The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-05
ROSES In WINTER.
Americans Beat the English I'm Their
Artificial Cultivation.
New York Evening Sun.

plants and flowers that adorn the windows
of the average florists store in this city
are far in advance of anything seen in
the London or other European flower shops.
This applies more particularly to roses than
to any other kind of flower.
The rose is the emblem of Great Britain
in the summer, but it can truthfully be
said that no such specimens can be seen
at Covent Garden Market as are to be
found in a stroll up Broaway in the win
ter 1t is a triumph that is not generally
appreciated, but the fact remains that our
florists can beat the Englishmen in the
artificial culture of roses.
England is the home of the rose. The
climate is peculiarly adapted to outdoor cul-
ture The American winter is too severe
and the summer is far too hot and the air
too dry to allow roses to grow naturally
to any state of perfection outdoors.
The skill of the grower comes into ques-
ton when he has to overcome the unfavor-
able conditions of weather and climate.
He resorts to artificial means entirely to
produce good roses.
In sheltered valley on the banks Of the
Hudson at almost an equal distance be-
tween Sing Sing and Scarborough is one
Of the largest rosarums in the country. 1t
contains upward of five acres of rose trees,
all under glass.
To the superficial observer, one not
really interested in the cultivation of roses,
| a glance through the vast expanse of green
| house is not nearly SO pleasing as would
| at first sight appear.
There are thousands of roses shipped
| daily from the rosarium to this city, They
are sent to market every morning, and yet
| the uninitiated as he stalks through the
houses sees only few buds here and there
| on the sturdy bushes. This is easily &C
| counted for. A soon as the buds begin TO
| expand they are cut and put into cold,
| dark room. This hardens the cut blooms
| and makes them keep longer. The blooms
also expand better and seem to gather
| in strength when cut.
The prettiest feature of the business is
this dark, cold room. The half-blown roses
an expert. They are :" divided into different
| grades, and the varieties are kept separate.
The latter task is not an over-dittcult one,
as a house is given up almost exclusively TO
| one variety, and each house Is in charge of
| one man.
The roses are usually kept in the dark.
| cold room about three days. Then they are
| reSorted and sent to market.
The utmost care is observed by the ex-
| pert to send only perfectly sound blooms
| to market. The classes or grades are
formed upon the size and conforma ton of
| the flowers.
The biggest are as matter of course the
4
| conformation. The main part of the busi-
ness rests, however, with the grower. No
one would for moment imagine that the
| roses with which the florists windows are
| profusely decorated throughout the chill
| winter months require the almost ceaseless
| care and attention that they do. In the
| frSt place, the winter rose is not grown
| In day. The rose tree that is used for
| forcing into winter bloom is planted in May
1t is sturdy yearling when it is planted
out Only the strongest and most vigorous
| plants are selected for this purpose.
| The system of budding once universal is
now obsolete In former years roses were
| budded on Manetti brier stems In this
| way the rose gathered strength and hardi-
| ness from the brier. OF late varieties have
sprung into existence that are stronger than
| the orier, and now roses are grown ex-
| clusively on their own stems in this coun-
| try. This is the result of years of patient
| labor in hybridizing and fertilization
| The greenhouses that built for rose
| growing differ from other houses. They
are usually span-roofed, and every device
possible is resorted 10 for securing plenty
| OF light and air. 1t may be mentioned here
| that the success of the American grower is
largely attributable to the bright. clear
| sunShiny weather that prevails throughout
! the winter months. 1t is a rare occurrence
| for the sun to shine in winter in England,
while in this country everybody is surprised
| II the air is not bright ana clear five days
| out of seven. But light is not everything
by any manner of means.
The soil has lot TO do with the plant
| Then. again, the arrangement of the rose
| bed and that of the houses have to be taken
| into consideration. Mr.. A. NJ. Pierson and
| his able lieutenant, John Henshaw, have a
| bed of their own invention.
| 1t differs from the others in use because IL
| mas Dr1ck or tiled bottom. This gives the
bed perfect drainage, which is highly essen
tial to the successful cultivation of indoor
| roses. These beds are arranged in avenues.
and extend the full length of the green
| houses.
The beds are built on iron uprights THEW
are i've feet wide and contain five inches of
| son, rms SOIL Is made up of chopped turf
made rich by natural fertilizers only. The
| year before 1t is used. No artificial fertil-
| iZers are ever employed. They have all
| been tried and abandoned
The bushes of the mere sticks that are
destined to become rose bushes are plant
ed out In rows. They require almost end
less attention throughout the summer
| months. The temperature is not of any
great moment until the cold weather sets
In. The utmost care must be taken to pre-
vent the plants from suffering for want
| or water Then again they are liable to
burn in the glare of the summer sun This
has to be provided against. They are
| syringed Just before sunrise and shortly
before sunset every day This is to feed
the foliage and make it disagreeable for
the red spider, thrip, the green fly and
stems and foliage of the rose
| The real work of forcing begins in Oc-
tober Then fixed temperature is decid-
| ed upon This is seventy-five TO eighty de-
grees in the day time and about fiftv-six
| degrees at night. There is no variation from
| tDlS OTuer throughout the winter. The
emies OF rose trees are just as energetic
in the winter as In the summer The
( green fly used to be the worst He has
a decided aversion to tobacco.
AT one time there was only one way of
getting rid OF him, and that was by fumiga-
ton with tobacco leaf. This however ala
net suit some varieties of roses. They Were
too delicate, and it was case of ruin to the
rose crop to save the plant, as the youne
buds shriveled up. This difficulty is nov
| overcome by Strewing tobacco stems on tho
pathways between the rose beds Since this
pan has been adopted the green f1y has
| disappeared. Another enemy in winter Is
miidew. This is caused by too much moist
ure in the atmosphere, and IL Ii once gets a
fair start the plants attacked are rendered
worthless in very short time
| The professional grower was at his wits
ends for years TO discover what to do tc
| prevent this. IL he did not syringe tbe
plants regularly "Trip and red spiders made
their appearance on the under metals of the
rose leaves. If anything these pests wer,
worse than mildew. However the grove,
OF to-day does not bother himself about an,
OF these little worries. He simply puts sons
hover or sulphur on the steam pipes anf
that settles the mildew. The thrip and red
spider are kept from doing mischief by the
free use OF tepid water overhead on sun.
shiny days.
The. hardest rose to grow, and one tina,
pays least OF all, is the best and most popu.
lar rose IN the market. 1t is the American
Beauty. "A plant of this variety can gen
orally be depended upon to yield fifteer
blooms IN season. These should sell fol
1 ic