December, 1920 
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THE ROSE. 
Loss of Vitality in Roses 
and How To Prevent It. 
the future of the Rose outlook is bright, as 
the nurseryman has ample material to select 
from, as well as the grower for cut flowers. 
—Antoine Wintzer in National Nurseryman 
( 1913 ). 
Late Blooming Roses. 
It is well known among thoughtful propaga- 
tors that there is a loss of vitality in many 
varieties of Roses, and why such a condition 
exists. The causes are numerous. 
In the first place, there are too many vari- 
eties to contend with, a great many of the 
new introductions are poor field growers in 
our Northern climate, and will only make 
satisfactory field growers in the Southern 
and Pacific coast states. 
We have, however, a great many good old- 
time Roses that have been propagated for the 
past forty or fifty years, some of these were 
old Roses when the writer was a boy. The 
complaint is, that they are losing vitality, the 
reason is that they have been propagated 
with the main object of increase in numbers, 
their natural requirements being entirely ig- 
nored. Roses are not short lived plants when 
grown in good soil, and in a climate favorable 
to their requirements. When we start and 
continue to propagate and treat them as 
hardy shrubs, and not as exotic plants, their 
vigor will be retained, and our Hermosa, 
Jacqueminot, and other old-favorite varieties 
will remain as vigorous as they were half a 
century ago. How can we do this is the 
question ? 
First secure healthy and vigorous field 
grown plants to propagate from. Use good 
healthy wood only for cuttings. If in a sec- 
tion of the country where you can root them 
outside from hard-wood cuttings, there will 
naturally be no deterioration in the stock, as 
only the best matured wood will root from 
hard-wood cuttings, with few exceptions. 
The exceptions are in the hardy Wichuriana 
hybrid class. These root very freely. 
The Northern propagator can seldom se- 
cure good field -grown wood of the Tea, Hy- 
brid Tea and Hybrid Perpetual class for prop- 
agating with any certainty of success. He 
naturally grows his stock plants under glass, 
and in pursuing this method his young plants 
will gradually degenerate, unless he continu- 
ally renews his stock plants. 
Nearly all varieties and classes of Roses 
that fail to make a satisfactory field growth 
in the Northern States, usually prove very 
satisfactory growers in the Southern and 
Pacific States, and in some of those favored 
localities remarkable results have been ob- 
tained, and one-year old own root Roses 
grown as heavy as the best imported budded 
stock. I am, and always have been, a strong 
advocate of own root Roses for our American 
climate. The Rose originators, at present, 
are adhering too close to the Hybrid 
Tea class, only a limited number of varieties 
in this class are good field growers in our 
climate, although all right for the cut-flower 
grower under glass. 
From the introduction of the Hybrid 
Wichuriana and Rambler classes the North- 
ern nurserymen can select good material for 
field planting. In these there is no noticeable 
deterioration, and one can safely line out a 
plantation in Spring with small field-grown 
cuttings with the assurance of having good 
plants by fall. Such varieties as Dorothy 
Perkins, Minnehaha, Hiawatha, Gardenia and 
the peerless Excelsa or Red Dorothy Perkins, 
Dr. W. Van Fleet, Silver Moon, Farquhar and 
others will grow from three to seven feet and 
sometimes more the first season. American 
Pillar is in a class by itself. Climbing Amer- 
ican Beauty also, and no one should forget 
the Christine Wright and many others. 
The Rugosa class and its hybrids will prove 
of great value to the Northern nurserymen. 
They are good growers and remarkably 
healthy. 
So with the best material to select from, 
Sec. Chas. G. Adams, of the Auburn 
New York Rose Society, reports Roses 
in bloom on November 3rd, 1920, as 
follows: 
M. Soupert, Madam Harriott, Queen Mary, 
Mrs. W. Quinn, Harry Kirk, Caroline Test- 
out, Florence Pemberton, Mrs. S. T. Wright, 
Frau Karl Druschki, Radiance, Geo. C. Wand. 
Auburn Rose Society. 
Hints for Winter Protection. 
“As Rose lovers are now planning to pro- 
tect their favorites against the Winter, the 
Auburn Society feels that a few hints may 
not come amiss. 
“In this climate Tea Roses and Hybrid 
Teas need Winter protection and the vitality 
of the Hybrid Perpetuals is better conserved 
thereby. 
“Although different methods are used the 
one generally recommended by such experts 
as Captain George C. Thernas, author of the 
Practical Book for Outdoor Rose Growing, 
Henry A. Dreer, George H. Peterson and M. 
S. Walsh, is simple and feasible. 
“The protection that will be described 
should be deferred until there is no longer 
danger that the ground may freeze. One 
need not fear that a few sharp frosts will in 
jure the canes in the present dormant state. 
Generally speaking it is well to cut the canes 
of the Hybrid Perpetuals down to a height 
of about three feet and those of the Hybrid 
Teas to eighteen inches. 
“Remove and destroy as far as possible all 
fallen and adhering leaves affected with black 
spots as on these will live the spores which 
will infect the plants next season. 
