Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-12-04

"A RHO0uC00s
From the New York Sun.
"Where do the new roses come from? Who dis
covers or make them? If they are made, how
are they nader Does It pay to make them?
What is the reason that OF late years roses gene
rally seem to be getting larger than they used
to be?" o
These and several other related questions
were asked by SIN reporter of George Wilson,
an acknowledged authority on roses
New roses, " he replied, :'come from England
and France mainly, although some are produced
in other European countries, and few. very
few, may claim to be American. When YOU see
a rose that you have not been accustomed to
seeing it is by no means safe, however, to as
sumo that it Is an altogether new one It NAV
be simply one that has disappeared from public
view for number OF years, and during that
time has been kept in existence by some indi-
vIdual grower who has particular liking for it,
Look at the Bon Siene and the Niphetox.
for instance. Both are old roses. The
first named was once discarded in this
uar knowledge for Is years. When it
re-appeared it came from France to Boston,
thence to this city. and from here spread every
where. 1t is now generally popular favorlte.
fectly formed and it has charming tint The
long. white. beautiful buds Of the Niphetos were
grown here 40 years ago, but. through some
chance, nobody seems to know exactly how, the
variety became entirely lost. and 20 wears
elapsed before it re-appeared When it did re-
appear it was introduced into the trade in
France by man named Granger. Where
he got it is a mystery. He called it by its
original name but claimed that it was an en-
tirely new rose. Old growers. however knew
1t was not new: 1t is universally admired and
now that we have learned far more than we
used to know about the cultivation of this sort
of roses, gardeners find it profitable variety.
1t requires great deal of heat all the time and
1t is difficult to bring 1t into fine bloom unless it
is humored In every way. Nice produces finer
Niphetos buds than are grown anywhere else
ard has almost monopoly Of the supply for
Paris, where they are popular.
But, you ask me how new roses are made
They are grown from the seed Patient men
with mildly speculative bent of mind, in
France and Germany. give their whole minds to
1t, and their work begins even before the forma-
ton of the seed. To explain: The large new
roSes-abOut which you, as l understand. par.
tcularly wish to knOw-are technically known
as hybrid perpetuals,' and are crosses between.
or descendants from, the hardy June rose and
certain varieties Of the remontant roses The
remontants are those commonly and incorrectly
known as monthly roses. They are not monthly.
any more than their children are perpetual.
Their French name signifies remounting or con-
tinuing to ascend, and is given to them from
their habit of sending up new shoots and put
ting forth new bloom almost continuously
through great part of the year. without any
definitely prescribed Towering season. The
flower of one OF those roses, choice one.
ripe, fully open, and perfectly deyeloped.
is used to impregnate another rose, also as
perfect as can be selected OF the harder
variety, and the seed from the impregnated
flower is carefully saved and, in due time, sown.
Acres upon acres the grower fills with the
experimental plants that spring from these
seeds which OcccaSiOnaly f,n
plants. but are far more likely to develop into
an infinite number of varieties, good, bad and
indifferent. These young plants have to be care
fully tended for three years before it is known
what they will be. Then If the grower gets two
or three new varieties that are really flne, he is
content. and if he obtains half q dozen he con-
sderS himself in great luck for getting so many
out of 10000 seedlings, to which he has given
three years OF patient care and skilfu cultiva-
ton. The remaining 1894 are only brush. flt
merely to burn. Sometimes, when they are all
in bloom, he sees that he might just as well
burn the whole 10000. but that is exceptionally
bad luck. He ought to get one out OF the lot.
anyway. Suppose that he dOes-the work has
just begun. In order to get back bis investment
in the experiment and make anything 10y it. he
must have 1000 or 10000 plants ready to throw
upon the market at once. Then he springs his
new rose as surprise upon the trade. and it
commands good prices, Like the Andre Schwartz,
for instance. good plants of which at present
bring IS each. All these plants must be pro-
duced from his one solitary little Seeding. 1t
has to be kept in constant heat in the green
house, its rapidly making new wood being
shipped off and prOpagated as fast as possible,
and the plants SO produced being used to start
others, and so on for two years before the dis
coverer of the new rose can venture to say to
the public, How do you like my new beauty"
but. even then. do not suppose that the
subsequent cultivation Of that rose is all plain
sailing. Many roses that have been great sue
cesses in England and France have been entire
failures over here, the great change in climatic
conditions preventing their development. Very
often they will not bloom at all here or, if
brought to flower. the result is so bad that it
does not pay to cultivate them. But this can
not be determined until after two years of trial
No prudent gardener would discard plant be-
cause it failed the first year. It must get acci-
mated. Then the development of the second
year may be just enough to encourage him to
give it third years trial. and, after all, it may
turn out to be useless. Out of hundred new
varieties imported there will be hardly more
than half dozen worth cultivation in this
country, or at least, in the eastern and middle
states But, If you want to know more about
that subject, you had better consult Gabriel
Marc of Woodside, who imports thousands of
roses every year, and what he and his son
Charles do not know about rose growing. no.
body in this country knows. He will not only
give you chapter of disappolntments, if you
want 1t, but one OF triumphs, and probably will
tell you of some coming roses. so entirely new
that even florists have not yet been allowed to
see them.'