Proceedings Library

We, at Musser's, try to buy or gather the seeds in locations comparable to our own general conditions of climate and elevation. When the harvest is good, we buy seeds for years ahead and keep them under refrigeration. To give you an idea of the importance of good seed, let us take a look at one of the best selling pines in the trade, the Scotch pine. As most of you know, there are few races of Scotch pine, and if you start out with seeds from a race not well adapted to your own location, the results can be disastrous. Irregular and reduced growth, crooked stems, and even late

However, our early attempts to root lilacs from cuttings were unsuccessful, then about ten years ago we learned from Mr Albert Swanson, now deceased, but at that time head propagator for the Mount Arbor Nurseries, that the time of taking lilac cuttings was the main reason for his success in rooting. This suggestion from Mr. Swanson, plus much work and observation by our propagator, Mr. Charles Woodworth, has brought us more success in rooting lilacs. I would like to say at this point, that we are not always entirely successful in rooting lilac cuttings. Some varieties, such as Firmament and Pres. Falliers, absolutely refuse to root for us.

Our procedure for rooting lilacs is this: we construct cold frames in the

We, at the Wedge Nursery, located at Albert Lea, Minnesota which is 15 miles north of the Iowa border, have grown "own root" French lilac since 1902. In 1935 we jumped up our propagation, growing mainly for other nurseries under contract. My father,

The taking of cutting wood from a fine specimen plant of hybrid lilac, which is in full bloom and covered with morning dew, leaves little to be desired in this great feeling of being an integral part in the creation of beauty and form. So much for the aesthetics of lilacs.

Perhaps the one thing to stress more than any other is the inconsistency of results in producing hybrid lilacs from softwood cuttings. It is neither my purpose, nor intent to pretend, that we get anything other than mediocre results in our attempts.

Generally, our percentage of survival from propagation frames to the field is from 20% to 50%. Seldom do we experience a greater success than indicated above. While it is true that with an adequate

Propagating methods involved the use of open benches in paint-shaded greenhouses where a minimum temperature of 68° F. was maintained. Temperatures lower than 68° F inactivated or noticeably reduced the effectiveness of the

The professional mentioned above is H Kirkpatrick, Jr. of The Boyce Thompson Institute who writes in the American Nurseryman, April 1, 1939 on

I have studied the able comments made by many authorities, such as the late E. H. Wilson, E. O. Orpet of California, the late John Dunbar of Highland Park at Rochester, N.Y., the eminent hybridizer of lilacs, Mr. Emile Lemoine, Nancy, France, and many other European and American experts. I am impressed by the many theories as to methods of propagation and as to desirability of suitable understocks. A summary of opinions, however, clearly shows that hybrid lilacs on their own root are the most desirable.

There

Let us consider the collection of seeds of woody plants. This subject is covered very well in the Woody-Plant. Seed Manual prepared by the Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No 654, June 1948. Collection is usually handled by a seed collector who must know where sufficient seed can be found of plants having desirable characteristics. He must know when the seeds are ripe enough to gather and the time period over which it is safe to harvest. He must also know whether the seeds can be collected most easily from the plants, from the ground, or from animal hoards.

The source of the seed has come to be recognized as of prime importance — next to the selection

In certain circles there is a growing feeling that the responsibility of the plant propagator ends when he has produced roots on the base of a cutting, gotten the seedling out of its seeds coats, or achieved some sort of union between stock and scion. It is encouraging to note from the program before me that this group still feels it important to get the material established in the field for, when one considers the whole problem, a plant cannot be said to have been successfully propagated until it is established in soil under something approaching natural conditions.

Soil organisms. A single ounce of good

Every one of us knows, of course, that plants need light in order to grow. We should also be aware of the fact that plants are much smarter than we are, in that they capture light energy and use it to synthesize many complicated chemicals which the best chemist can possibly obtain only with high temperatures and very complicated apparatus. As a matter of fact, we should realize that, without the plant and without the energy it receives from the sun, life on this planet would be impossible.

The Dutch people were the first to write about the tree peonies of China but it was more than 100 years later when English Explorers sent plants home and that a real interest was born. From about the year 1860 Dutch, English and French nurserymen imported tree peonies, propagated them, and made selections.

