Chapter 1 - Purchasing Roses

The rose is, by general consent, the queen of flowers. This is acknowledged even by those who specialize in such flowers as dahlias, chrysanthemums, sweet peas, carnations and many others. Why this should be is not easy to explain because, after all, most flowers seen through the eyes of those who grow them have an equal claim to be the most beautiful, and yet who would deny the pre-eminence of the rose?

It can be truthfully said that the rose is the only plant with which a complete garden can be made. One could fill a garden with any other kind of plant and thereby obtain a fine display of blooms, but such a garden would be dull and uninteresting except to the person interested in that particular flower.

The rose has not always held this unique place in our esteem, for it is the result of long, patient work by the hybridists who in the last fifty years or so have given us such diverse types, and have lengthened the period of flowering to an extent exceeded by no other flower.

The uses of the rose

The uses to which our modern roses can be put are many. There are the Ramblers of the Dorothy Perkins type, with their long pliable growth which can be trained to almost any position. When budded on to a tall stem to form a weeping standard they do not object to having their growth suspended upside down. Also in this class there are those with larger blooms such as Albertine, Paul's Scarlet and many more which are suitable for pillars, arches, pergolas and arbors and for covering unsightly objects. There are also the Large-flowered Climbers for walls, fences, etc., such as Climbing Madame Butterfly, Etoile de Hollande, and a whole host equally good for the purpose.

The Hybrid Teas are, of course, by far the largest class and still remain the most popular, and rightly so, for it is from these that the finest blooms are obtained. One can have these as dwarf plants for planting in beds or borders, or as standards, which are very useful for breaking up the levels, or as specimen plants.

In the last few years the Floribunda roses have forged ahead in popularity, which is very understandable considering the ease with which they are grown, their hardiness and very free-blooming qualities. This class is destined to become much larger in the next few years, and even now there are some new varieties embracing colours never yet seen before in the rose. Undoubtedly there is a great future for this particular type of rose, especially as there is a distinct improvement in the individual blooms on the trusses. There is also a certain amount of scent in some of the newer varieties; not a lot it is true, but still a little. All this, coupled with the increasing costs of maintaining gardens, will add to the demand for such plants that will give a continuous display for the minimum expense and trouble.

The Dwarf Polyantha roses have declined somewhat in popularity, but are still useful for formal bedding schemes or for growing as half standards, a purpose for which they are well adapted.

The Hybrid Musks must not be overlooked, since they are valuable for informal hedges or specimen bushes.

For those who appreciate the beauty of small things there are the Miniature roses, which can be quite happy when grown in rock gardens.

Then there are the old roses in which interest has, in the last few years, had a revival. They are not everyone's roses, but, given the right setting, they have a charm entirely their own.

For the shrub border and wild garden there are the rose species, giving a glorious show of bloom in the early summer, to be followed in the autumn by a brilliant display of heps.

The rose is one of the few flowers that is beautiful in all its stages of development. Most other flowers are seen at their best only in their fully developed state. The rose, however, is beautiful from the time the sepals divide until the petals fall, each stage different and each charming.

In the range of color, the rose can more than hold its own, embracing as it does almost every shade except blue. Even that need not be excepted if one's imagination can stretch so far as to describe Veilchenblau, the so-called Blue Rose, as blue.

Scent in modern roses

Nor is the rose lacking in perfume, in spite of the number of uninformed persons who write to the press deploring its absence. Although it is true that many modern roses are almost scentless, it is by no means a condition peculiar to the present time, for some of the most popular roses of the last century were entirely without scent. For example, in 1869, a rose named Baroness Rothschild was sent out from a French nursery. This was a pink rose, and it became popular in this country in spite of the fact that it was entirely without scent. In the year 1883 this same rose gave a pure white sport which was named Merville de Lyon, and this (like its parent quite without scent) enjoyed much popularity.

In 1900, a new white rose, Frau Karl Druschki, was introduced into this country. It was the result of a cross made between what was then a new variety, Madame Caroline Testout, and the older one, Merville de Lyon. Probably no rose, before or since, has so captured the imagination of the public. Nurserymen propagated it by tens of thousands, and every gardener had a Frau Karl Druschki in his collection of roses, and even to-day there is hardly anyone possessing a garden who has not heard of 'Old Druschki'. Here was a rose of exceptional vigor, one that would give a good account of itself in both town and country, producing blooms of the most faultless perfection. Moreover, in fairly mild winters, it was possible to find buds on Christmas Day, but it was, like its parents, quite scentless. I think these examples go to show that many people with an incomplete knowledge of any subject can take the particular to be general.

It is perfectly true that in the last century, in proportion to the number of varieties, more were scented than to-day, but it must also be realized that in the class called Hybrid Perpetuals there was a great deal of similarity, for, since there were only two colours, in various shades, namely crimson and pink, this was more or less inevitable.

There were also the Tea roses which were grown at that time. They were, with a few exceptions, rather tender, and although the blooms were extremely beautiful, they never enjoyed the popularity of their more robust brethren, the Hybrid Perpetuals. One quality of the Tea rose was its delicate fragrance reminiscent of the scent from a freshly opened box of tea. In some varieties this was very pronounced.

