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|THERE ARE live modes of propagating the rose,--by layers, by cuttings,
by budding, by grafting, and by suckers.
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This is perhaps, for the amateur, the most convenient and certain
method. The best season for layering is the summer, from the end of
June to the end of August; and, for some varieties, even later. The rose
which is to be multiplied should be in a condition of vigorous growth.
Loosen and pulverize the soil around it; and, if heavy and adhesive, add
a liberal quantity of very old manure mixed with its bulk of sharp
sand. The implements needed for the operation are a knife, a trowel,
and hooked wooden pegs. Choose a well-ripened shoot of the same season's
growth, and strip off the leaves from its base a foot or more up the
stalk; but, by all means, suffer the leaves at the end to remain. Bend
the shoot gently downward with the left hand, and insert the edge of the
knife in its upper or inner side six or eight inches from its base, and
immediately below a bud. Cut half way through the stem; then turn the
edge of the knife upward, and cautiously slit the stem through the
middle, to the length of an inch and a half, thus a tongue of wood, with
a bud at its end, will be formed. With the thumb and finger of the
left hand raise the upper part of the stem erect, at the same time by a
slight twist turning the tongue aside, steadying the stem meanwhile with
the right hand. Thus the tongue will be brought to a right angle, or
nearly so, with the part of the stem from which it was cut. Hold it in
this position with the left hand, while with the trowel you make a slit
in the soil just beneath it. Into this insert the tongue and bent part
of the stem to a depth not much exceeding two inches. Press the earth
firmly round them, and pin them down with one of the hooked pegs. Some
operators cut the tongue on the lower or outer side of the stem; but
this has a double disadvantage. In the first place, the stem is much
more liable to break in being bent; and, in the next place, the tongue
is liable to re-unite with the cut part, and thus defeat the operation.
When all is finished, the extremity of the shoot should stand out of
the ground as nearly upright as possible, and should by no means be cut
back,--a mistaken practice in use with some gardeners.
In a favorable season, most of the layers will be well rooted before the
frost sets in. If the weather is very dry, there will be many failures.
Instead of roots, a hard cellular substance will form in a ball around
the tongue. In the dry summer of 1864, the rose-layers were thus
"clubbed" with lumps often as large as a hen's egg; but cases like this
are rare.
In November, it is better in our severe climate to take up the rooted
layers, and keep them during winter in a "cold frame;" that is, a frame
constructed like that of a hot-bed, without the heat. Here they should
be set closely in light soil to the depth of at least six inches, and
covered with boards and matting; or they may be potted in small pots,
and placed in a frame or cellar.
Layers may be made in spring from wood of the last season's growth; but
laying the young wood during slimmer, as described above, is much to be
preferred.
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All roses may be propagated by cuttings; but some kinds strike root much
more readily than others. The hard-wooded roses, including the entire
family of the Hardy June roses, and especially the Mosses, are increased
with difficulty by cuttings. The Hybrid Perpétuais root more readily;
while the tender ever-blooming roses, including the Teas, Noisettes, and
Chinas, are propagated in this way with great ease.
Cuttings may be made from the ripened or the half-ripened wood. In the
case of roses, and of nearly all ligneous plants, cuttings made from the
ripe wood do not require bottom-heat, and are more likely to be injured
than benefited by it. On the other hand, cuttings of the soft or unripe
wood strike root with more quickness and certainty if stimulated by the
application of a gentle heat from below.
In propagating roses from the ripe wood, the cuttings must be made early
in autumn from wood of the same season's growth. The chances of success
will be increased if they are taken off close to the old wood with what
is called a "heel;" that is, with a very small portion of the old wood
attached. The heel should be trimmed smooth with a sharp knife: the
cuttings may be six or eight inches long. Strip off any leaves which may
still adhere to them, and plant them in rows, at a depth of about five
inches, in a cold frame. The soil should be very light, and thoroughly
drained: water it, to settle it, around the cuttings. On the approach of
frost, they should be protected with boards and mats, giving them air on
fine days during winter. In the spring, a white cellular growth called
a "callus" will have formed at the heel of each cutting, which, if the
process succeeds, will soon emit roots, and become a plant.
Propagation in summer from the half-ripe wood is a better and less
uncertain method. In June and July, immediately after the blossoms
wither, and before the rose has begun its second growth, cuttings should
be made of the flower-stems. Each cutting may contain two or three buds.
The lower leaves must be taken off; but the upper leaves must remain.
Trim off the stem smoothly with a sharp knife below the lowest bud, and
as near to it as possible without injuring it.
