VOL. XL.
PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 27, 1921
NO. 9
Rose
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BY DeWITT HARRY.
PORTLAND Is not called the Rose
City on account o the number
of roses that are grown here,
but for the reason that this locaity
fas been found ideal for the propa
gation of the Queen of Flowers. Soil
and climatic conditions are such that
the rose reaches Us highest develop
ment here and the quality of the
Portland rose is unequaled. Rose cul
ture as practiced here is highly In
teresting and one of the most desir
able phases of it is the fact that the
growers are nearly all amateurs,
that the inhabitants of the city, al
most as a whole, are worshipers at
the shrine of this, the most beauti
ful of flowers. Dean Hole and other
authorities early made the discovery
that the most successful grower of
rcses was the person who had flow
ers in his heart and that the ideal
rose could only be raised by one who
loved her well, by one who not only
possessed the glowing admiration
the enthusiasm and passion, but
coupled with this the tenderness and
watchfulness. It is to these that
the rose responds, beautiful roses in
the garden come to those with beauti
ful roses in the heart.
In talking with nearly any of the
men and women who have made ;
success of the Portland rose it i
easily ascertained that they are sim
pie persons who view their roses as
children and lavish on them all man
rer of care. They are the ones to
get results, a superficial interest
merely will not starve. Your true lover
of roses will not hurt a plant and
ny cruel treatment to one of their
pets is resented. They hold, and
rightfully it would seem, that plants
have sensations just like people and
that any grievous hurt is resented. In
this respect much avoidable damage
is done to the tender queen of Port
land's gardens about this time each
year by improper methods of pruning.
Pruning has so many angles that it
is impossible to set them all forth.
Indeed, Hon. Frederick V. Holman,
the premier authority on rose culture
in this, the capital of the realm, states
that while- there are a few general
rules, the exceptions are what really
count.
Specialists Are Successful.
"It is somewhat like the case of the
German savant." said Sir. Holman in
discussing this most important sub
ject to rose growers. "He was a spe
cialist and as he lay on his death
bed he called in his children and
warned them to profit by his example.
"My children, I attempted too much
in this life, so be warned by my ex
ample. . I took up the dative case as
a life work when I should have con
fined myself to one subdivision.' Or
it might be better illustrated by the
case of the southern mammy who
made a most delicious cake. When
asked for her recipe she said: 'Well,
you just take enough eggs and then
beat them long enough and then you
pour them in with enough flour after
you have worked in the right amount
of shortening and then after you have
it all mixed jest right you place it in
an oven at jest the right heat and
ccok it until it is done.' "
Now, Mr. Holman would have us
believe and the rest of the experts
are aligned with him that each rose
requires separate treatment, and this
has been proved to be the case. No
two roses should be treated alike, in
their estimation, though there are a
certain number of general rules laid
down that can be put into use in
r.early every case. . They explain that
no two gardens are subject to the
same conditions. The soil, drainage,
light and sunshine and the hardiness
of the bushes themselves and the va
rieties differ and all of these changes
must be met with treatment destined
to produce the proper results. The
grower must know Just what is want
ed, whether the result to be sought
is an exhibition rose or a profusion
of blooms or a decorative scheme, and
then persevere. One thing that must
be borne In mind is that it is diffi
cult to correct mistakes, especially In
pruning, for when the bush Is once
cut wronj. or "butchered." as the true ,
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lovers put it, the damage is done, and
unless a prolific growth is then the
result the wrong is done.
Pruning Is Paradoxical.
This subject of pruning, to the un
initiated, seems one of paradoxes, for
your skilled master of the pruning
shears goes about his work in a to
tally incomprehensible manner to
many. As it seems it should be the
ambition of all who are eo fortunate
as to be residents here to at least
have a fair representation of roses in
their gardens, especially a few of
the hardy official roses of the city
the Caroline Testouts it is impera
tive that they have at least a smat
tering of the truly important opera
tion of pruning. It Is impossible to
estimate how many roses are set
back or even ruined by improper care
just at this time, but this wrong
treatment or even neglect just at the
time the rose is in need of skillful
attention unquestionably results in
Portland's annual festival being de
prived of thousands of blooms. There
fore It is the aim of most of the
Rosarians and rose culturists to dis
seminate their knowledge as much
as possible so that all may profit.
and that the 1921 and ensuing festi
vals will be assured of plenty of
flowers. A great deal of the pleasure
of rose growing is lost through im
proper attention at one or the other
stages of growing the producing
plants, arid the happy gardener is the
one who has a profusion of blooms
when wanted. It is surprising what
almost any rose will do for Its owner
under ideal growing conditions that
are found here, always providing it is
given skillful attention.
