The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1911-06-29
ROSES
WHEN BLOOMS SHED

College at Pullman, is when the blos-
SONS fall. The article, extracts from
which appear below, appeared in
Better Fruit:
Roses may be propagated in a
variety of ways, viz, by seeds, cut
tings, layerings, budding and grating.
But as these notes are written for the
guidance of amateurs, | would say.
better leave the raising from seed to
the professional rosarian, and the bud
ding and grating to the nurseryman.
This leaves you the two methods, cut
ting and layering, which two are the
easiest.
First let us take up the method of
propagating by cuttings. In all the
old works on rose culture instructions
something like the following will be
found: "In the autumn take well
ripened wood six or eight inches long,
with a heal if possible, and insert in
the ground five or six inches deep; the
best soil is deep sandy loan; protect
during the winter: the following
autumn the roses will be rooted and
ready to transplant. This is the old
fashioned way. and while not bad
way to increase your stock Of roses,
yet it is not modern. There is progress
being made even in the matter of rose
propagation.
Many times | have had ladies say to
me: 81 have no luck propagating
roses" There is no luck in the matter.
Success is bred of an understanding of
the matter in hand, so listen Cuttings
of all semi-hard-wooded plants, and
this includes the rose, root best and
quickest when the plant is most active,
or rather | ought to say. roots best
when the cell-building material is most
abundant. This stage is reached in the
rose at the time the plants have
bloomed and are dropping their petals.
This, then, is the time to take the
cuttings, right in the seight of sum-
mer. Especially is this true of such
kinds as the teas and hybrid teas,
which we now have in such variety,
and which are so popular. Let us sup
pose, then, that you have dozen
plants comprising several varieties
and that you desire to increase the
stock of each. If you only wish to put
in dozen or two cuttings secure a
six-inch or eight-inch flower pot, and
after having put a wad of moss to
cover the hole in the bottom-this for
drainage fill the pot to the brim with
perfectly clear river sand, or bank
sand will do it it be free from soil
pack the sand tightly in the pot with
potato masher or piece of scantling,
then thoroughly water it: now the pot
is ready for the cuttings. Morning is
the best time to do the work foliage
will be crisper in the morning and the
cuttings less likely to wilt. There are
several ways to make cutting, but
the best way is to secure cutting
with a heal and two or three eyes.
Notice that only part of the foliage
is removed. If you remove all of it
you destroy the lungs of the plant. On
the other hand. if you leave it all on
Transportation will be so rapid that your
cutting may suffer. Some strike
happy medium and cut off half the
foliage. OF the five lobes on a rose
leaf usually cut off three, leaving the
two at the base. Cuttings may be
made with a sharp knife, or better
still, with pair of small, sharp prun-
ing shears. Scissors are not good for
the work, as they bruise the cell too
much. A safe rule is to make three
eye cutting. Eyes as here referred to
are leaf buds in the axles of the leaves
at the base, which goes under the
sand and two above. A longer cutting
in tea roses is waste of wood a
shorter one makes a somewhat weaker
plant. If the wood be booming shoot
discard all the wood except the three
eyes nearest the base. Your cuttings
made, you are ready to insert them in
the sand, and for this purpose you need
dibble, which is sharp-pointed
stick, or forty-penn nail will answer
just as we'll. Dibble the cuttings in
the sand about two inches deep and
about two inches apart. AS you pro-
ceed press each cutting firmly in the
sand with finger and thumb. Your pot
or box filled, water thoroughly, label
the variety and cover with a celery
glass, bell glass or large goblet, or
in the case of a box, cover with a
large pane of glass and stand in a
north window, kitchen window spre-
ferred for there the cuttings will
always be under close observation.
Every morning remove the cover from
the cuttings and wash the glass in
clean water. This gives the cuttings
the necessary fresh air. Every second
morning the sand in which the cuttings
are ought to be watered with tepid
water-not too much-just enough so
the water runs out at the bottom
little, and if the cuttings are sprayed
overhead it will do no harm. In fif-
teen to twenty days the cuttings will
begin to callous, i. e., bulbous
growth will form on the base of the
cutting. This stage will be made
manifest by an altered appearance in
the cutting, the leaves will be more
erect, crisper and greener. and the
plant will appear to be growing. In
about thirty days most varieties will
be rooted. However, some kinds re-
quire thrity-five to forty days.
When it is known the cuttings have
rootets half an inch or more long then
it is time to pot them off ard this is a
job that requires considerable care,
lest you destroy most Of the roots.
The best compost in which to pot these
baby plants is good, rich garden soil,
but there must be no rank manure or
strong fertilizer in it. The soil should
be passed through quarter-inch sieve,
or at least made as fine as possible
with the hands; two or two and one
half-inch pots are large enough to re-
ceive the rooted cuttings, and after all
are potted they may be put on tray
of damp sand and put back on the
kitchen window sill, inside, or, better
still, under a light of glass or in a
cold frame on the north of the house,
outside. They will require to be care
fully, yet thoroughly, watered after
potting, and should have no more
water for a week, during which time
they must be kept from sun and air as
much as possible. After a week the
little plants will have established
themselves in the new soil, and from
now on may have moge air, water and
exposure, until they do not need to be
covered at all.
Now, please remember, there is
nothing arbitrary in these instructions.
If you have not got flower pots and
bell glasses you may use box and a
pane Of glass, and the whole work NAV