Rose propagation

== Rose Propagation Methods ==


This article will focus on main principles of the propagation of the rose. Established [[roses]] are propagated by the following
methods: [[seeds]], [[layering]] and ''suckers''; [[cuttings]], [[budding]] and [[grafting]], the last three being the principal methods.

== Rose Layering ==


Many plants and some roses increase by layering, that is, throwing out a branch which becomes rooted and in turn sends out its branches to root themselves and carry out nature's work of increase. Layering is not practised to any great extent, as it is a longer
process than the others and requires not only more time to accomplish results, but also more space either in greenhouse or nursery.

Layering is now only used for some varieties which do not root well from cuttings. Ellwanger cites Persian Yellow as one of these.

It is a simple and easy operation, and is accomplished by bending down a rose cane of a growing plant, scientifically notching it with a knife (technically known as tongueing), and then putting the tongued portion into prepared ground, after which it is held in place by various methods. Roots are formed at the break and eventually the part so treated may be detached from the original plant,
and becomes itself a complete plant.

Pemberton in "Roses Then* History, Development and Cultivation," gives very clear and explicit instructions on layering.


== Rose Propagation and The Use of Suckers ==


Pemberton's description of suckers we quote as follows :

''"Many of the species, such as RUGOSA, ALPINA,
SPINOSISSIMA and LUCIDA, together with Provence
and Damask hybrids, etc., increase by throwing out
suckers, springing up at some distance from the
parent plant, and forming roots at the place where
they bend upwards. These rooted suckers, after
being separated from the plant, should be pruned
back to a foot or even less, and then treated as
ordinary plants."''


== Rose Cuttings ==


Cuttings are slips taken from plants which, when placed in sand and soil, grow roots of their own and become in turn rose plants, giving the same bloom as the plants from which they were cut. Very often they are given greenhouse care and while this is not necessary, it obtains, perhaps, surer and better results. In experimental work, cuttings have been carried so far that they have been made success-
fully even from rose leaves, although this method is of no practical use. No doubt many persons who have followed us to this point understand cuttings and have employed them not only in roses but in other plants, such as carnations and geraniums, which are propagated almost entirely by cuttings.

In their proper place (the greenhouse) cuttings as used in rose culture may be relied upon, but beyond this sphere their use is open to debate, as, in the opinion of nearly all the best authorities, they are not as satisfactory as budding. The main reason
for their failure is that many of our new varieties are weak growers and cannot of then 1 own accord win the fight for existence, even under favorable conditions. As conditions in our climate are most uncertain only the exceptionally hardy plant succeeds of itself on its own roots.

Cuttings are useful, however, when expense must be considered with certain of these hardy varieties. It would be easy for any one to make cuttings of his own, and this could be successfully done with the hardier kinds of roses, thereby saving the expense
of purchasing. If roses are purchased, we strongly recommend buying budded plants, as the slight extra outlay would be fully justified.

While there are many good articles on cuttings, we consider that Pemberton's is the best, as it treats of cuttings under glass and also cuttings in the open.




== Rose Budding ==

In budding roses a strong stock is secured and the variety selected is budded upon this stock, eventually becoming a part of it. The actual operation of budding is merely to cut off the dormant bud from the variety which it is desired to perpetuate and,
cutting a slit in the bark of the stock, to introduce the bud into the same. When the bud so transplanted becomes somewhat established, all growth above it is removed and the whole vitality of a proved stock is thrown into the bud, giving it the
nourishment which a tried constitution insures.


In England the two stocks most commonly used are MANETTI and BRIAR. In the case of roses with a preponderance of Hybrid Perpetual blood the Manetti stock is generally used; for those containing much Tea blood the Briar has been found the better stock.

A few growers in this country are trying Japanese Multiflora, and with some varieties secure stronger and better stock than that grown from the ordinary stocks as generally used. Sometimes Rugosa stock is used for budding and a very few roses do quite
well on it, the most noted of which is Molly Sharman Crawford.

Undoubtedly the ideal stock for all roses has not yet been discovered, and a great advance should be made in this most important section of rose culture.

In order to secure a perfect rose list, budding on different stocks should be tried. If cuttings only are employed, very many roses will not succeed as well for outdoor culture.

There are two objections to budded roses. First, they occasionally break off at the bud, but this has so seldom occurred with us in actual practice that it is not worth consideration. The second and main reason is that the stocks upon which the roses are
budded throw up shoots of their own below the bud, which, if left, take the entire nourishment of the roots and check the budded growth by crowding it out and taking its light and sunshine.

These shoots from below the bud may be very easily detected upon then- appearance, because they come up from the ground outside the plant and also because of their different habit of growth, containing, as they do, seven and sometimes nine leaves on each lateral, instead of three and five as in most budded varieties.

