Title: The American florist : a weekly journal for the trade
Identifier: americanfloristw40amer (find matches)
Year: 1885 (1880s)
Authors: American Florists Company
Subjects: Floriculture; Florists
Publisher: Chicago : American Florist Company
Contributing Library: UMass Amherst Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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rgog. The American Florist, 953
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ROSE MY MARYLAND, GROWN BY A. N. PIERSON CO., INC., CROMWELL, CONN. the upper side. Owing to the natural angle at which they grow the leaves will then stand almost or quite per- pendicular, the best position. The sand must be made very firm and the cuttings well firmed as they are in- serted. They should have more room than is generally given the tea roses, about 1% inches apart in the rows be- ing a good distance. As soon as a few rows are in give a thorough soaking of water and see that they are kept moist until rooted. The temperature of the sand should be 65° or thereabout, that of the house about 55°. In about five weeks the cuttings should be examined and will by then probably be rooted, though 40 days or even more sometimes is necessary, much depending on the time of year. As to this, growers who raise large numbers of plants for shipping trade begin propagating as early as the mid- dle of December and keep at it until the middle of March. But for home use or whei'e only a moderate number of plants are needed it is better to wait until after the turn of the year, say the middle of January. They will then root more freely and the young plants will be less likely to receive a check than if rooted earlier. The aim of the grower right through the time the cuttings are in the bench must be to keep the leaves from wilting and to do this plenty of water is needed and, if the weather should be bright, light shading is also necessary. These few details carefully carried out should in- sure a good batch of rooted cuttings. CABE OF YOUNG STOCK. As noted above from 35 to 40 days should be sufficient time to root the cuttings and the young plants may then be potted into 2-inch pots. A few days of nursing treatment after pot- ting, keeping the atmosphere around them a little close and lightly shading if bright, and the plants will be able to take care of themselves in an ordi- nary American Beauty temperature of say 00° at night with a crack of air on, except on the coldest nights. The success of the plants in the bench de- pends to a great extent upon how they are treated at this stage. Kept in a hot, moist house without plenty of air the plants will make very free and vigorous looking shoots and the inex- perienced grower may imagine he has a fine lot of stock. But the class of wood that is being made under such circumstances is not the kind that is needed. It is soft and later on will be attacked by black spot or some other trouble. The wood that experi- enced growers like to see is hard look- ing, short jointed and the leaves feel rustling to the touch. The plants may not be growing very rapidly but they are growing into money and preparing for a successful career. Even in the earliest stages, and all through the game American Beauty likes plenty of water, must have it in fact, but it is just as easy to over- water this as any other rose. Let the plants be looking for water before it is given and then give a thorough wa- tering. Provided they are carefully selected for size when standing, then the plants in the ordinary way will dry out fairly even but this is a matter for the grower on the spot and if he sees that certain plants or certain parta of the bench are drying out quicker than others he will water accordingly. But the grower who is never satisfied unless his plants are always wet will not make a success as a Beauty grower. An occasional day's drying is good for any plant and as natural as watering and unless they get it plants get into a soft condition and ready, like chil- dren who are pampered and kept in- doors, to take any disease that happens along. About six weeks in the small pots will be long enough for the plants to become well rooted and ready for a move. With stock from cuttings in- serted in January this will bring them ready in April and, if the benches can be spared at that time they may be planted a' once from the 2-inch pots, thus saving the work of shifting into 4-inch. Even if they get a little hard in the pots it will do no harm. They must not be pot-bound and starved or they will be checked and it will take weeks for them to get over it. But for small stock that is to be planted out right away it is a benefit rather than otherwise for them to "feel_their pots." If it is decided to repot then it should bo done before the plants get hard in thj pots or it will be difficult to keep the old ball of roots moist without saturating the new soil. By this it will be seen that it is necessary

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