Pruning Climbing Roses
This need present no difficulty, although it is true it seems to puzzle many rose growers of some years' standing. But, as a rule, where they err is not in pruning the plants insufficiently, but in pruning them too much. While systematic and regular pruning is good for the dwarf roses, climbing varieties, as a rule, are all the better for light pruning. The best blooms of a climbing rose are produced by one-year-old growths and, theoretically, the shoots that have bloomed should be cut out as soon as the flowers are over, so that fresh growths may be encouraged to take their places. This is certainly correct advice,, but some sorts are so accommodating that the removal of the older growths may often be dispensed with. They are found among the wichuraiana varieties. These bloom so freely, even from the side shoots that form on the two- and three-year-old stems, that it is a pity to cut them out as long as there is room for them. Of course, preference is always given to the youngest, and it is unwise to crowd the growths together, or in aiming at getting a superabundance of blossom the grower may find that unhappily he obtains none at all worth having. Thus, while liberties may be taken with the Dorothy Perkins class of rose that would lead to disappointment with other kinds, it should not be forgotten that no rose will bloom well if its growths have not a fair share of sunshine and fresh air. Here are the names of a few that may be neglected for two or three years so far as pruning is concerned and be none the worse for it, and in the garden of the inexperienced grower they may conceivably be all the better:-Dorothy Perkins and its first cousin, if not its sister, Lady Gay, Auguste Barbier, Alberic Barbier, Tausendschon, Minnehaha, Hiawatha, White Dorothy Perkins, Jersey Beauty, Elisa Robinson, Gardenia, Lady Godiva, Joseph Billard, and Edmond Proust.
Climbing roses belonging to the multiflora class, of which Crimson Rambler is a type,- are not to be treated so cavalierly in the matter of pruning. There is a great difference in the quality of the blooms produced by one-year-old growths and those of greater age. The shoots of the previous year's growth yield fine flower bunches direct from the main stem, but all other growths bloom only from comparatively weak side shoots, and their flowers are not to be compared with those from younger stems. It is thus not wise to take liberties with Crimson Rambler and its near relations, or they will retaliate by rewarding the gardener in niggardly fashion in the matter of blossom. Let me name a few of these near relatives so that the reader may be forewarned, and treat them with the respect that they at any rate seem to think is their due. Some of the most familiar are Aglaia, Blush Rambler, Crimson Rambler, Electra, H61&e, Leuchtstern, Mrs. Flight, Philadelphia Rambler, Psyche, Rubin, and Waltham Rambler. " Cut out the old, train in the new " should be the grower's motto in dealing with these.
I must just say a word about the pruning of the Noisette roses, for they need considering separately, and among them are such favorites as William Allen Richardson and Reve d'Or. They are not so adept at producing fresh vigorous shoots from the base of the plant as varieties of the two classes just mentioned, and therefore the older shoots must be treated with greater consideration than usual, since when there are few to replace them we must needs make the best of those we have. As a rule, if, well planted and hard pruned the spring following planting they grow vigorously enough for the first two or three years ; afterwards an opportunity is usually offered to the practiced pruner to give proof of his skill. This he will do by bending down some of the strong growths that have assumed a perpendicular position, by shortening others to within a few inches of the ground, and by seeing that all shoots are spread out as much as possible. Everyone must have noticed that all plants grown against walls (and it is often as wall roses that the Noise varieties are valuable) show most vigor at the top.. If this state of things is allowed to become too pronounced it must ultimately mean that the base of the plant gets bare. Noise roses other than those I have mentioned are found in Celine Forestier, Marechal Niel, Fortune's Yellow, Lamarque (all needing the shelter of a warm wall facing south), Alister Stella Oray, and C. Kuster. So much, then, for pruning the roses that are commonly grown. What I have not made plain I hope the accompanying sketches will do. I am trusting to them to make up for my shortcomings in description. There is really not very much to say in respect of the other classes of roses that are comparatively rarely grown that would interest the average amateur. They nearly all need similar treatment, which is, that you cut out some of the older growths occasionally in late summer when the plants have done flowering, and at the spring pruning, which is practiced in late March, you cut back about half-way each remaining shoot.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Pegging Down Roses
There are exceptions, as may well be imagined, among the wonderful variety that is found in roses at the present day. The first exception is found in those varieties that make vigorous growth even when hard pruned; this would seem to indicate that the orthodox method is not for them. Neither, in fact, is it suitable. If grown in a bed or border away from wall or fence, the proper way to treat them is by means of what is known as " pegging down." This, rendered plain, signifies that instead of being cut back in March, the growths of the previous year are scarcely, if at all, shortened (although if the tips are soft they are cut off), and they are secured to the ground by means of pegs. This is easily accomplished by tying a piece of string to the end of the shoot and tying this to a peg stuck in the soil. This miniature rose arch will be one mass of blossom in summer. Each bud will produce a bloom or bunch of blooms according to its habit. The grower proceeds in autumn to cut out the growths that have flowered, so that fresh shoots may have it all to themselves. They, too, are treated in the same way the following spring; thus in roses of this type there is a constant succession of young growths of great vigor taking the place of those that have given their bloom, and each year's supply is pegged down in March. There is no danger of the supply giving out if the old shoots are regularly cut out when the flowers are over. Such roses as these take up a lot of room, and it is useless to grow them in the same bed with others of ordinary vigor, for the latter will be simply smothered. I know this from unfortunate experience, and as my garden is of limited extent ' I gave up growing them in a rose bed, and now have them against a 4 or 5 feet high fence. A few sorts that I have found need this treatment are Frau Karl Druschkil Hugh Dickson, Mrs. Stewart Clark and Clio. But one may peg down any rose that makes unduly vigorous growth if one wishes to have plenty of blossom and there is the necessary room at disposal.