If the cuttings are taken off with a heel, as above described, the
chance of success will be greater. They may now be inserted at the depth
of an inch and a half around the edge of a small pot filled one-third
with broken crocks, and the remainder with a mixture of loam,
leaf-mould, and sharp sand. Now place them in a frame on the shady
side of a hedge or fence, water them to settle the soil, and cover them
closely with glass. Sprinkle them lightly every morning and night; and,
when moisture gathers on the inner surface of the glass, turn it over,
placing the dry side inward. If mould or decay attacks the cuttings,
wedge up the glass a little to give them air. In a week or two, they
will form a callus; after which they may be removed to a gentle hot-bed,
kept moderately close, and shaded from the direct sun. Here they will
quickly strike root, and may be potted off singly into small pots.
Another mode of propagation, and a favorite one with nursery-men, is
practised early in the spring. In this case, the cuttings are made from
forced roses, or roses grown on greenhouse rafters. Some propagators
prefer the wood in a very soft state, cutting it even before the flowers
are expanded. The cuttings may be placed in pots as in the former case,
or in shallow boxes or earthen pans thoroughly drained with broken
crocks. The soil should be shallow enough to allow the heel of the
cutting to touch the crocks. They are to be placed at once on a moderate
bottom-heat, covered closely with glass, and shaded from the direct rays
of the noontide sun. Their subsequent treatment is similar to that of
summer cuttings. They must be closely watched, and those that show signs
of mould or decay at once removed.
After the callus is formed, they will bear more air. When rooted, they
should be potted into small pots, and placed on a hot-bed of which the
heat is on the decline. Towards the end of May, when the earth is warmed
by the sun, they may be turned out of the pots into the open ground,
where they will soon make strong plants.
Many American nursery-men strike rose-cuttings in spring, in pure
sand, over a hot-bed or a tank of hot water, in the close air of the
propagating-house. They must be potted immediately on rooting, as
the sand supplies them with nothing to subsist on. We have seen many
hundreds rooted in this way with scarcely a single failure.
The management of difficult cuttings requires a certain tact, only to
be gained by practice and observation; and the gardener who succeeds in
rooting a pot of cuttings of the Moss Rose has some reason to be proud
of his success.
With respect to the relative value of roses propagated by the methods
above described, the most experienced cultivators are unanimous in the
opinion, that those raised from layers and from cuttings of the ripe
wood, without artificial heat, are superior in vigor and endurance to
those raised from the half-ripe wood with the stimulus of a close heat.
Unfortunately, the former method is so slow and uncertain when compared
with the latter, that nurserymen rarely employ it to any great extent;
and a good choice of roses on their own roots, raised without heat, is
sometimes difficult to find.
The following is a mode of propagation not often practised, but which is
well worthy of trial, as it is applicable to prunings which are usually
thrown away. The extract is from the "Gardener's Chronicle."
"The rose is as easily propagated by means of buds or eyes as the vine.
If your correspondent 'X' will take a strong shoot from almost any kind
of rose in a dormant state, and with a sharp knife cut it into as many
pieces as there are good eyes on the shoots, the pieces not being more
than one inch long, taking care to have the eye in the centre of the
piece, he will doubtless succeed. One-third of the wood should be cut
clean off from end to end at the back of the eye, just as you would
prepare a vine eye. In preparing the cutting-pans, it is most essential
to put a good quantity of broken potsherds in the bottom, beginning with
large pieces, and finishing with others more finely broken: then mix a
quantity of good loam, leaf-soil, and sand, in equal proportions; rub it
through a fine sieve, and fill the pans to within one inch of the top,
pressing down the soil moderately firm. After that, put in the eyes in
a leaning or slanting position, pressing them firmly into the soil with
the thumb and finger; taking care to keep the thumb on the bottom end of
the cutting, to prevent the bark from being injured. After the eyes are
put in, give the pan two or three gentle raps on the bench; then put
half an inch of silver or clean river sand on the top, water with a fine
rose, and plunge the pans in a nice bottom heat of say sixty degrees,
covering the surface over with moss to prevent the soil from getting
dry: they will not require any more water for a week or ten days. The
moss should be carefully removed as soon as the young shoots begin to
push through the sand. In three weeks from that time, the roses will
be fit for potting off into large sixty-sized pots. They should then be
placed in a temperature of seventy degrees, when they will soon repay
the care bestowed on them. I, however, prefer grafting on the Manetti
stock. I grafted a lot in a dormant state seven weeks ago: they are now
nice plants, and will be in bloom by May."--_J. Willis, Oulton Park,
Cheshire_.
