How to Grow Roses.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 2, 13 July 1910, Page 34

How to Grow Roses.

CROSS FERTILISATION—THE SEARCH FOR THE BLUE ROSE.

(Bi)

S. L.. CASTIN.)

¥HE sweetest Hower that blows” has in all civilised ages been the ob ject of the unqualified love and admiration of the true worshippers of beauty. From time immemorial poets have been unanimous in their selection of the rose as a fitting emblem for all that is good and lovely. Entrancingly beautiful in form, delicate above all flowers in colour, and fragrant to the individual petal, the ro.se even in th's most materialistic twentieth century is regarded as a blossom possessed of no ordinary charm. Few must be the individuals’ who have not appreciated a subtle attraction about a rose that is lacking in any other flower; as if in all its centuricis of human intercourse it had in some mysterious fashion entwined itself around the very hearts of men. So old is the cultivation of the rose, and so enormous has been the extent of

its variation under domestication, that any attempt to find a common ancestry for a tithe of the varieties in a dealer’s list would be futile. The number of species of exotic roses is very large indeed, and it may come as a surprise to many people to learn that in England alone there are no fewer than nineteen indigenous kinds. A number of these species, both foreign and British, are doubtlesi, represented in our gardens, but

in a form so altered by hybridisation in most instances as to be scarcely recognisable. The true roses appear to be almost exclusively confined to the northern and temperate regions of the earth’s •surface. It is interesting to note that roses are not to be found amongst the native flora of the Australian continent.

The rose being nearly a double flower, the difficulty experienced by growers in raising new varieties can at once be appreciated by the botanist. As a matter of fact it is a very difficult business to get many roses to seed at all, as although there are few flowers in which a

number of the essential organs are not present, these are very often in a very imperfect ■ condition. Of course in the endeavour to obtain new varieties,-art! fiiial'eross fertilisation is always resulted to, but in many rose blooms the novice would be puzzled as to how to find the stamens or pistils to commence operations upon. Before any dransferou -e of pollen can lie carried on, the superfluous petals (superfluous from a. natural point of view) must be carefully removed from the centre of the flower until the essential organs are as fully exposed as possible. When this has been done the attempt at cross fertilisation can be made by means of a camel’s-hair brush. As to whether or no the seed case, somewhat in the form of the familiar wild rose "hips’’ of hedge-rows, will appear, the experimenter is quite in the dark. An interesting sidelight on the obstacles in the wav of raising seedling

roses is that in the season 1903, one very prominent firm were quite unsuccessful in their efforts to obtain any fertile seed at all. Let us suppose that the grower gets his rose seed, sows it, and succeeds in raising some little plants. He may

have to wait years before the plants wdl bloom. At last the day conies when one of his cherished treasures has a bud. How anxiously he waits for the time when that flower shall unfold, hoping that it will fall to his lot to startle the horticultural world with some striking new variety! His reward for all his patience and labour may be a flower which has nothing remarkable about it.

and he may consider himself lucky if it is not possessed of some particularly bad feature. On the other hand his new variety may be-something really distinct and worthy of recognition, and in this case it is given a name, and steps are at once taken towards increasing the stock. This is rendered a simple matter by the system of budding. A skilful budder will have but' few failures, and will be able to convert any number of wildling roses into the fine garden varieties at will.

That strange desire for novelty has been sufficient to keep alive the quest of the blue rose, but the experiments have met with but small success. Although there have been many so-called blue roses spoken of from time to time in the papers, it may be taken as a fact that a strain of really blue roses has never yet been introduced. The variety most nearly approaching to that colour, Sir Rowland Hill, cannot even by the most imaginative be regarded

