iCIbe national nurseryman 
FOR GROWERS AND DEALERS IN NURSERY STOCK 
The National Nurseryman Publishing Co., Incorporated. 
Vol. XXL ROCHESTER, N. Y., APRIL, 1913 No. 4 
LOSS OF VITALITY IN ROSES AND HOW 
TO PREVENT IT 
By ANTOINE WINTZER of The Conard & Jones Co 
It is well known among thoughtful propagators 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 varieties to contend with, 
a great many of the new intro¬ 
ductions 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 40 or 50 years, some of 
these were old roses when the 
writer was a boy. The com¬ 
plaint is, that they are losing 
vitality, the reason is that they 
have been propagated with the 
main object of increase in num¬ 
bers, their natural requirements 
being entirely ignored. Roses 
are not short lived plants when 
grown in good soil, and in a 
climate favorable to their require¬ 
ments. When we start and con¬ 
tinue 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 secirre healthy and vigorous field grown plants to 
propagate from. Use good healthy wood only for cuttings. 
If in a section of the country where you can root them outside 
from hard wood cuttings, there will naturally be no deteriora¬ 
tion in the stock, as only the best matured wood will root 
from hard wood cuttings, with few exceptions. The excep¬ 
tions are in the hardy Wichuriana hybrid class, these root 
very freely. 
Dean of the Rose Growers of America 
The Northern propagator can seldom secure good field 
grown wood of the Tea, Hybrid Tea and Hybrid Per]retual 
class for propagating 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 
continually renews his stock 
plants. 
Nearly all varieties and classes 
of roses that fail to make a satis¬ 
factory field growth in the 
Northern states, usually prove 
very satisfactory growers in the 
vSouthem and Pacific States, and 
in some of those favored local¬ 
ities remarkable results have 
been obtained, 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 cli¬ 
mate. 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 Northern nurseryman 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 
{Continued on page J37) 
ANTOINE WINTZER 
