XI B R.AR.Y OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS G30.7 HGb ho.354-3G3 cop. 2. TCR1CUITURE NOTICE: Return or renew all Library Material*! The Minimum Fee for each Lost Book is $50.00. The person charging this material is responsible for its return to the library from which it was withdrawn on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilation, and underlining of books are reasons for discipli- nary action and may result in dismissal from the University. To renew call Telephone Center, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN APR 2 8 2005 L161 O-1096 Summer-Budded Versus Winter- Grafted Roses By F. F. WEINARD and S. W. DECKER UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 358 CONTENTS PAGE PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT 365 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 366 Satisfactory Flower Production From Summer-Budded Plants 366 Rate of Flower Production 369 Stem Lengths Not Affected 369 CONCLUSIONS 373 ADDENDA.. 373 Urbana, Illinois October, 1930 Publications in the Bulletin series report the results of investigations made or sponsored by the Experiment Station Summer-Budded Versus Winter-Grafted Roses By F. F. WEINARD, Associate Chief in Floricultural Physiology, and S. W. DECKER, Associate in Floriculture TTTT "YTNTER grafting has long been the standard practice in the \V \v propagation of greenhouse roses. Under this system the V plants are grafted ordinarily in January. The young plants are carried along in small pots and sold by the propagator in late winter or early spring. The plants may be held for some time in pots by the grower, but are usually benched before the first of July. Imported Manetti stock, together with some Odorata, has been mostly used for this purpose. A proposed embargo upon imported rose stocks, however, stimulated the growing of domestic stocks, particu- larly on the West Coast. Subsequently propagators began budding greenhouse varieties on Manetti and Odorata in the field. Under this system budding is done in the nursery row, usually in August or Sep- tember. The plants then go into the rest period with the buds united but still dormant. They are then lifted, cut back and stored, to be shipped to the florist at a later date while still dormant. Most of the stock propagated in this manner is shipped in January or February. After several years of trial there is still considerable to be learned before the most efficient methods of producing and handling dormant- bud plants will have been determined. One of the first questions that was asked about dormant-bud plants concerned their flower production as compared with grafted plants. In this bulletin are given the results from a two-year test with representative lots of plants of the two types. PLAN OF THE EXPERIMENT Grafted plants of Matchless, Mme. Butterfly, and Templar were purchased in 1927 from Poehlmann Brothers, Morton Grove, Illinois, and the Hill Floral Products Company, Richmond, Indiana. Summer- budded plants of the same varieties were obtained from E. W. Mc- Lellan Company, San Francisco, Jackson and Perkins Company, New- ark, New York, and the Hill Floral Products Company. The three varieties were all on Manetti stocks. The grafted plants were propa- gated in January and the field-budded plants in July and August. In addition to the varieties mentioned above, Souvenir de Claudius Pernet plants budded on Odorata in the greenhouse in August or Sep- tember were received the middle of May. These were considered com- 365 366 BULLETIN No. 358 [October, parable to winter-grafted plants, being carried on in active growth from the time of budding. Summer-budded Fernet planted for compari- son were propagated in the field in August and received as dormant- bud plants early in February. The Fernet plants were obtained from the Hill Floral Products Company and Jackson and Perkins Company. The summer-budded plants of Matchless, Mme. Butterfly, and Templar were received with buds ready to start into growth