September, 1920 
I3l)C^lowar (Brower 
151 
THE ROSE 
Growing and Showing Climbing Roses. 
BY A. J. FISH, (Mass.) 
T HE growing of climbing Roses for exhi- 
bition is a very pleasant hobby. To be 
successful, you must grow a little better 
flowers than the other fellow. If you 
then pick them right and set them up well, 
your hobby is justified. 
CULTURE. 
My soil is a sandy loam with a clay under- 
soil, on high ground with a slight slope to the 
east, having good natural drainage. 
The Roses are planted ten feet apart, in 
rows, and each tied to a stout stake ; this is 
all the support they have. By the time the 
stake has rotted off, they are a tangled rose, 
entwined together, holding themselves up in 
a level about five or six feet high. Grown 
this way, every joint will “break" with flow- 
ering shoots, and the branches will have 
good length stems, while those underneath 
will send up longer ones that are strong 
enough to hold up all the flowers they pro- 
duce. 
I do not believe in spading in stable ma- 
nure when planting, but put a mulch of it on 
top of the ground. When the buds are 
forming I give them liquid manure dressing, 
using it weak and often rather than too 
strong. Bone-meal, wood-ashes and soot are 
also good if applied between times. 
I have learned by experience that fall 
planting is better for climbers than spring 
planting. They should be planted as early 
in the fall as possible, leaving a considerable 
number of canes on the top ; the roots will 
grow fast, and well into the winter, and 
there will be some bloom on the old canes 
the next year. 
PRUNING AND DISBUDDING. 
On the true ramblers that send up new 
growth from the roots, cut out the old wood 
just as soon as they are done blooming, pro- 
viding they have enough new shoots for a 
good bush for next season. Such ramblers 
are never disbudded. 
Do not prune the climbers that make their 
new growth on the plant above ground, un- 
less they get so crowded as to kill the center 
of the bush. 
As climbing Roses seem to have vitality 
enough to perfect all the buds formed, pro- 
ducing as large flowers as when disbudded, 
let them all bloom so that the display will be 
larger. There is no gain in disbudding. 
THE BEST VARIETIES. 
For exhibition you can use any and all 
kinds that bloom early enough. My list con- 
tains about thirty-five, but the season must 
be exceptionally propitious to get them all in 
at the right date. There are some good early 
bloomers that are not included in my list. I 
am adding a few varieties every year, and 
hope to have a good collection in time. 
Here is the list of climbing Roses exhibited 
in 1910. My display was awarded Silver 
Medals at two shows — Boston and Newport : 
Silver Moon, Dr. W. Van Fleet, Christine 
Wright, Mary Lovett, Bess Lovett, Alida Lovett, 
Climbing American Beauty, Climbing Lady 
Ashtown, Tausendschon, May Queen, Baroness 
von Ittersum, Source d’Or, Gerbe Rose, Fran- 
cois Guillott, Carmine Pillar, Le Mcxique, 
American Pillar , Miss Helyett, Wedding Bells, 
Edwin Lonsdale, Goldfinch, Oriole, Prof. C. S. 
Sargent, Electro, Sanders’ White Rambler, 
Climbing Clotilde Soupert, Wm. C. Eagan, 
Climbing La France, Robert Craig, Petit Louis, 
Trier, Jersey Beauty, Schiller and Dawn. 
HOW AND WHEN TO PICK. 
Roses for exhibition should be picked early 
in the morning, before the sun shines on 
them, and with as long stems as possible. As 
a rule a rose in full bloom is not suitable for 
showing, as it will not stand up through the 
exhibit. As buds are not allowable, the flow- 
ers must be just about half blown, so they 
will open enough by the time of judging. 
There is a great difference in the keeping 
qualities of different varieties, wherefore the 
exhibitor should know the peculiarities of 
every kind he grows. Some can be picked a 
day ahead of the show, if in the right condi- 
tion, and put in the water in a cool, dark 
place; others may be left on the bush until 
the morning of the exhibition, even if they 
are full blown. For instance, the flowers of 
Baroness von Ittersum, used at Boston and 
Newport, had been fully open for a week be- 
fore the show, yet they stood two days with- 
out dropping a petal. 
The general belief that a double rose keeps 
better than a single one does not always 
hold, for one of the best keepers is the single 
American Pillar. The double yellow climber. 
Prof. C. S. Sargent, will stand up after it has 
been open for several days, while Source d’Or 
(also a double yellow) does not keep well, 
even if picked in a less advanced state than 
the Sargent. Wm. C. Egan should be picked 
early in the morning, when the buds are just 
opening, to stand up through the show ; on 
the other hand, Climbing Clotilde Soupert, 
with its hard, globular buds, has to be forced 
with liquid manure beforehand to get it to 
open enough to exhibit. The large, single Silver 
Moon is a better keeper than a good many of 
the double varieties, and so on through the 
whole list. You should know them as parents 
do their children. 
PACKING AND CARRYING TO EXHIBIT. 
