grafted vs own-root?
katyajini
16 years ago
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diane_nj 6b/7a
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Is this true?
Comments (10)Going back a century or two, Vibert, writing in 1830 in the context of the stocks available in his time, decidedly preferred own-root. (He was drawing on personal experience with grafting reaching back to at least 1815.) As you'll see, he wasn't so much considering the size or floriferousness of the plants as he was the plant's general health and longevity. After many pages of discussion of the distressing ins and outs of grafting, he turns to own-root plants: "Own-roots do especially well where the earth is not too sandy or too hard; in these two cases, correction is necessary by the known methods employed on similar occasions. These are not difficult: Frequent hoeing; some watering during great heat, especially during bloom; pruning appropriate to their sort--these are the main efforts required. Plants which are very feeble or very delicate require a lighter soil, though still substantial; and, by way of precaution, protection from too much sun the first year. Their existence not being restrained, as it is with grafted specimens under the influence of another sort, they fend for themselves, developing without let the faculties proper to them; and, freed from our meddling--too frequently fatal to them--they can attain an age which does not always come to the hand that planted them. From the modest place Nature assigned them, they have seen pass all these ephemeral generations of big grafted Briars, vain pride of our beds, which borrowed--but only for a few moments--their grace, and the freshness of their blossoms. [...] The mania for grafted specimens further keeps merchants from putting themselves to the trouble [of producing own-roots] in many localities, because they would not sell. It is necessary to have very wide-spread dealings, especially outside of France, to get a turnover with them; and I know some very respected and learned nurserymen who would have no sales at all if all they had was own-roots. These persons have them on hand to sell because they know the advantages of them, and are forced to sacrifice to the bad taste of the day in grafting Briar tree-roses. Raising own-roots for commerce is, in truth, longer in the doing and thus more expensive than raising grafted plants; and this reason may explain the preference given to these latter; however, true fanciers, who are in the practice of growing, make no mistake, and are well aware of the bad effects of grafting as it is done." The subject of grafts continued to interest him throughout his life; indeed, in 1865, fifteen years after he retired and the year before he died, he was still writing articles on the matter ("Observations Relative to the Influence of the Graft on the Stock," in this case about grafting Pears). I can add, from my own experience, that own-root specimens of 'Souvenir de la Malmaison' are, in the long run, much more satisfactory than grafted specimens, at least under my conditions. While the flowers are perhaps a little smaller than in grafted specimens, and the canes and growth perhaps a little less strong, the blossoms, being less "ambitious," don't ball as they frequently do in grafts, and the plants have a nearly continuous growth and bloom, while the grafts I've had tend to grow and bloom in bursts. I find a lot of truth in Vibert's statement "Their existence not being restrained, as it is with grafted specimens under the influence of another sort, they fend for themselves, developing without let the faculties proper to them; and, freed from our meddling--too frequently fatal to them--they can attain an age which does not always come to the hand that planted them."...See MoreHelp me enable a roseless friend!
Comments (12)Thank you for all the fantastic info thus far. I will assume that she will not spray since she's tried and failed at roses before, and I doubt that a regular spray program would be followed unless and until she falls in love with a rose that will love her back! She sent me some additional information this morning in response to my question to her re: site and sun... ----------- "I really appreciate this CL :) i do have good space- clearly not as much as you but enough...my goal was to get climbers that would cover this fugly rusty chain link fence that borders two sides of my front yard....the side i would most like to fill in - gets decent morning and late after noon sun but is dapple-shaded during the day a couple sugar maples trees.. that the spot i have tried a few varieties but they dont seem to take. :( also have a area behind my attached a garage that would be nice for a climber. the bed is about 20 long x ~4 ft wide. gets excellent morning sun but thats it. ( gray house) would love a white climber for that spot. does that help?" -------------- I'm hoping this specific info will help you pinpoint some choices for her. It sounds like she needs a combination of hedge roses for her fenceline and a magnificent climber....See MoreGrafted vs Own Root - lesson learned years later
Comments (15)European roses are always grafted - the only own root roses will have come from personal cuttings. Since there is a huge climactic range across the whole of continental Europe, I am a bit mystified by the US craze for bare root to the exclusion of all else, especially when many old and beautiful gardens contain grafted roses which are practically ancient. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the argument essentially holds validity for commercial rose-growers, who use certain methods for both convenience and tradition. Of course they are going to claim superiority for this or that method - for those of us who simply buy and grow roses in our own gardens, the own root vs grafted is of less importance than selecting appropriate plants for climate and soil conditions. As someone who has an almost equal number of each, although I grow roses in a temperate climate, I find this dilemma is one of the least contentious - of far greater importance is the continuing care and maintenance which plants receive (or not) once planted....See MoreMycorrhizae - Roots
Comments (3)I garden in beds so prep, fertilizer and/or treat the whole bed and not just the holes. I typically like to create a new bed a few months in advance of planting and that includes digging in compost and adding Planters II, (0-0-0) a "bio-mineral fertilizer" that is suppose to be super at promoting mycorrhizae. Then with perennials and bedding plants use an Espoma product (of the "tone" fertilizer) called Bio-tone Starter again with mycorrhizae at planting time. If I have some handy I'll use it when planting roses, although I tend to use more horse manure compost on the roses than anything else....See Morecziga
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