“Before the ground freezes, hill up the 
earth about the base of the plants to a height 
of from eight to ten inches as you would hill 
up potatoes. If you have sufficient earth in 
the bed or if you can secure it elsewhere to 
hill up to twelve inches, so much the better. 
“Then after the surface of the ground has 
frozen, fill up the hollows created with a 
strawy manure and leaves and finally place 
more leaves and such tetter as may be avail- 
able over the entire surface of the bed. If 
you have cornstalks with the dried leaves, 
place them over the beds about the bushes ; 
they make an admirable protection. 
“Bundle the canes of the Hybrid Perpetu- 
als together, wrap them with straw and bur- 
laps, and tie them securely. 
“Climbers should be laid down and cov- 
ered with burlaps pegged down ; they should, 
however, not be pruned. 
“The method of protection described has 
been used in this locality and found satisfac- 
tory. 
“To transmit reliable information from au- 
thentic sources in the Culture of the Rose is 
one of the objects of this Society ; therefore 
anyone desiring further information may feel 
at perfect liberty to address Charles G. 
Adams, Secretary of the Auburn Rose Soci- 
ety, in charge of the Question Box. 
“Samuel E. Hillger, Prest.” 
In Mr. Gersdorff’s article, “The His- 
tory of the Rose in America,” in the 
November issue, credit for origination 
of the Setigera Hybrids was given to 
John Feast, of Baltimore, where it 
should have been given to Samuel 
Feast who was the true originator. 
201 
Mountain Ashes. 
The abundant flowers on these trees and 
shrubs last spring have been followed by an 
unusually heavy crop of fruit on most of the 
species, and Mountain Ashes have probably 
never been more beautiful in this part of 
the country than they are this autumn. 
Their fruit is now the most conspicuous in 
the Arboretum and deserves the attention of 
persons interested in plants which produce 
handsome and conspicuous fruits. There are 
two principal groups of Mountain Ashes in 
the Arboretum, one on the bank above the 
Shrub Collection and near the Forest Hills 
gate and the other on the left hand side of the 
Valley Road near and under the group of 
Swamp White Oaks. None of these plants 
have more abundant or brilliant fruits in larger 
clusters than the two Mountain Ashes of 
Northeastern North America, Sorbus ameri- 
cana and its variety decora with broader 
leaflets and larger fruits. The value of 
these two trees is increased by the brilliant 
colors which their leaves will take on now 
in a few days. The various forms of the 
European species, Sorbus Aucuparia, in the 
collection are all fruiting well this autumn, 
the handsomest perhaps being a tree from 
Northern Austria known as variety moravica 
or dulcis. This is a tall, slender, fast-grow- 
ing tree with smooth bark, leaves with nar- 
rower leaflets than those of the common 
form, and larger and sweeter fruit which in 
its native country is used as food. The 
leaflets of the European Mountain Ash vary 
greatly in width, and in the group near the 
Forest Hills gate there is a handsome spe- 
cimen of this tree with exceptionally narrow 
leaflets. The branches of the large plant of 
the Japanese Sorbus commixta in this group 
have never before been so weighed down by 
its clusters of small fruit although it has 
been growing in the Arboretum for more than 
thirty years. The bright orange and red 
autumn colors of the leaves add to the value 
of this tree. Near it a small plant of Sorbus 
amurensis from Eastern Siberia is fruiting 
well for the first time in the Arboretum. 
The plants of Sorbus pekinensis which are in 
the Valley Road-Group have been covered 
with their large, open, drooping clusters of 
yellow fruit which is now beginning to fall. 
Both in spring and autumn this slender tree 
with narrow leaflets is handsome and con- 
spicuous. It well deserves a place in collec- 
tions of such plants. In this group, too, Sorbus 
pohuashanensis, so named from the mountain 
range in northern China, the Pohua-shan, 
where it was discovered, is covered with its 
erect clusters of large orange-red fruits. It 
is a handsome plant with leaflets broader 
than those of the common form of the 
European Mountain Ash but no better for 
gardens in this country than that tree which 
is gradually becoming naturalized in this 
country. In the Arboretum, at least, the 
handsomest trees have sprung from seeds 
scattered by birds. One of the handsomest 
and certainly the most interesting Mountain 
Ash in the Arboretum is growing in the 
nursery near the top of Peter’s Hill. It is a 
fast-growing tree of perfect shape, with a 
straight stem covered with smooth pale bark, 
leaves with unusually narrow leaflets, and 
wide, convex, compact clusters of pink fruit. 
No other Mountain Ash which is now known 
has fruit of this color. This tree which was 
grown in the Arboretum from seed was 
first thought to be a form of S. pekinensis ; 
it is now believed to be a hybrid of S. Aucu- 
paria and S. pekinensis to which the name of 
S. Arnoldiana has been given. In the con- 
vex, crowded clusters of flowers and fruits 
it shows the influence of the European plant; 
in the narrow leaflets and in the size of the 
small fruit it resembles S. pekinensis, while 
in color the fruit is intermediate between 
those of its supposed parents. — Arnold Ar- 
boretum Bulletin. 