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This mode of propagation is attended with great advantages and great
evils. A new or rare rose may be increased by it more rapidly and surely
than by any other means; while roses of feeble growth on their own
roots will often grow and bloom vigorously when budded on a strong and
congenial stock. On the other hand, the very existence of a budded rose
is, in our severe climate, precarious. A hard winter may kill it down to
the point of inoculation, and it is then lost past recovery; whereas a
rose on its own roots may be killed to the level of the earth, and yet
throw up vigorous shoots in the spring. Moreover, a budded rose requires
more attention than the cultivator is always willing to bestow on it.
An ill-informed or careless amateur will suffer shoots to grow from
the roots or stem of the stock; and, as these are always vigorous, they
engross all the nourishment, and leave the budded rose to dwindle or
die; while its disappointed owner, ignorant of the true condition of
things, often congratulates himself on the prosperous growth of his
plant. At length he is undeceived by the opening of the buds, and the
appearance of a host of insignificant single roses in the place of the
Giant of Battles or General Jacqueminot.
Budding, however, cannot be dispensed with, since, in losing it, we
should lose the most effectual means of increasing and distributing
the choicest roses. The process consists in implanting, as it were, an
undeveloped leaf-bud, of the variety we wish to increase, in the bark
and wood of some other species of rose. The latter is called the stock,
and it should be of a hardy and vigorous nature. Two conditions are
essential to the process. The first is, that the bark of the stock will
"slip;" in other words, separate freely from the wood. The second is,
that the rose to be increased should be furnished with young and sound
leaf-buds in a dormant state. These conditions are best answered
in summer and early autumn, from the first of July to the middle of
September. During the whole of this period, the sap being in active
motion, the bark separates freely from the wood, while there is always
a supply of plump and healthy buds on shoots of the same year's growth.
The only implement necessary is a budding-knife. The operator should
also provide himself with strings of bass-matting, moistened to make
them pliant. Instead of the bass, cotton-wicking is occasionally used.
Cut well-ripened shoots of the variety to be increased, provided with
plump and healthy buds. In order to prevent exhaustion by evaporation
from the surface of the leaves, these should be at once cut off;
leaving, however, about half an inch of the leaf-stalk still attached to
the stem. Insert the knife in the bark of the stem half an inch above a
bud, and then pass it smoothly downward to the distance of half an inch
below the bud, thus removing the latter with a strip of bark attached. A
small portion of the wood will also adhere. This may be removed; though
this is not necessary, and is attended with some little risk of pulling
out with it the eye, or vital part, of the bud. Now place the bud
between the lips while you take the next step of the process. This
consists in cutting a vertical, slit in the bark of the stock. This
done, cut a tranverse slit across the top of the vertical one. Both
should be quite through the bark to the wood below; then, with the
flat handle of the budding-knife, raise the corners of the bark, and
disengage it from the wood sufficiently to allow of the bud being
slipped smoothly into the crevice between the wood and bark of the
stock. Next apply the edge of the knife to the protruding end of the
bark attached to the bud, and cut it smoothly off immediately over
the tranverse slit in the bark of the stock. The bud is now adjusted
accurately in its place, the overlapping bark closing neatly around
it. Now tie it above and below pretty firmly with repeated turns of the
bass-matting, and the work is done. It must be remembered, that, to be
well done, it must be quickly done; and it is better to insert the bud
on the north or shady side of the stock.
The bud and the stock will soon begin to grow together. After a week or
two they should be examined, and the tie loosened. If the bud is put
in early in the season, it may be made to grow almost immediately
by cutting off the ends of the growing shoots of the stock, and thus
forcing sap towards the bud. As the bud grows, the stock should be still
further shortened, and all the shoots growing below the bud should be
removed altogether.
Budded stocks require in this country, at least when the buds are
dormant, a protection against the winter. Where there are but few, oiled
paper, or something of' a similar nature, may be tied over the bud as
a shelter from snow, rain, and sun; but, when there are many, this is
impossible, and the stocks may be taken up, and "heeled" close together
in a dry soil under a shelter of boards and mats. "Heeling" is merely a
temporary planting.
In the following spring, the stocks may be cut off to within an inch
of the bud, and then planted where they are to remain. When the bud
is inserted near the ground,--which in our climate should always be
done,--the stock should be planted in such a manner that the bud is a
little below the level of the earth. To this end, the stock should be
set in a slanting position in the hole dug for it; the bud, of course,
being uppermost, and about an inch below the level of the edge of the
hole: then the hole should be partially filled in. When the bud has
grown out to the height of six or eight inches, the hole may be filled
altogether. No part of the stock will now be seen above the earth. By
this means, the point of junction of the stock and the bud is protected
from the cold of winter and the heat of summer, and the rose will live
longer and thrive better than where the stock is exposed. In many cases,
the rose will throw out roots of its own above its junction with the
stock, and thus become in time a self-rooted plant.
