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Antique Roses
jerijensunsetz24

No One Ever Believes Me

jerijen
15 years ago

. . . when I say Teas get this big.

But my friend Kim sent me this, this evening, from the 1933 ARS Annual:

{{gwi:298190}}

Jeri

Featured Answer
  • winterisabella
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Unfortunately I don't have the whole 1929 Annual - just a copy of the article by Arthur P. Howard - Here is the complete text:-

    Old Roses of California
    by Arthur P. Howard, Los Angeles.
    One morning, last spring, when the California rose season was at its height, I called on Capt. George C. Thomas, of Beverly Hills, to talk roses. Of course, both of us being enthusiasts, we were soon walking through the garden paths admiring and commenting on the different varieties, of which there were at least 1,500.
    During the walk through the garden, Capt. Thomas spoke quite frequently on the wonderful productiveness and growth of the old Californian types and suggested that, as I was born in California, and am a lover of roses and familiar with the old varieties that are practically unknown in the newer gardens of the state, I ought to tell the members of the American Rose Society about them. So I am thus writing.
    As I developed for Capt. Thomas the landscape features about his home, roses became, quite naturally, the chief feature of the garden. I mentioned, one morning, that I knew where there were some real rose trees that were not grafted, but old varieties imported here in the early days, that had developed into trees through years of growth. I explained that the trunks were approximately 5 7 inches through, that a person 6 feet in height could walk under the branches without stooping, that the heads of these roses spread 10 feet or more, that these rose trees would bear from 1,000 to 1,500 flowers in a season, and that, in addition to these striking features, the rose trees were forty five years old. His answer was, "Go and get them!"
    I found it possible to arrange at Pomona, a town about 30 miles out of Los Angeles, for ownership of the two great "Laurettes" to which I had referred. To move these plants successfully was some task! We had to excavate liberally about the plants, and box them with 2-inch lumber. These boxes were 3½feet deep by 4feet wide. The estimated weight of the two rose trees, made ready for delivery to their new home, was approximately 6,500 pounds, or over three tons!
    While negotiating for one of these roses, I asked an old gentleman who lived in the cottage how old the rose was. He advised me that he had lived in that house for forty two years and that at the time he came there the rose was of considerable size he thought about ten years old.
    When Capt. Thomas saw these specimens on the truck in his driveway, he was so elated that he told me to go out and get all the big roses I could find in these "old-time Californian types," as they are now referred to. Consequently, we brought in, in addition to the Laurettes, a great many varieties, none of them quite so large as the original two, but many in boxes that weighed 1,000 to 1,500 pounds each. Many of the plants were very old. Of the entire lot, only one or two of these old-timers were lost in transplanting, and if eastern members of the Rose Society should ever have a chance to call and see Capt. Thomas great garden, they would marvel at the beauty of these great old plants.
    Catherine Mermet, Marie van Houtte, Mlle. Franziska Kruger, Mme. Lambard, Safrano, Mme Abel Chatenay, G. Nabonnand, Gloire Lyonnaise, Souv. de Catherine Guillot, Marquise de Querhoent, Clara Watson, Peace, Agrippina, Bougere, Triomphe de Luxembourg, Duchesse de Brabant, Comtesse Riza du Parc, Red, White, and Pink Cochet, are among the finest bush varieties of the old-timers. I presume it is rather hard for eastern rose-lovers to visualise Cochets in the bush form anywhere from 8 to 9 feet high, with 100 to 200 blooms on them at one time! No doubt it would also be hard to visualise these tender varieties in full bloom in late November but so they were! In Southern California you can pick flowers from most of these old roses every day in the year! In the various neighborhood estates and gardens where roses are grown, types that are considered the most tender in the East, here have better foliage and more flowers than the hardier Hybrid Teas.
    Probably even more noteworthy and conspicuous than these bush varieties are some of the grand old climbers that have covered trellises, porches and fences. Mme. Alfred Carriere, Lamarque, Gloire de Dijon, James Sprunt, William Allen Richardson, Cloth of Gold, Gold of Ophir, White and Yellow Banksias, Reine Olga de Wurtemburg, and many other old varieties have stood the test of time and have never been surpassed in the great quantity of bloom produced.
    In the development of southern California, many of the old haciendas and ranches have passed into the hands of the realtor and subdivider, and in this day of commercialism little thought has been given to saving the trees and flowers. As a consequence, many a fine old garden has been sacrificed. With the gardens that have passed out of existence, hundreds of the old varieties described were lost. Fortunately, the early comers to California who could only afford smaller places, loved roses too, and in the other parts of Los Angeles and other nearby towns one may still see cottages with their fronts almost entirely covered with Lamarque, Reve dOr, and similar varieties.
    Particularly in the districts of Pomona and Ontario, there are still left many specimens of these fine old roses, as well as giant plants of Laurette, Lamarque, Catherine Mermet, Mlle Franziska Kruger, and others that are almost forgotten, as far as the rose world is concerned. Indeed, many of them are out of commerce, having been supplanted by the later Hybrid Teas and Pernetiana types, which produce flowers of finer form and longer stem. Gardens more formal in aspect have taken the place of the old-time, rambling California gardens, and varieties that can be kept within bounds are in greater demand.
    Admitting that the newer Hybrid Teas and the Pernetianas surpass the old Teas in perfection of bloom and length of stem, we must also admit that the foliage of these older Teas is generally far superior to the newer types. Practically all of the old Teas mentioned hold their foliage throughout the entire year, it is more luxuriant than that produced by Hybrid Teas, and the bushes themselves are therefore more ornamental. Also, the foliage is far more disease resistant, probably due to the great vigor of the growth, while in point of fragrance they are certainly not to be outdone by their later rivals.
    The old-fashioned roses that have their own way grow the best. Except for a thinning out of the dead wood and cross branches, little pruning is required. Some of the best specimens I have ever seen, of monstrous size, were never pruned at all.
    Recently I passed a ship where a rose sale was in progress. The window was well placarded with many colored plates from various catalogues. The attention seemed mostly drawn to a picture of two beautiful red roses without name. I recognised the subject as a picture of that old favorite, Gloire de Margottin. The signature under the roses was that of the artist "Paul de Longpre," who lived in Los Angeles, and during his lifetime was probably the greatest of flower painters.
    A remarkable advance has been made in rose-hybridization, and many wonderful varieties have come on the market, but if any real rose-lover who comes to southern California should drive out one of our country roads in late April or early May and come upon some unpretentious cottage literally smothered with these fine old climbers, and in addition see some of the giant Teas in full bloom, he will assuredly receive a real thrill.
    The American Rose Annual 1929, pp140-143

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