Of course, it is impossible to prune
rcses without having the proper
equipment, and your careful amateur
will always see that his shears are of
the best, those with two cutting edges
be'ng held by most to be the nearest
approach to the ideal, as it is impera
tive to kee'p from bruising the plant
when engaged in cutting. The real
ideal cut is made with a sharp knife,
but it stands to reason that few
amateur gardeners, unless they have
gained their experience on the stage
or at some special calling, are skilled
enough to prune by this system.
Therefore it is necessary to get Bhears
of some kind that will not crush off
the branch but that will make a
clean, healthy cut that will heal
easily.
Operation la Tedlona.
In order to do a proper job on a
rose bush it is necessary to get right
down to work, close to the scene of
operations. To do 'this, the pruner
must kneel, and when it comes to do
ing this all day long in mud and soft
soils it becomes an exceedingly tedi
ous operation. One Portland rose
grower, who has carried away medal
after medal for his exhibition blooms,
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has 600 bushes and he will not let any
outsider touch any of them, doing
all of the pruning himself. This op
eration takes him about six weeks
and each rose gets that separate
treatment to which it is entitled and
te which it responds gloriously. He
uses a pair of heavy knee pads made
of soft cork fiber in the inside, the
outside being covered with' rubber
cloth r.nd the whole held in place by
.hongs. By placing a thin piece of
heard on the ground first he' is able
to do a good day's work without ex
cessive tiring and to gt his bushes
ready in time. It is not possible to
grow roses without giving them any
care and there is nothing so uncome
ly as a fine rose bush that has been
allowed to run to growth unre
strained. Study your favorite's -habits
and handle them so that they will
produce the blooms that they have in
the easiest manner and not strain
themselves, for a rose, like a human.
can sustain permanent Injury through
too prolific or too stunted growth.
Botanicaily the rose belongs to the
same family as the apple and it is
found that apples thrive wherever
roses will grow, though roses will
not reach perfection in all climates
that are good apple producers. This
should be borne in mind when prun
ing, it would seem, as the basic les
son, for when the sap begins to flow
in either the rose or apple, or any
of their relatives, it must first go
to the top of the plant and then re
turn. AH of their, life is on the out
side, or in other words they are what
is called exogenous, which is to say
their growth from year to year is
by the addition of layers outside
the "previous bark. The bark of a
rose is like the skin of a human,
with this difference, that it is also
the veins, as it bears the life-giving
fluid or sap. Therefore it is evident
that the exterior of the rose Is very
susceptible to abuse, such as bruises
or extremes of weather. Here it be
hooves the wielder ft the pruning
shears to take care to .see that the
work is done in such a manner that
the sensitive organism of the plant
will not sustain too severe a shock
and that it will be cut in such a
manner that its wounds will heal.
Pruning Time Now Here.
Time to prune varies. Amateur
gardeners warn against the practice
of doing this highly essential oper
ation at any and all times. If there
was any assurance that the winter
season would be an open one, that is
without any killing frosts, it might
be desirable to prune in the fall, but
their consensus of opinion is that
the early spring is the right time.
After all chances of a frost have
passed is the time they recommend,
and most of them will step forth
with their tools this week or soon
thereafter. As an illustration of the
manner of sap flowing in the rose j
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Beautiful Roses Come to Those Who Understand and
- Have Beautiful Thoughts
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and cherry they tell of how the best
fruit on the cherry trees is that near
the top of the tree or on the ex
tremity of the branches Carrying
the simile to the rose ifwill be found
that the best roses are those that
t:ossom in the same relative position
as do the best cherries. In other
words, the sap flows from the roots
to the extremities, of the plant and
then travels back and spreads the
remaining nourishment through the
other portions of the plant. This is
the reason for pruning, so that the
i:fe-giving sap will not find it neces
sary to make too long a journey, so
that it will attain its object as soon
as possible and nurture the plant it
self and the resultant blooms instead
of a vast amount of shoots and greens
that are of no real consequence and
that, if not controlled, make too much
work for the roots and in time will
strangle the plant's life.