early in February, and the winter-propagated plants were received in March. All plants were potted as soon as received. The dormant-bud plants were potted in 4-inch pots and the stock cut back close to the bud. They were then started into growth in a 52 F. house without shading. Later, when the shoots were several inches long, they were pinched back to the first strong "eye." On July 6 uniformly vigorous plants of each type were selected for planting in the bench. The budded plants especially were by this time rooted thru the pots. The two types of plants were set in alternate blocks, usually of five rows each, on raised benches in the center of an east-and-west house. The soil used was brown silt loam to which had been added about one-fifth manure in the field. In addition 20 pounds of super- phosphate, 5 pounds of dried blood, and 2 pounds of sulfate of potash were applied per 100 square feet of bench. At night a temperature of 58 F. was maintained during the growing season. Day tempera- tures were 68 F. to 78 F., depending on the weather. There was no pinching of buds after the middle of August. The flowers were allowed to develop naturally during the season and were cut at the first five-leaflet node. A detailed record of the cut from each plant was kept from the first of October to the end of May. In June the plants were dried off and rested for about four weeks, after which they were pruned back to about 18 inches from the soil and again started into growth. After the new growth was well started, commercial fertilizers were turned into the soil as at the beginning of the first season. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Satisfactory Flower Production From Summer-Budded Plants In the first season the yields per plant of summer-budded Match- less, Mme. Butterfly, and Templar were higher by 3.8, 1.2, and 2.8 flowers respectively than the yields from winter-grafted stock (Table 1). In the second season there were similar tho somewhat smaller differences, amounting to .9, 1.0, and 2.9 flowers a plant. These results 1930] SUMMER-BUDDED VERSUS WINTER-GRAFTED ROSES 367 S 5 Sow JoSS 25S N^5 c c g O-O W5MW5 W5(S(S NtSCS I C 3 I ^S (^l/> SS S>\0 g l-t +1+1 +1+) +1+1 +1+1 a 2 x S Ot^'i" t^Ooo uiooo i tSCSCN rtCS-H T-lrt^H rtCNCS E "o j!Je t^t~ TjTj< . ?)?! ** . e to b* t* OOOO OOOO OO 3 *H -l SB Ej wt^oo o>ooo tso\ soooooo u C Issd 222 add sad i ti 1 O*O* OOO\* t^CS* fJM* 3 s +1+1 +1+1 +1+1 +1+1 2 S83 o-2 2g^ S8^ 1 3 1 ritStS -HtSN rt MtNCS 00 E "o II 30 SS : SS : S3 : : c ooag. ocoja ccojg as a j g '* t^-oo^ tioo*" Aoo^ g rt i a 1 < | - c >. K c J2 > E 1 T) m 5 U T3 1 I I 1 1 1 S cH H 368 BULLETIN No. 358 [October, CO ^88 SS82 S282 2222 o\ a S SSS --2 SS-S 28-3 tfi a en O CO rscN - r^ro ,.-CSO Q W ^ - 2 m 5 2 IX, H g Q fc i c n) 1-1 as- 22- - Q u Q m S Q W 1 o O fc u H O O Q O a OCO 1 OOOv OOON OC w\ " H t^-00 t^C30 I^OC t-*00' 04CS CN> 9 1 1 1 1 1 1930] SUMMER-BUDDED VERSUS WlNTER- GRAFTED ROSES 369 were consistent, and most of them were too large to be considered chance variations. The average differences for the two seasons were 2.3, 1.1, and 2.9 flowers a plant, or about 10 percent, 6 percent, and 13 percent with Matchless, Mme. Butterfly, and Templar respectively. In the case of Fernet the larger number of flowers was cut from the greenhouse-budded plants. The difference each season was about one flower a plant, an average of about 7 percent. Rate of Flower Production The differences in seasonal averages between summer-budded and winter-grafted stock were not the result of unusual growth at any particular time of the year (Figs. 1 to 4). While there were varia- tions in results as tabulated by months on account of the cropping habit of the plants, nevertheless it is clear that the relative rates of flower production were maintained thru the season. This may be shown in another way by comparing the percentage of total yields cut each month (Table 2). These percentages varied with the season rather than with the type of plant. About 25 percent of the