of 
Arizona and California are suitable for 
Tea Roses, Noisette and other tender 
Roses. 
Hybrid Teas are safe in the northern 
tier of southern states and the southern 
tier of northern states including parts 
of Texas, New Mexico, Nebraska, Iowa, 
Pennsylvania, and Ohio and the terri- 
tory bordering the Pacific Ocean in 
Washington and Oregon. The sections 
immediately surrounding Lake Erie 
and the southern shore of Lake On- 
tario are given in this class. 
Hybrid Perpetuals and Rugosas are 
reported to do well in sections of 
Maine and the greater part of New 
York, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, North and 
107 
South Dakota and the eastern half of 
Montana and Wyoming, also parts of 
the Rocky Mountain states. 
Quite a large territory is reported as 
being unsuitable for Roses because of 
severe winter conditions and frosts dur- 
ing the summer. This embraces the 
greater part of the Rocky Mountain 
region, northern Michigan, Minnesota, 
and the higher altitudes of New York, 
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine 
and parts of California. 
Altogether it may be stated that va- 
rieties of Roses must be selected with 
extreme care if satisfactory results are 
expected. The annual waste resulting 
from the planting of varieties unsuited 
to the climatic conditions prevalent, is 
enormous, and nurserymen who sell 
Roses unsuited to the locality where 
they are to be grown are largely to 
blame for this waste. 
The work of the American Rose So- 
ciety may, of course, be supplemented 
by still further information along this 
line, but the map referred to is to be 
highly commended as a start in the 
right direction. 
Field Day. 
Washington, D. C., June 2nd, 1920. 
June 2nd was indeed an ideal Rose Day in 
Washington, D. C. About 100 members of 
the American Rose Society registered at the 
store of Gude Brothers, 1214 F Street before 
10 A. M. Automobiles were waiting to take 
the party to the Rose Test Garden. The 
Roses in the Garden were at their best, and 
the party spent two most pleasant hours en- 
joying the abundance of Rose bloom. The 
climbing varieties were not in full bloom, 
but the Teas, Hybrid Teas, Polyanthas, and 
Rugosas were magnificent. 
On the day previous a committee consist- 
ing of Dr. B. T. Galloway, chairman, L. C. 
Corbett, F. L. Mulford, W. Van Fleet and D. 
N. Shoemaker made a careful survey of the 
Garden. The committee reported that they 
found the Garden in generally good condi- 
tion. The season has been backward, conse- 
quently Roses are from ten to twelve days’ 
late. There is very little mildew. The se- 
vere winter injured a good many of the va- 
rieties. The committee considered only the 
varieties now at their best. Of the Pillars, 
Scheila Wilson, Paul’s Scarlet Climber, and 
Paul’s Carmine Piller were scored the high- 
est. Of the Baby Ramblers the following 
were particularly good : Yellow Baby Ram- 
bler, Triomphe Orleanais. Mrs. W. H. Cutbush, 
Gruss an Aachen, Echo, Marie Pavie, Clothilde 
Pfitzer, Schneekopf. Of the Teas and Hybrid 
Teas the following were given special men- 
tion : Ophelia, White Killarney, Konigan Car- 
ola. Lady Alice Stanley, La Tosca, Lady Ursula, 
Lady Ashtown, Gustav Grunerwald, Killarney 
Queen, Gruss an Teplifz, Avoca, Red Radiance; 
and of the Hybrid Perpetuals the committee 
made special note of Maharajah, Pierre Not- 
ting, General Jacqueminot, J. B. Clark, Mrs. 
Sharman-Crawford, Paul Nyron, Victor Verdier, 
and Frau Karl Druschki. The committee 
made special note of the following Moss : 
Luxemburg, Briers, Flora Mclvor, Julia Man - 
tiering, Anne de Geiristein, Bradwardine, Green 
Gravarian, Rugosa No. 14668 (Van Fleet), 
Rosa Parfume de la Haie, Amelia Graverian, 
and Rugosa prostrata. There are in the Gar- 
den 403 varieties of Roses as follows: 
Hybrid Perpetuals 51 
Hybrid Teas and Teas 154 
Bush Rugosa Hybrids 27 
Climbing Wichuraianas 66 
Baby Ramblers D. Mulfiflora . 30 
Climbing Tea Hybrids 14 