Here wiii aiso be seen the applica
tion of the rule, seemingly paradox
ical, of pruning a strong rose spar
ingly and one weak from age or
other conditions close. If the re
sultant flower is wanted for exhi
bition purposes, that is if it is the
aim to produce a few blooms as near
perfect and as large as possible, the
bush must be cut close. If the
grower wants a mass of flowers, de
sires to have bouquets for the table,
a yard filled with perfume and color
and plenty of flowers for friends,
then the plant should be pruned so
that it has enough stalk left to pro
duce voluminously. In all of these
general rules the special exceptions
must be put in operation. Thus there
is the weak rose that cannot be ex
pected to produce the mass of bloom,
it is an impossibility. Then it is bet
ter to try for a few fairly perfect
roses than to sacrifice the plant alto
gether and only have a scattering of
blooms among a thicket of leaves.
In any case the life of the plant must
be conserved or it will fail to pro
duce at all.
In the matter of climbers, it is the
accepted custom nowadays not to
prune too heavily, but rather to thin
out the unnecessary shoots. It takes
an expert to do this and in almost
any case the real simon-pure ama
teur had better get some expert ad
vice from one who is old in the game
before attempting the first work in
the garden. While it is not the in
tention to go into soils or other kin
dred subjects of rose growing, the
owner of the garden must realize
tl at it is impossibla.-to produce beau
tiful roses in ample numbers unless
tiiere has been some provision made
for their nourishment. No matter
how strong is the plant set out or
how much care is given in selecting
the roses, they cannot be expected to
turive unless " they are given the
proper bed and food. Roses are like
children in this respect and it might
be said that in Portland the oldmaid
of the comic papers with her pet cat
or dog is unknown, as here she has
her roses.
No amateur must expect to step
right in and make a success of prun
ing; a certain amount of practice is
essential. The National Rose society
of England issues to its members. a
handbook on rose pruning as well as
another volume containing a list of
roses and giving general rules for the
treatment of the many varieties.
Their instructions, compiled by a
committee of members, are looked on
as the rose bible by most rosarians.
They point out the difference between
the rose as a plant and the ordinary
fee and advise growers to carefully
observe the growth of their treas
ures from year to year and be gov
erned in their pruning operations by
what they see of the characteristics
of the bush. An unpruned rose either
when growing wild or in a garden
will be found to flower well on the
strong shoots on the second year of
their growth and then, in a year or
sc, the shoot begins to get weak at
the extremity and another strong
shoot will start from lower down on
the parent stalk or even from the
root of the plant and absorb the ma
jority of the sap, which will even
tually starve out the original shoot.
This continues and the newcoming
shoots, in turn, starve out their pre
decessors and in Its natural state t.tye
rcse every year has some branches
that are being weakened by fresh
young shoots that grow out below
t'.iem. This is better understood when
it Is brought to mind that a rose is
not a tree that grows onward and
upward, but a plant that in the
course of a few years forms fresh
channels for the major portion of its
sap. In this manner the necessity for
the control of the growth of the rose
can better be realized.
Floral Term Dewrlbed.
In making a study of pruning it
is first necessary to understand the
terms that are used by florists. The
laterals branch off from the main
stem at irregular intervals, depend
ing to a great extent on the variety
of the rose. It is from the eyes, how
ever, that the new shoots get thel
start and the person pruning must ex
erclse care so as not to cut too fa
above the eye from which the growth
is desired, for if this is done there
will be several inches of unnecessary
wood above the point where growth
is desired and the sap must traverse
this space to the tip of the plant be
fore returning to the eye or new lat
eral. The eye is a bud either on the
main stem or any of the other shoots,
while the laterals are side shoots
In the event that pruning is done too
early and the plant is subject to a
killing frost, that portion of the lat
eral from the bud to the cut will be
killed and turn to dead wood. In
most events the superflous wood
about the eye dies. When the cut is
made, if It Is a clean one, the plant
soon heals over the sore place and
continues Us growth, while if the
stalk is bruised the necessary heal
ing is held back for a considerable
time.