crop of Mme. Butterfly and Fernet was produced each season during the months December to February inclusive, while about 30 percent of the yields of Matchless and Templar were produced in the same period. Stem Length Not Affected Stem lengths from the two kinds of stock were about the same within the variety, but with the variation in number of flowers per TABLE 3. FLOWERS FROM SUMMER-BUDDED AND WINTER-GRAFTED PLANTS GRADED ACCORDING TO STEM LENGTHS Variety Plants Season Percentage in each grade Under 6 inches 6 to 12 inches 12 to 18 inches 18 to 24 inches 24 inches and over Matchless Summer-budded Wi nter-graf ted Summer-budded Winter-grafted Summer-budded Winter-grafted Summer-budded Winter-grafted Summer-budded Greenh.-budded Summer-budded Greenh.-budded Summer-budded Winter-grafted Summer-budded Wi nter-graf ted 1927-28 1.0 2.0 1.2 1.9 .3 .3 .1 .2 .1 .2 .1 1.5 1.3 .4 .4 51.4 61.4 58.8 66.0 25.0 26.9 31.1 30.2 37.3 31.4 35.9 34.8 42.7 44.1 30.9 35.5 44.3 35.4 39.4 31.1 65.2 60.3 64.3 63.6 53.1 56.8 60.8 61.3 47.6 47.1 62.2 58.2 3.0 1.0 .5 1.0 9.0 11.9 4.4 5.6 8.5 11.4 3.0 3.8 7.0 7.0 6.4 5.6 .3 .2 .1 .5 .6 .1 .4 1.1 .3 .1 1.2 .5 .1 .3 Mme. Butterfly 1928-29 1927-28 Souv. de Cl. Fernet... Templar 1928-29 1927-28 1928-29 1927-28 1928-29 370 BULLETIN No. 358 [October, plant there was a corresponding variation in the amount of wood produced. Summer-budded Matchless, Mme. Butterfly, and Templar plants produced on an average 294 inches, 264 inches, and 322 inches of wood respectively. The growth of greenhouse-budded Fernet Summer-Budded Planks (mHWinter-Grafted Plants AjO 25 - 9 ul I5U 100 50 Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar Apr May FIG. 1. MATCHLESS: AVERAGE MONTHLY FLOWER PRODUCTION OF SUMMER- BUDDED AND WINTER-GRAFTED PLANTS, 1927-1929 Thruout the season summer-budded Matchless plants gave uniformly higher yields than grafted plants of the same variety. Yields of roses by months are necessarily somewhat variable on account of the cropping habits of the plants, but in taking the averages of two seasons' results, these irregularities are largely smoothed out. averaged 149 inches. The growth of wood on the three varieties first mentioned was respectively 14 percent, 5 percent, and 15 percent heavier on the summer-budded plants. The increase in wood growth was especially noticeable the first season on Matchless and Templar, amounting to 28 percent on Matchless and 17 percent on Templar. In the second season the Matchless plants lost a great deal of foli- 1930] SUMMER-BUDDED VERSUS WINTER-GRAFTED ROSES 371 age from repeated attacks of black spot, the other varieties being at- tacked but lightly. The black spot attacks apparently had a decided influence on the results with Matchless in the second season. Judging from relative yields of the several varieties the first season, it is likely ^1 Summer- Budded Plants jJ50 CZ^IWinter-Graf ted Plants ^TO' (0 J300- o 25 0- & 300 n | 150 ^ inn In 1 \ 50 Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan Feb. Mar Apr. May FIG. 2. MME. BUTTERFLY: AVERAGE MONTHLY FLOWER PRODUCTION, 1927-1929 Summer-budded plants gave uniformly higher yields than grafted plants. that black spot reduced the yields of Matchless at least 5 to 15 per- cent. At the same time wood production on the grafted plants seemed to be normal, while on the budded plants it was apparently about 19 percent lower than normal. It was not noticed during the season, however, that black spot was any more prevalent on the budded than on the grafted stock. Graded on the basis of stem length, the flowers from summer- budded plants gave percentages in the longer-stem classes which were as high as or higher than the percentages from grafted plants, except with Fernet, where the relations were reversed (Table 3). On an aver- age there were about 5 percent more flowers with stems 12 inches and longer cut from three varieties of budded plants than from the grafted. 372 BULLETIN No. 358 [October, JOO ^1 5ummer-Budded Plants CHH Winter- Graf ted Plants 400