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.