The foliage is of a much lighter shade of green than the shoots from the bud itself and its point of junction with the
plant is below the bud. It is very easily removed by carefully digging up the ground, cutting it off
with a knife at its union with the plant below the bud, and rubbing some earth over the cut. In
addition, this main reason is not a valid objection, because it only happens with about one per cent,
of the budded plants, and can even then be easily detected and the trouble removed. To keep this
percentage down, roses must be planted with the bud two to three inches below the surface of the
soil, as hereafter advocated. If planted less deeply they will throw a greater number of suckers.

Very often cuttings have only greenhouse growth when they are shipped to the purchaser. At best
they are generally propagated under glass and have not had much outdoor growth, whereas budded
plants are budded in the summer out-of-doors, and have even as yearlings a whole season's outside
growth before being sold.

We have tested the own root plants, as cuttings are called, and in one particular instance made the
following experiment which decided us once and for all as to the merits of the two methods.


OUTDOOR ROSE GROWING

One bed was made, and over fifty roses on their own roots and fifty budded roses were planted in it
side by side, all of old and established varieties, and, in the case of the own root plants, purchased from a
grower who advocates their use. At the end of the first summer the difference was plainly apparent
and was strongly in favor of the budded plants. At the end of two years there was no possible doubt
as to the result; the budded plants were far superior. Experiments with other roses have endorsed this
result, and budded roses are recommended for all outdoor work for the majority of roses contained in
our main list, whether Hybrid Teas, Hybrid Peppetuals, or Teas.

In the case of climbers and some few very strong growers no doubt the own root roses would give
good results, but as a working rule they cannot be recommended. In our garden are budded roses
originally planted in the autumn of 1900 and moved from our first home to our present place in 1907.
These plants are still strong and healthy and of the original lot less than two per cent, have died in over
thirteen years.

We know of one case where budded roses planted over thirty years ago are still flourishing, and this
certainly shows that their length of life is all that can be expected.


In our testing of new roses the great majority has been budded plants and the percentage of deaths has
naturally been greater in these new varieties than in established kinds. We have annually imported from
three hundred to a thousand roses of new varieties, and yet twenty plants a year would cover all the deaths
even of these new and untried kinds. Ordinarily, from one to two per cent, a year would more than
cover the deaths of varieties marked "A" and "B" hi our main list, under the column of "hardiness."

In other branches of horticulture budding and grafting have been tried with the greatest success;
for example, apples, pears and peaches give very much better results for the reason that the kind of stock desired is supplied. It does seem that a tried stock is better than a different stock with each plant, viz., its own.

Undoubtedly better stocks will be discovered for certain roses which do not do well on the regular stocks; but surely it is going backward to grow inferior roses on their own roots and be satisfied with them, rather than by experimenting to ascer-
tain the best stocks.

While all the better known rose books deal quite thoroughly with descriptions of budding, the "Nursery Book," by L. H. Bailey, should certainly be read by any one contemplating such work.


For many strong growing plants and trees, where perfect results are obtained on the stock of the plant itself, budding is not necessary. With strong growing roses amateurs can take cuttings easily and increase their number of plants.

Rose Grafting

Grafting is a modification of budding, and is a process which may give as good a result hi the end with some outdoor roses; but for the first year, after planting outside, the plant does not make as much progress, and our death-rate has been much
greater with grafted stock than with budded plants. Unfortunately grafts do not take very well on the Briar, therefore grafters use the Manetti which, as explained above, is not the best stock for Teas and Hybrid Teas.

Grafting is mostly used to increase new varieties which, if budded, would necessarily have to be
operated upon in the late summer, the bud not developing until the following spring; whereas, in grafting, a part of the plant desired to be propagated is grafted upon the stock selected and growth at once begins; this is a very much quicker operation,
but not so sure of success as budding for outdoor roses. Grafting requires great skill and is used to obtain quick results. Seedlings to be tested are often grafted and a verdict quickly arrived at.

There are numerous methods employed in grafting, but the principle is the same in all; the variety required is spliced on the stock and, as in budding, the strength of the stock all goes into the variety desired. Grafting roses is usually done under glass and requires
expert handling, both during the actual operation and thereafter.

The books mentioned for cuttings and budding give the best articles on grafting, in addition to which " Parsons on the Rose" contains good, clear and explicit information on all these subjects.


== Breeding New Rose Varieties ==


New varieties of roses are developed in two ways:

by sports and seedlings.


== SPORTS of Roses ==


Sports are purely a matter of chance, and occur
when any given variety shows a bloom or habit of
growth diff erent from the accepted plant. When this
occurs propagation of the wood by cuttings, budding
or grafting establishes the new variety.

As illustrations of sports, the two following are
well known and are changes from the parent stock
in the color of the bloom itself:

La France, color silver rose, sported with Paul &
Sons, near London, in 1888, and gave the Duchess
of Albany, called dark La France, a rich, deep pink.
This was propagated and Duchess of Albany is now
a well-established variety.

Camoens, pale rose color with the base of the
petals yellow, sported with Boytard, in 1907, and
the new rose was called Ecarlate, a brilliant scarlet.