Florists’ corrugated boxes are good carriers 
for the flowers, as they are light in weight, 
and when emptied can be knocked down and 
brought home flat to use again. Put some 
tissue paper in the bottom of the box, com- 
mence with the hardiest buds and flowers at 
the bottom, then cover with oiled paper, then 
another layer of flowers and so on. Fill the 
box full enough to ride well without crushing 
when cover is on. 
Put all of each variety together, so that 
when you open up they can be put into the 
receptacles with one handling. If jammed, 
give the flowers a little shake to straighten 
out the petals. 
GETTING READY FOR THE SHOW. 
Indeed, Roses look better picked and set 
up well than on the bushes. They also cover 
more table space than anyone would think 
before they are picked, especially if not 
crowded — crowding ruins your display. 
When the time of the exhibition comes, 
fill out the entry blank and send to the Sec- 
retary of the Show as early as possible, so 
the committee can have your place all ready 
for you, as they are always very busy the 
morning of exhibit. Do not blame the judges 
if you do not take the first prize ; they go by 
the rules in the schedules the same as you 
have to. Probably your handling could be 
improved. A friend of mine spent over one 
hour setting up five sprays in a vase because 
the stems were weak and crooked, and then 
it did not suit him. That vase took first 
prize, however. 
THE ART OF SETTING UP AN EXHIBIT, AND 
ARRANGING THE COLOR SCHEME. 
Some exhibitors learn to set up very 
quickly, while others make a long job of it. 
Some do not seem to ever get the knack of 
doing it. Some exhibits have an indefinable 
something about them that carries them 
through, while others with just as good 
flowers lack it, and do not win out. 
Use the longest stems for the back rows, 
and work down to the shortest ones in front. 
Do not have too many sprays to a vase ; 
three sprays seem to be about right. Do not 
crowd the vases. 
There are more varieties in white and 
pink, including a combination of the two 
colors, than of other colors. These two 
colors are always harmonious, and you can 
take care of the different reds if you have 
plenty of white ones to intersperse. 
There are really fewer colors that clash 
among climbing Roses than in the bush 
Roses. The Blue Rambler is the worst, and 
should only be used when surrounded by 
white, or what is still better, set up by itself as 
a novelty. Hauff, a variety intermediate in 
color between Blue Rambler and Crimson 
Rambler should not be exhibited. 
Among the Reds, Baroness von Ittersum is 
by far the best in sight, being a clean color, 
semi-double, with ruffled petals — a very 
taking variety. Ards Rover is of good color, 
and an early bloomer, with poor stems gen- 
erally. 
After all the flowers are in water, change 
them around until you get a good effect. To 
sum up, grow as good flowers as you can, 
set up to the best of your ability, and take 
your chance. If beaten, come back again 
and try until you win .—American Rose An- 
nual. 
Roses for Automobile Trails. 
Chas. G. Adams, Secretary of the 
Auburn, N. Y., Rose Society is author 
of a plan to encourage the planting of 
Roses along what is known as the 
Finger Lakes Trail, consisting of about 
400 miles of state highway. 
Such a plan, if consistently followed 
out, would be of great educational 
value, besides beautifying the country. 
Mr. Adams’ plan deserves the most 
careful consideration. It has the ap- 
proval of the American Rose Society 
and we hope it will be successful. 
Catalogues and Price Lists. 
John Lewis Childs, Inc., Flowerfield, L. L, N. Y. 
Trade list of Irises, Liliums, Peonies, Gladioli, etc. 
Paul L. Ward, Plantsman. Hillsdale, Mich.— Fall 
price list of hardy perennials, Pansies, Irises, Gladioli, 
house plants, etc. 
Buechly’s Nurseries, E. M. Buechly, Prop., Green- 
ville, Ohio. — Catalogue and price list of Peonies and 
Irises. 
Clarence W. Hubbard, 6144 Lakewood Ave., Chi- 
cago, 111.— Price list of Peonies and Irises. 
W- J. Engle & Son, R. D. No. 8, Dayton, Ohio — 
Condensed price list of Peonies and Irises for fall 
1920. Contains some useful suggestions and a choice 
list of varieties. 
Geo. N. Smith, Wellesley Hills. Mass.— Catalogue 
and price list for the fall of 1920 and spring of 1921. 
Irises. Peonies and Phloxes. 
Brand Nursery Co., Faribault, Minn. Descriptive 
catalog of Brand's American Peonies and a selected 
list of standard Peonies and Irises from other origi- 
nators. This is an exceptionally well balanced and 
well arranged book and should be in the possession 
of every Peony grower— 48 pages and cover, with in- 
dex. Illustrations are especially fine. 
The report of the big Boston Gladi- 
olus show requires so much space this 
month that necessarily some of our 
regular departments are omitted. We 
take the opportunity of announcing, 
that in future it is our aim to have 
regular departments in each issue for 
the Gladiolus, the Peony, the Rose, the 
Iris, the Dahlia and other flowers. 
