Presenting

22 June | 2021 22 "Old Garden Roses" (sometimes called "Antique" or "Heirloom" roses) and "Modern Roses." e Old Garden Roses are those that were cultivated in distinct classes prior to 1867, and the Modern Roses are those that followed. 1867 is an important year in rose history because it marks the debut of the hybrid tea rose. To have survived for thousands of years, the Old Garden Roses possessed desirable traits that allowed them to adapt to increasingly diffi cult situations. ey were low maintenance; grew well in a variety of soil conditions; required little, if any, pruning; survived winters with no extra protection; and were very disease- and insect- resistant. And they most certainly were fragrant. Most Old Garden Roses bloomed only once, in the summer. Many were shrubby (one might even say overly vigorous), sprawling plants that required room to roam. e blossoms, too, often single instead of the more desirable double, were not showy enough to last as cut fl owers. e unfolding buds were not attractive—nothing to compare to the beauty of the hybrid tea bud unfolding. e old-fashioned plants needed shaping, and the fl owers were restricted to shades of pink. Hybridizers longed to expand the shape and color range of the buds, petals and the fi nal open fl ower. And so began the process of hybridizing that has produced thousands of modern cultivars. Unfortunately, one of the characteristics most closely associated with roses, fragrance, was hybridized out of the Modern Roses in favor of fl ower color and shape. However, hybridizers are now recognizing, once again, the value of fragrance, pressured in part by consumer demand. Roses have been said to exude seven basic fragrances: rose, Nasturtium, violet, apple, lemon, clove and tea. e antique roses typify the "classic" rose fragrance because, of the seven scents, they possess the rose scent, in most cases. Rose experts have commented that roses release their most intense fragrance when the blossoms are half open. In the morning, while a slight touch of dewy moisture lingers on the petals, the warming eff ect of early sun will encourage the release of fragrant oils from the petals and, occasionally, the leaves. Hot sun, rain, wind and high humidity work against fragrance. Source: Chicago Botanical Gardens and theCultureConcept.com Page 28, top: 'Rosa Loves Me' from Alexandra Farms This page, top right: 'Princess Kaori' from Alexandra Farms Left: 'Amnesia' from Alexandra Farms CARE INSTRUCTIONS The First Cut: Trimming the Stems Preparing roses involves one essential step of removal: Always cut an inch or more from the bottom of the stem with a clean, sharp knife or bypass cutter, to facilitate renewed uptake of water and nutrients. With garden roses, this is advisable even if you are using a no-cut fl ower-food solution. Leaves to Be Desired and De -thorning Techniques Rose leaves function as the lungs of a plant. On their underside are pores, called "stomata," that facilitate gas exchange. They literally allow the rose stem to breathe. And that "breathing" encourages the fl ow of water and nutrients up the stem, allowing the cut fl ower to open and color up. Leaves that fall below the water line in a vase or holding container tend to favor the growth of bacteria in the water. These leaves should always be removed with a clean, sharp knife. And, yes, often you will need to remove all the leaves on a rose stem to accommodate your design. But whenever possible, it's helpful to the vase life of a rose to leave any foliage intact that won't be submerged or crushed. One technique for dealing with thorns is to break them off by hand, simply pushing them aside one by one. This is time consuming, and it may cause some tissue damage. A preferable technique is to trim each thorn with a clipper, dulling the point. Thorns actually help the rose to take up water. And while no one wants to get stuck by a thorn, when thorns and leaves are roughly stripped from the stem, that process runs the risk of tearing at the skin of the rose stem and creating an open wound. Consider this: Any cutting that is done to a rose, including the peeling of guard petals and de-thorning, leaves wounded tissue exposed to fl oating bacteria and the spores of Botrytis mold. "Above the water line, that wound becomes a place where air and bacteria can enter the stem," says J Schwanke, AIFD, AAF, PFCI, of uBloom.com. Air and bacteria can block the fl ow of water and nutrients, shortening the rose's life. Therefore, when roses are held in buckets or arranged in vases, it's ideal to remove only those thorns and leaves that fall below the water line. The real key is to do whatever paring and pruning that needs to be done with minimal damage to the rose. But if you have especially thorny stems, you may need to resort to grasping the stem with a tool like a stem stripper or a heavy-duty terrycloth towel. Either of these will remove leaves as well as removing or dulling thorns. Always pull from the top of the stem toward the bottom: conveniently, the thorns themselves point downward. Another reason to remove leaves and thorns that fall below the water line is that they can tear at leaves on other stems as you insert them into a vase or bucket. Source: AlexandraFarms.com

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