By the crossing of these two types the modern Hybrid Teas were produced, combining the delicate colors of the Teas with the brighter colors of the Hybrid Perpetuate. What happened to the scent in the progeny of this union? In some instances the heavy Damask perfume was retained, mainly in the red varieties, and the tea scent in varieties of the paler shades. But there was also a blending of both in almost any color, in varying degrees of intensity, and so at the present time, instead of two distinct scents there are several, all very delightful. Now, as in the past, some varieties are quite scentless, but these varieties have such other good qualities that the lack of scent can be overlooked.

A current impression would seem to be that hybridists who raise new roses entirely ignore the presence or otherwise of scent in the seedlings. Let me assure anyone who should have such an idea to dispel it, because when a new rose is submitted for trial it is bound to lose a number of points for lack of scent, and its chances of receiving a First Glass Certificate or a Gold Medal of the National Rose Society are very remote.

Little appears to be known why scent should come and go in successive generations of seedlings, but I am confident that in time, scent will be present in increasing quantities. However, we are not so badly off in this respect, and it is possible to have a fully representative collection of modern roses, comprising every known type, without having a single scentless rose, although in doing so one would miss many varieties which provide masses of glorious colour.

Purchasing roses

It is understandable that anyone who has no knowledge of roses is bewildered when making a choice from the catalogue of a rose nurseryman. According to the descriptions, all seem perfect, and selection is difficult. It is here that some guidance is necessary. All roses are not as good as one another for the average garden. Some, for instance, may be most suitable for those whose desire is to exhibit at shows, while others only give of their best in favoured positions, and it is these facts that are responsible for the disappointments so often suffered by those who do not know which varieties of rose are best suited to their needs.

Complaints are often heard that certain nurserymen's roses never do well; the reason is usually that the purchaser had seen the blooms exhibited at shows, liked their colors and ordered the roses to be sent without knowing whether the varieties would be suitable for their new situation. The nurseryman is naturally there to take orders for his plants, and his object is to please his customers, but not knowing anything of the soil and other conditions, he is unable to advise them whether the particular varieties ordered will succeed.

The best method of purchasing roses is to pay a visit to the nearest nursery, preferably one that makes a specialty of roses. There will be seen, not only the blooms but also the habit of growth, which should make the choice a fairly simple one.

In a general way it may be said that reds, pinks and creams, and combinations of all three are easier to grow than are the pure yellows, flame-colored and orange shades. These latter have the strain of Austrian Briar in their blood which makes them very susceptible to 'die back' in severe winters. Also they do not do so well when grown in or near large towns. Without doubt these roses are very beautiful when doing well, but our weather is not at all to their liking, and in consequence replacements are inclined to be rather high, except in favored parts of the country. There are such places, but they can only be discovered by planting the bushes and observing results.

If one can propagate one's own bushes, it is not a very serious matter if one has made the mistake of choosing a variety which does not have a very long life, for replacements can be made without cost; but if purchase is the only way of keeping up one's stock of roses, care should be exercised to ensure that only those that have good constitutions are grown.

For bush roses that are vigorous and healthy, fifteen to twenty years is the useful life of a rose, and where the conditions are favorable, several years longer. Climbers and Ramblers have a much longer life, some being good for a lifetime or more.

When ordering roses, careful consideration should be given to the conditions in which they are to grow. Without a doubt the best place to grow roses really well is in a field where the plants can get all the benefits of pure air and ample sunshine. Most small gardens fall far short of this ideal, especially in the matter of light and air when tall trees are in the vicinity. A certain amount of shade is harmless, provided the roses are far enough away from trees not to be robbed of their sustenance by the roots of the trees.

In the selection Hybrid Teas in Chapter XIV, those that are most likely to give a good account of themselves under adverse conditions, such as are found in confined gardens in or near large towns, are marked with a T.

Selection of varieties

The National Rose Society has for many years had an audit of the best roses for different purposes. One of the tables in this audit gives the twenty-four best roses for general garden cultivation. Having been for many years one of those selected to help to compile these lists, I have noticed how seldom it is that a new variety displaces an older one. This is understandable to a certain extent, because these roses selected year after year represent the most satisfactory varieties from every point of view. No new ones are added until they have been well tried in the gardens up and down the country, and have proved themselves worthy. Now and then, however, it happens that a rose of such outstanding merit is produced that it not only enters the list but is placed right up at the top. Two such roses were Ena Harkness and Peace, and it must be understood that a rose, to occupy such a position by general consent, must be as near perfection as possible.

There are certain qualities which must be present in a rose. First of all it must have a sound constitution and be capable of growing into a good-sized plant. It must also be highly resistant to disease. The flower should be of a bright and pleasing color throughout and should not fade to an unpleasant shade. It should have sufficient petals, be held fairly erect on the stem, and, last of all, it should have perfume. Such a degree of excellence is not common, and the chances are heavily against a raiser of new roses getting a seedling having all these qualities. The twenty-four varieties I shall mention in Chapter XIV are all classed as Hybrid Teas and are to be found in almost any up-to-date nurseryman's catalogue.

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