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STOCKS - Part 3 |
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A form of R. ccmina is often referred to as the South Australian or Adelaide Briar. It must always be struck from two-year-old wood, has a poor root system, and is very apt to sucker. There are many better stocks for dwarf roses, but it is quite a good stock for standard or tree roses. The shorter standards hardly need staking. Many Pernetianas do much better on R. canina than on R. indica major. Canina standards do particularly well in light soils.
The great advantage of the IXL stock for standards is that it does not sucker. R. fortuniana is stated as being a natural hybrid of R. laevi-gata and R. Banksia. It was tried as a stock in New South Wales in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but was discarded. Early in this century it came into use in Perth. It has an excellent rooting system and vigorous and continuous growth; it is easy to bud; and wounds and budding scars heal quickly. It appears to be specially suited to sandy soils. Its roots are credited with deep penetration, with consequent avoidance of the greater heat variation of the surface layers of soil. There are two great objections to it as a stock-firstly, its poor percentage strike and, secondly, the marked resentment it has of its roots becoming dry at any stage of transplanting. All cuttings of R. fortuniana must first be inserted in sand beds until a good callus appears. They are then moved to the nursery rows, where apparently a seventy-five per cent strike is regarded as good. This all means much more labour, with consequent increase in the cost of production of plants. R. fortuniana has been used successfully as a stock for standards, but roses grown in this manner are not very popular in Perth, the centre of R. fortuniana advocates. Undoubtedly fine large dwarf plants grow in large numbers on R. fortuniana in very sandy soils around Perth. Several hybrids of these stocks have been bred and tried, and some are promising. Only first-class stocks should be used, irrespective of their variety. Any that are not vigorous by budding time should be discarded. |