There are two kinds of stocks in common use at the present time for
out-door roses. One is the Dog Rose, a variety growing wild in various
parts of Europe; the other is the Manetti Rose, a seedling raised by the
Italian cultivator whose name it bears. There can be no doubt, that, of
the two, the Manetti is by far the better for this climate. It is very
vigorous, very hardy, easily increased by layers or cuttings of the ripe
wood, and free from the vicious habit of the Dog Rose, of throwing out
long under-ground suckers. We would by no means say that it will not
throw up an abundance of shoots from the roots if allowed to do so; but
these shoots are easily distinguished by a practised eye from those of
the budded rose. They may be known at a glance by the peculiar reddish
tint of the stem, and by the shape and the deep glossy hue of the
leaves.
They must be removed as soon as seen, not by cutting them off, but by
tearing them off under ground, either by hand if possible, or with the
help of a forked stick, which, pressed strongly into the earth, slips
them off at their junction with the root.
It cannot be denied that many kinds of roses, budded low on the Manetti
stock, will grow with a vigor, and bloom with a splendor, which they do
not reach on their own roots, and which will often repay the additional
labor which they exact. We once planted in the manner above described
a strong Manetti stock containing a single bud of the Hybrid Perpetual
Hose,---Triomphe de l'Exposition. In the September following, it had
thrown up a stem with several branches, the central shoot rising to the
height of six feet and a half, and bearing on its top the largest and
finest blossom we have ever seen of that superb variety. Some roses,
however, will not grow well on the Manetti. Others, again, can scarcely
be grown with advantage in any other way, refusing to strike root from
layers, and often failing when the attempt is made to root them from
cuttings even of the soft wood. Some, even when rooted, remain feeble
and dwarfish plants; while, if a bud from them is implanted in a good
Manetti stock, it would grow to a vigorous bush in one season. To sum
up, we would say, that, for the amateur, nine roses out of ten are
better on their own roots, while there are a few which can only be grown
successfully, budded on a good stock.
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All the evil that can be spoken of budded roses is doubly true of
grafted roses; while the advantages which the former can claim are
possessed in a less degree by the latter. The reason is, simply, that,
in the case of the budded rose, the junction between the stock and
foreign variety is commonly more perfect than in the case of the grafted
rose. Indeed, it would not be worth while to graft roses at all, were it
not for the fact that grafting can be practised at times when budding
is impossible. This is because it is indispensable, in budding, that the
sap of the stock should be in full motion; whereas, in grafting, it may
be at rest.
There are innumerable modes of grafting; but, for the rose, the simplest
form of what is called "whip-grafting" is perhaps the best. In the end
of winter, or at the beginning of spring, take young well-rooted plants
of the Ma-netti stock, having stems not much larger than a quill.
Beginning very near the root, shave off with a sharp knife a slip of the
bark, with a little of the wood, to the length of something more than
an inch; then shave down the lower end of the graft until it fits
accurately the part of the stock whence the bark and wood have been
pared off. The essential point is, that the inner bark of the graft
should be in contact with the inner bark of the stock. When the two are
fitted, bind them around with strings of wet bass-matting. Now plant the
stock in a pot, setting it so deeply, that its point of junction with
the graft is completely covered with soil. Place the pots thus prepared
on a gentle hot-bed, and cover them closely with glass. When the shoots
from the graft are well grown out, give them air by degrees to harden
them.
A better way is to pot the stocks early in autumn, so that they may
become well established. In this case, it will be necessary to cover
the junction of the stock and graft with grafting wax or clay in such
a manner as to exclude all air; then plunge the pots in old tan over a
gentle hot-bed, so deeply that the grafted part is completely covered,
the ends only of the grafts being visible. This keeps them in an equable
heat and moisture. The subsequent treatment is the same as in the former
case. As the stock has acquired a hold on the earth of the pot, or is,
as the gardeners express it, "established," the graft will grow much
more quickly, and make a strong blooming plant the same season.
In all grafting, whether of roses or other woody plants, it is necessary
that the buds of the graft should be completely dormant. In the stock,
on the other hand, a slight and partial awakening of the vital action at
the time the graft is put on seems rather beneficial than injurious.
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[Illustration: 8086]
In this mode of increasing roses, Nature, rather than the cultivator,
may be said to do the work of propagation. Many sorts of roses throw out
spontaneously long underground stems, from which roots soon issue, and
which soon throw up an abundance of shoots above ground. When these
suckers, as they are called, are separated from the parent, and planted
apart, they make a strong growth, but rarely form plants so symmetrical
as those raised from cuttings or layers.
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