Pruning is necessary to maintain
the strength of the plant, and each
year the wornout shoots must 'be re
moved carefully. The use of the
shears improves the productive power
and appearance of the plant at the
same time. Dead, weak or over
crowded or otherwise useless shoots
ere the prey of the gardener, and
after this is-done comes the proper
pruning operation, the shortening of
the shoots that are allowed to remain
after the thinning-out process has
been completed. The errors to guard
against in pruning are leaving too
many shoots when thinning out. too
severe pruning of varieties that re
quire little if any shortening, cutting
lightly other varieties that require
severe treatment, and the too com
mon practice of striving for uniform
ity and as a result leaving the plant
crowded In a manner somewhat simi
lar to the method used in cutting a
hedge.
Beanty Is Real Aim.
Of the general rules as to pruning
that have recognition, the most im
portant seems to be to prune so that
the new growth will make a beautiful
bush as well as a beautiful bloom.
To do this with any success the operator-
must be endowed with vision,
must be able to see the rose as it will
be when recreated on the skeleton of
the plant that is left by the shears.
Here is where' the understanding love
of each particular plant will find its
true, expression, for the person han
dling the shears gets the opportunity
to permit each plant to express its
own individuality by cutting to cor
rect and at the same time assist, a
different treatment for each plant, by
observing more the exceptions than
the general pruning rules. Second
to the necessity for cutting for ef
fect is the rule to cut to an eye' or
bud that points to the outs'de, so that
the general direction of the new
shoot will be correct. This prevents
the crowding of the center of the
bush, especially if the gardener Is
careful to rub off many of the Inside
shoots as they appear later and to
cut out the canes that come inside.
In order to get summer and late
fall blooms It Is necessary to give
the plants a second cutting back
after the first blooming season. In
this respect it Is comparatively easy
for the owner to do this, as the flow
ers ate cut for the house or for bou
quets by making a liberal stem o
each bloom that Is cut ami observing
the rule of cutting to an outward
ye. If -this leaves too much stem on
the cut rose it is a simple matter to
trim it after cutting. In the oper
ation of pruning it is easy to gm
lid of many insect pests, for they
seldom propagate on the lower pait
of the rose branches, and if the cut
tings are carefully kept and burned
it means tho destruction of thou
sands of the pests. In the late fall
it is considered good practice to cut
back the canes so that not too muc'
of the bush is left for the inclement
winds of the winter season to play
with. This system Is especially rec
ommended for those plants that are
in an exposed location.
I niforniity Is Sough).
In thinning out a shoot the cutting
ihould be clean away to the base of
the plant or to the patent stem. Here
is where the opportunity for making
the rose a thing of real beauty comes,
for if the shoots are left as nearly
equidistant as possible the result w'll
be uniformity and a well balanced
plant. It is necessary in order to
keep the plant heathy and vigorous,
tc cut out each year most of the
thoots that are more than two years
eld, so as to get new and harder
wood on the producing ends. The
different treatment is given then,
that is if the flowers are wanted for
exhibition the shoots are pruned well
back, or if for ordinary garden deco
ration the treatment need not be so
severe. To the beginner it would
seem that such a severe cutting back
as was given the bush pruned by Mr.
Currey for this article would endan
ger the future growth, but the facts
are that the harder the shoots are cut
back In the spring the stronger is
the new growth mado during the
summer.
In order to give a new rose a start
it is necessary to prune them severely.
For the first pruning on a new plant
the shoots should be cut back to
within three or four Inches of the
grcund and in the case of even the
Climbers that are getting their first
start they should not be left more
than one foot in length, with the ex
ception of the one strong shoot that
is the basis for the future plant.
Roses that are planted in the autumn
should be pruned the following spring
ard when planted in the spring
should be cut back before being
placed in the soil.
The combination of circumstances
that makes Portland such a wonder
ful center for the growing of roses Is
based mainly on climatic conditions.
though soils have a great deal to do
with it. Here we get all of the bene
fit of the English winters and the
ruies that are laid down by their
experts for governing rose growing
are found to have general application
here. Portland is in the same lati
tude as are Montreal and Bordeaux,
while London is situated on the same
line that passes through Sitka. Alas
ka. Here they seem to 'be breeding a
race oT amateur gardeners who will
ve no superiors on the face of the
globe and it Is the aim of most of
tl'em to assimilate the lesions that
have been learned by their masters
by their fellow enthus'asts across
the ocean. In order to grow roses
siccessf ully and produce the most
beautiful- blooms it is an absolute
necessity to master some of thd ele
ments of pruning and no one can do
this by a mere perusal of books; It
must be gained In the garden.