I was thumbing through some of the older editions of the excellent series of books published by the American Rose Society called “How To Grow Roses.” Just for fun, I decided to compare the techniques and methods common then to todays and to see if things have really changed. This series of rose books was started by Robert Pyle back in 1901. In 1920, these books became available for members of the American Rose Society. In 1929, Horace McFarland co-edited these books with Mr. Pyle. Mr. Pyle was co-owner of The Conard & Jones Company which eventually became Conard Pyle, home of the “Star” series of roses. Overall, it was interesting to see how little things have changed.

The books themselves were well done, covering most subjects on rose culture. A typical index included: Comradeship Of The Rose, Design For Formal and Informal Garden, Choose the Choicest, Universal Favorites, Preparing To Grow Roses, Planting, Rose-Time, Protecting Roses, Pruning, Best Roses, Roses For Each Region, Extending The Dominion Of The Rose, Hybridizing, Own Root Versus Budded Roses, Crafts, Forcing Under Glass, Calendar Of Operations, Rose Synonyms, Tested Roses, and Analysis of Species.

The breakdown by basic subject and their comparison to today:

Planting Roses: No change here. Roses were planted much the same way as today. Dig large holes, have good drainage, use a good soil mix, and spread the roots in the hole. They do suggest placing broken bones and manure in the hole. The roses came bundled in small burlap sacks, which is similar to the sawdust packages we use today.

Spraying: The same diseases plagued rose growers then and as today. The major change was in the method of control. Rosarians then did a lot more spraying with powders or dusts than we do today. The materials have also changed. The highly toxic materials have given way to more environmental friendly materials. The standard choice for mildew control was Bordeaux Mix, a highly toxic material relying on heavy metals such as copper. Aphids were controlled by using Black-Leaf 40 (nicotine sulfate) or whale oil soap. Rose slugs were controlled by Arsenate of Lead which is highly toxic. To control rose chafers, hand picking them and dropping them into kerosene was mentioned. Traps were made with molasses or something sweet mixed with Arsenate of Lead. They also mention washing roses with a strong stream of water. For fungus diseases, they suggest good air circulation. The best control for fungus is a 90 parts sulfur to 10 parts Arsenate of Lead dust. They did teach prevention and watching for telltale signs that problems are on the way, such as weather changes.

Diseases: The same rose diseases that plagued rose growers in 1916 and 1925 are the same today: blackspot and powdery mildew. The insects are the same as well: aphids, rose chafers, rose slugs, beetles, etc.

Pruning: No changes here. They mentioned maintenance pruning and rated each type of rose by how hard, if at all, they should be pruned. They defined hard pruning as “thin out to the base all but from three to five shoots, and cut these back so as to leave two or three eyes on each shoot.” This is quite severe for what we do today.

Fertilizing: Manures were the fertilizer of choice. They suggested aged cow manure first, but horse, pig and sheep manures are good as well. Ground bone and guano are also mentioned along with manure tea. They suggested a layer of mulch or compost to fertilize and help control weeds. The most intriguing item of note was “rose rotation” like crops after six to eight years.

Best Roses: Some of the best roses mentioned were: Killarney, American Pillar, Birdie Blye, Blanc Double de Colbert, Dr. Huey, General Jacqueminot, Gloire de Dijon, Gruss an Aachen, Lady Hillington, Madame Abel Chatenay, Mrs. John Laing, Ophelia, Radiance, and Tausendschon. The catagories were broken down into the best for each type of effect, i.e. climbers, and by region.

Crafts: They discussed how to make rose attar and rose beads (rosaries).

I was very impressed by these books and wondered why the American Rose Society stopped publishing them. We can always learn more, either from today, or from the past.