I might say here that Mr. N. I. W. Kriek has imported many varieties of the Lutea hybrid types to this country, especially those from the famous "House of Lemoine" in France.

TYPES. There are three main types of tree peonies, namely, the European, the Lutea Hybrids and the Japanese.

Because of the greater

Uniform cuttings, rooted the previous summer and overwintered in the field, were provided by H. M Templeton¹. The species were V. burkwoodii, V. juddii, V. chenaultii, and V. plicatum forma tomentosum (V. tomentosum-plicatum). Three replicates of five plants each of the live species were subjected to photoperiods of 8, 12, 14 and 16 hours.

The study was begun March 5, 1956. Plants on all daylength treatments were maintained in the natural light of the greenhouse for a basic 8-hour period, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., after which they were moved into ventilated light-controlled chambers, where they received the necessary supplemental light was 100-watt

The introduction of polyethylene plastic film, misting or fogging, and chemical rooting agents have created a mild revolution in the nursery industry. It has spurred the imagination of many propagators to experiment for new and better ways of propagating certain plants. From these experiments came a large number of new methods for inducing root growth on softwood cuttings. A few of these were the intermittent or constant mist systems, the Burlap Cloud method, the plastic case method, and the

Plant propagation is a fascinating profession. The urge to try new things and develop new methods is strong in good growers. We are fortunate that our industry has so many well-organized research programs in the hands of capable workers. These men have brought about great improvements which have reduced production costs and added large sums to the value of inventories. I would like at this time to express my appreciation for the privilege of hearing the experiences and significant findings of the research and commercial men at this meeting. It is a great opportunity for more economical operation and helps to keep us all abreast of what is new.

Miniature roses like hybrid tea, climbing, or any other class

My first attempt in 1954 encouraged me to try again in 1955. I took the first cuttings on July 12, 1954. The spring and early summer were extremely hot and dry in our section and the new growth was quite firm by this time, which probably accounted for the low percentage of rooting. Of 50 cuttings, only one rooted.

On June 23, 1955 I took 50 more cuttings. They were tip cuttings about 6 inches in length, and cut just below a node and were quite soft when taken, I removed the foliage from the lower half of the cuttings. Having used no treatment the previous year I decided to try them again with no treatment as I had noticed the other cuttings were quite heavily calloused by late summer.

The rooting medium used was one I have used for a number of years with good

For many years Sophora was just another rather rare leguminous tree only occasionally used as a lawn specimen, usually on some Landscape Architect's specification. With the arrival of various serious tree diseases on the national scene, most of these lesser known trees were subjected to more careful scrutiny in the search for better shade

Present day commercial propagation of roses is done by budding, not by grafting as in years gone by. In the beginning, as with any crop, we must start with the plot of land involved for the crop. Roses, of course, grow best in clay soils, but contrary to this, my first crop of roses was raised on pure sand, and for a beginner, I still consider that first crop a good one.

Roses grow well in a pH of 5.5 to 7.5 which gives the grower a wide tolerance with which to work. As a starting point, wild rose (Rosa multiflora japonica) is planted in the spring just as early as your soil will permit you to do so. Late March is excellent if it is possible to start that early.

CONSTRUCTION Construction depends upon materials available and the use of the frame itself. Since most of the material we grow in the cold frame is of the more easily rooted items, such as various Euonymus, ours is very simple. We chose a spot at the base of a low bank. By straightening up one side with a spade and leveling off, we obtained an area six feet wide and about fourteen inches deep at the back. We then laid out 1 × 8 inch planks, which had been treated with a wood preservative, the length of the frame and across the ends. On these we placed concrete blocks (8 × 8 × 16 in.) There are two tiers of blocks in the back and one across the front. The

When I first saw this heading, I had a very easy answer. In order to get the best results in planting and transplanting you just plant everything early and on time. It is as simple as that.

But I don't think you people are satisfied with such a simple answer as that. No doubt you have the same problems as I have, that is, you simply can't plant everything early and on time. Now we try to do the next best thing and that is to see how to get around this in order to get a satisfactory stand when we are planting later than we should.

To start with, we have one very good method and that is potting up all your cuttings and seedlings or putting them in bands. To my mind that is an excellent method to insure