|rs blur, its petals being of a dull purple, pnd it has proved so unpopular that jpiany growers have practically given up Cultivating it. If we cannot have a blue rose, however, -Nature herself has given us a green one. By the courtesy of Mr. Charles Turner, the world-famous roseprower of Slough, it is possible to give a photograph of this strange flower. (Even the most enthusiastic must admit jhat it is more curious than beautiful. To attempt even the smallest description of the numberless charming (varieties of the rose which have been introduced would be quite beyond the Bcope of the present article. One is elinost inclined to envy the - easy way in which that old-world botanist Gea'arde, in his famous Herbal, is able in a few short paragraphs to discuss all the (varieties of roses in that day. Indeed, .from his opening paragraph one gathers (that a great concession is being made in giving any detailed description at all, for he says: “If the curious could be so content, one general description anight serve to distinguish the wholestock or kindred of roses, being things so well known. Notwithstanding 1 (think it not amiss to say something of them severally in the hope to satisfy all.” And then after all, with the exception of the briars, he only discusses live roses—the white, the red, the proVence or damask, the lesser provence or damask, and finally the rose without prickles. To each of these by way of a wind-up lie attaches an entertaining list of “vertues.” Nowadays one is confronted by no fewer than thirteen sections, in several of which there are hundreds of varieties. A visit to a large rose-growers is quite a bewildering experience, and amidst such a wealth of loveliness One’s stock of adjectives expressive of admiration seems to be hopelessly inadequate. Although it is well nigh a futile business to attempt to pick and choose, one cannot fail to be struck by .the all-round beauty of the tea roses. The facts that they all have oweetBmelling bossoms of very perfect shape, and that their foliage is of a peculiarly attractive glossy green, coupled with a (wonderful vigour of growth, are no doubt accountable for the universal popularity of the “teas.” Some of the new hybrid tea roses are also exceedingly (beautiful. Many of the blooms exhibit that (Striking spiral form ol bud which is so remarkable a feature in the modern rose. ixumbered amongst the noisette roses are, perhaps, the two most papular roses of modern times. Even the much-talk-ed of “man in the street” knows the lovely orange bloom of William Allen llichardsoh, as well as the delicately scented lemon-coloured bloom, which lias been called “the finest yellow rose ever introduced,” the Mareehal Niel. We are indebted to Japan for a very' valuable addition to our collection of garden roses. Not the least beautiful of all the fine varieties of plants which liave come from “the flowery land” are the Japanese briars, or Rugosa roses. These form a most attractive feature in any garden, not only on account of their large ghowy flowers but also for the big round “hips” of brilliant scarlet which appear in the autumn. Many' fine hybrid Rugosa loses have been raised within the last few years. . But. in all this wonderful story of rose culture and development there is a tinge of sadness when one learns th it .there is an ever-increasing tendency' amongst modern roses in a greater or less degree to throw off their scent. A well-known Irish firm lias within Iho . last two or three years been much to the front as the introducer of some really fine varieties, but unfortunately', • have been scentless. If the final outcome of the hybrid iser’s work in connection with the rose is to be a blossom, however beautiful, albeit lacking in fragrance, one would wish him to withhold his hand. How truly it has been -remarked that “a rose without scent is Only half a rose.” This statement few 1 will gainsay. The cult of our national flower, as indeed is only' fitting, is being pursued As keenly' to-day as has ever been the ease. The great Rose Society, of which the late Denn Hole was so prominent a member, has by its example brought about the institution of numerous local rose societies all over the country.

The extraordinary beauty of the rose, together with its out-and-out hardiness, have been the recommendations for its universal cultivation. Whilst revelling in a rich staying soil it is yet not so particular in this respect as is popularly supposed. The culture of the rose is not difficult, but as in the case of all flowers it needs that care and attention which only true love is capable of giving. The words of the great naturalist Ray, writing on gardening nearly three hundred years ago, are perhaps as happy an expression of the attitude of the true gardener to liis plants as has ever been conceived: “The love of such a master,” he says, “will keep each tender plant alive his care and skill have collected; tor never was any art or excellence liked or loved by the ignorant; it is knowledge that begets affection, and affection inereaseth knowledge. Love was the inventor, and is still the maintainer of every noble science. It is chiefly that which hath (made my flowers and trees to flourish, though planted in a barren desert. . . . for indeed it is impossible for any man to have any considerable collection of plants unless he loves them.” To the mind of the market-gardener the rose presents itself as one of the most important floral crops. People want flowers now-a-days all the year round, and, at certain seasons, the demand for cut blooms of our national flower far exceeds the. supply. Enormous quantities of roses are sent from the gardens of Southern Europe to brighten British homes during the early spring months, and as the rose is a good “traveller” these blooms arrive in the freshest condition. The glorious Crimson Rambler rose is too well known to be described, its popularity being so great that one sees it almost everywhere. Young plants of this variety are placed in pots and as they develop are carefully pruned and trained into all kinds of ingenious designs, such as harps, crowns, shields, and even umbrellas. When the bushes come into flowers the .whole figure is one mass of blazing red petals, a most striking spectacle. ■

Some Methods of Training Roses

There are numerous ways of training roses, and we give an illustration of methods not usually adopted. Figure 1 shows at A rose on fence, and how to cut out whole shoots from tea-roses,

so as to dispose the remaining ones, B, thinly. Figure 2 shows how to dispose Hybrid tea-roses in n large round bed; and Figure 3 shows how the branches should be held hi position by neat stakes.