Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Saving Mrs. Sharpley's Rose

One morning last month, I received an email from a dear rose friend in SW Virginia.  It read,

"I have come across a rose that I believe is the Hybrid Perp, President Lincoln, Granger, 1863.  It belongs to a 91 yr old lady, Mrs. Sharpley, here in Roanoke.  She can trace it for certain to 1900 and the family history says they planted it, in Delaware, when Lincoln was president.  It was then moved to Maryland, where the family had to keep quiet about the name because Lincoln was not popular.  She herself has had the rose since 1940.  She moved it to her current house in 1960.  Two years ago it was nearly killed by "those folks who spray houses."  She moved it and it is recovering but it is still small.  The surviving [own root] trunk is appx 1.5 diameter.  She says it was a big bush, "nearly tall as I am" (4'10") in its prime.  On a scale of low-to-high 1-5, it is about a 2 in fragrance, maybe a 3, as it was cool and overcast this morning.  Attached are photos.  Do you want cuttings and if so, when should I take them?  It is a truer red than my photos, matches perfectly the red photo on the hmf site (there are only two) and, as you can see, has fingernail clipping of white at the center).  She would like cuttings for her grandchildren, tho at present there isn't that much from which to take cuttings."



That's a silly question ... of COURSE I want cuttings!  Any rose with this kind of story is one that I will do my best to propagate and preserve.



A Fed Ex truck arrived here the next afternoon, delivering a document envelope which contained a small piece of Mrs. Sharpley's rose.  That piece was adequate to yield two fairly decent cuttings, which gave me twice the probability of getting at least one of them to root. 

I decided that I would have the best chance of success by using my favorite low-tech milk jug/soda bottle method of propagation ... placing the container in the cool north-facing window in my basement workshop.  (Photo tutorial is HERE on the Hartwood Roses web site.)



It's been a month since I received and planted those two cuttings.  Two weeks ago, one of the cuttings turned black ... indicating that it was dead.  The remaining cutting has appeared to be doing fine.  The leaves are still attached, which is always a good sign.



This morning while I was in the basement, I checked on the cutting and found that it has rooted!!



That's a nice strong, healthy root ... and I am confident that there are more roots in the pot that I cannot see yet.  I will leave the cutting in its little bottle greenhouse with the lid on till I see signs that it is beginning to grow new leaves.  At that point, I will begin to transition the cutting out of the bottle by removing the lid for a week or so ... then I can remove the bottle all together.  The little rose can stay in the milk jug till it has a dense root system.

I know Mrs. Sharpley will be pleased when she finds out that the cutting of her rose has rooted, and that we can continue to propagate from this new plant in the future to share her rose with the rest of her family.


22 comments:

  1. I love retracing a rose's past, and discovering its identity.

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  2. That is so wonderful!!!! Roses are so very special, and when there is a family history, they are priceless!

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  3. Wow! That is a great story of a rose with long history. How incredible that you are able to help it live on. I can't wait to hear more.

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  4. Nice rose. Do I detect some darker stippling towards the outer petals?

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  5. Great story and a nice-looking rose!

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  6. What a great piece of history! Keep us in the loop of the progress of this special rose, please.♥♫

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  7. Good luck with your new rose, I am very much enchanted by your blog :)>

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  8. What an exciting history this rose has! Hope it does well for you because it's too special not to!

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  9. What a wonderful story, and how great is it that the same rose is continuing down the family line. I love the part where they had to keep quiet about its name!

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  10. What an awesome story! I am so happy that they contacted you to help them preserve this wonderful piece of history for not only the family but to continue the legacy of such a beautiful rose.

    I'm looking forward to seeing its progress!

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  11. What a wonderful story! I am so glad they contacted you. What a treasure cuttings of this rose will be for her family. It is truly amazing how long roses can live. To have planted it when Lincoln was President! Amazing!

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  12. That's an amazing AND interesting rose story! So glad you are have good luck with it!

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  13. How wonderful, Connie- You are a good soul! xo Diana

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  14. YAY....I am sure you had the biggest smile on your face when you spotted that root ;->

    What a wonderful piece of history to have in your family.

    Are you recovered from Luckett's????

    Janet xox
    The Empty Nest

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  15. Roses and stories such as this are what legends are made of... How awesome it is to have found Mrs. Sharpley and her beautiful rose. What a wonderful piece of history growing in her garden.... Kudos to you for the find and the save!

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  16. What a great history on such a long lived rose surviving several moves and nearly getting killed by the "House Sprayers".
    I hope when the rose cutting is a big enough plant you will get a cutting for your self as well.
    Keep us informed on that great rose.
    Thank you for sharing.

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  17. Forgot to add my email account.

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  18. Meta, sweetie, I still don't have your email. Consider changing your profile. I'll leave your reply here:

    This plant of Mrs. Sharpley's rose will stay in my garden. When it gets large enough, I will propagate from it and give the new plants to Mrs. Sharpley and her family, and I will make it available to others who want to grow this piece of history in THEIR gardens.

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  19. What a wonderful story from Mrs. Sharpley! And that you were able to get her rose to root even more remarkable! Great post!

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  20. I love this story. Super good luck with cuttings.

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  21. I am SO glad you posted this!!!! I'm thrilled for Mrs. Sharpley and her family but I'm also so happy you shared this technique because I'm going to be propagating a rose from a cutting for the very first time and I needed some guidance. Thank you!

    Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

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  22. How very, very exciting! Yes, I'm sure Mrs. Sharpley will be so pleased. YAY!

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