With these two new varieties the habit of growth
of the plants remained practically the same as their
parent plrnts; it was only hi the color of the rose
that the change manifested itself.

In the past few years the old rose, Killarney, has
sported three tunes, giving Killarney Brilliant, a
rose of a deeper shade of pink; White Killarney,
a rose, as the name implies, of a beautiful white;
and Double Killarney, a rose of greater substance
in petallage than the parent stock from which it
sprang. These new roses will, no doubt, take their
places in the list if they do as well as the old estab-
lished Killarney, which there is every reason to
believe they will do.

Before so many hybrids were cultivated, and when roses were not grown to as great an extent as now, sports were naturally less frequent. Of course varieties which are crosses, such as the hybrids of today, are very much more likely to give different growth or different bloom than the old varieties,
which were not so far removed from the original species.

Changes in habit of growth occur as well as changes in bloom, and a great many of the Hybrid
Teas have produced sports which have much more of a climbing habit than the dwarf bush from which
such new varieties originated. The bloom in form and color is practically identical with the parent
stock, although its period of flowering is usually shorter and its bloom less profuse.

There is one very interesting illustration of a rose which sported, the new growth of which when propagated reverted to the original form of its parent stock. Heinrich Schultheis, a Hybrid Perpetual rose of deep, rosy pink, sported with Paul & Sons,
of London, and produced Paul's Early Blush, a light silvery pink. Again it sported with Alex. Dickson & Sons, in Ireland, and produced another silvery pink, known as Mrs. Harkness. Both of these new roses were perpetuated and became quite
popular before the Hybrid Teas came into general notice. In the year 1913 Dr. Robert Huey, of Philadelphia, still had plants of Paul's Early Blush and Mrs. Harkness. It was remarkable that specimens of both these plants partially reverted to the old form of Heinrich Schultheis, throwing up shoots with rose-colored blooms. If these had been propagated, some slight difference between them and
Heinrich Schultheis might have been shown, but as the color and form of these roses were practically
the same as specimens of Heinrich Schultheis growing in the same garden, the experiment was not tried.

Very often sports occur which are not noticed and of which advantage is not taken. Recently, while talking to the owner of a rose garden we were informed that one of her Killarney bushes had thrown out a red rose. There is a possibility that
a plant might in some way have been misplaced, but the grower in question was quite sure that the red rose was a Killarney and that on one side it gave a flower of different color. We told her to watch the plant very carefully the coming spring, as she might have the pleasant experience of being the introducer of a new variety.

We do not wish to imply from this that sports
are of frequent occurrence, for in all the years we
have grown roses, and notwithstanding all the care
we have lavished upon them, we have never had a
sport manifest itself.


== Rose Seedlings ==


Seedlings, as the name implies, come from seeds hybridized either by chance or by man's handiwork.

see [[Growing roses from seed]]




Nearly all the older rose growers gathered their heps containing the seeds in the autumn of each year
and planted great numbers of these in nursery rows, hoping to secure new varieties; in this manner a
great many of the Hybrid Perpetuals were discovered and introduced. However, of late years the commercial rose growers of Europe have hybridized different varieties of roses, and by careful selection and breeding for several generations are securing
their new varieties.

In Europe this work is maintained on a very large scale. Thousands upon thousands of seedlings
are raised each year, and only a very small percentage are of any practical use. In this country only
a few men have achieved any great success in introducing new varieties John Cook, of Baltimore,
Maryland; E. G. Hill, of Richmond, Indiana; M. H. Walsh, of Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Dr. Van
Fleet and W. A. Manda, of New Jersey. Cook introduced My Maryland and Radiance, and Hill
has given us quite a number of good roses, the best
perhaps for outdoor culture being General MacArthur, which is one of the finest all-round outdoor
red roses grown in America today. Walsh, Manda
and Van Fleet have been particularly successful in
developing new Hybrid Wichuraiana Walsh's most
notable being Excelsa, Hiawatha, Sweetheart and

Evangeline, all excellent additions and ranking with the best Wichuraiana climbers.

Following will be found a tabulated record of the
breeding of the main varieties in which the Hybrid
Perpetuals and Teas figure. It has not been ar-
ranged at all in conformity with the usual botanical
analyses of species and sub-species, but the informa-
tion given has been taken from such books as
Pemberton's and placed together so that the history
of the breeding of the different varieties may be
seen at a glance. There are several authorities
who have noted that the exact breeding of the
Hybrid Perpetuals is to some extent problematical.
The roses named as the Hybrid Perpetuals' im-
mediate ancestors are generally accepted as such,
but some few other varieties were used in the gradual
evolution of this class from the first Hybrid Per-
petual until the list was completed. At the present
time there are fewer Hybrid Perpetuals bred, as the
Hybrid Teas have entirely superseded them.

The work of hybridization is a most interesting
one, but unless carried out on a scientific scale it is
almost entirely a matter of chance whether or not
anything of value may be secured. No doubt any
one cultivating roses to a large extent would greatly
enjoy trying to introduce a new variety of his own
breeding.