Pruning Bush or Dwarf Roses
Pruning Bush or Dwarf Roses -And now to the pruning of roses that are not newly planted. I warn those who are not interested that it is a complex subject, but if it is any inducement to the reader to read on, I will be as brief as possible, if only for my own sake, for the printer is clamoring for "copy," and, alas! How, and where shall I begin? What does the amateur first want to know when he is told how to do anything in the garden ? Why, he wants to know when to do it. Happy idea ! The best time to prune all roses that are commonly grown as bushes is, in the southern and south midland counties, the third week in March. An exception is made in the case of Tea roses, the pruning of which is deferred until the first week in April. But nowadays, Hybrid Teas and the true Teas are so much mixed up that even the rose expert-and by this I mean the professional who grows nothing else but roses-even he is not sure to which class some of them belong. In proof of this I could mention several roses that are classed in one catalogue as Teas, and in another as Hybrid Teas !. I mention this because the true Teas are not so hardy as the crossbred or Hybrid Teas, and while one may not prune the true Teas until April, the others are pruned in March. But perhaps this is a futile point and not worth laboring. In the northern and north midland counties roses are pruned a fortnight later. In the descriptive lists given at the end of this chapter will be found the names of numerous roses for the . amateur, and in many cases particulars of the required pruning are given, so . that here I need not enter into details of the varied pruning suited to different sorts. This knowledge, indeed, is only to be acquired by a wide experience among the different classes of roses, so I shall confine myself, to. an explanation of the principles and practice of rose pruning generally.
Let us first consider bush or dwarf roses ; those most commonly grown in this form are Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid Teas, and Teas. It is among these classes that the amateur will find the best roses for garden display and for cutting. Apart from a knowledge of the characteristics of each variety, which I cannot here attempt to convey, the pruner should first acquaint himself with the habit and manner of growth of each sort. Some grow much more strongly than others ; some grow erect ; others are inclined to spread, and so on. Such an acquaintance will give the reader a clue as to whether he must shorten the shoots little or much. In any case, the first care is to cut out all growths that are soft and bend easily to the touch ; these are quite useless. Then, all thin and weak shoots that obviously can never bear a decent bloom are to be cut out, and those that have grown towards the c6ntre of the plant are either cut out or shortened to a bud that points in an outward direction. If . they can be spared, they are cut away altogether. The experienced rose grower aims at keeping the center of his plants open, and this is accomplished by cutting every growth to a bud that points away from the center. This is quite one-of the most important items the pruner has to bear in mind, and makes all the difference between good and bad pruning. Then comes the great question of, How long shall we leave each growth? It is much more easily asked than it is satisfactorily answered. Something depends upon the -aims of the grower. If he likes to have a tidy rose garden with each shoot more or less in its proper place, and to have. fewer blooms of good quality rather than many blooms of fair quality, then all growths of, say, the thickness of a lead pencil or the little finger, are cut to within 3 or 4 buds of the base. - If quantity rather than quality is the end in view, then such growths may be left 6 or 8 buds long. In plain words and figures , I cannot get nearer to a precise explanation of my point; in fact, I feel I am rather foolish to attempt so much. But having done it and having no eraser at hand, I will let it go, trusting to the intelligence of the reader to make up for what I am lacking in clear description. Growths that are not so thick as a lead pencil are cut back to within two buds of their base. In this case it does not matter whether you want many or few flowers, for you may think yourself lucky to get any at all ! If you are fortunate enough, by good cultivation, to get growths on the roses to which the pencil standard does not apply then, if you cannot by the law of averages judge how long to leave them, I advise that you call in the nearest qualified gardener to help you out of the difficulty. These remarks apply to the Hybrid Perpetual and the Hybrid Tea roses. The pruning of the Teas is so simple as scarcely to need doing at all. Not to continue in a paradoxical strain, they are generally so well pruned by the winter that the gardener's knife is scarcely required. The stronger shoots are cut to within four buds of the base, and the weaker growths to within two buds. If as many blooms as possible are wanted without regard to size and form, then the strongest may be left two or three buds longer. But I would strongly advise the amateur who values the expressed admiration of his friends and really wishes to see his roses at their best, to prune hard rather than leave the shoots too long. It is certainly a case of " spare the knife and spoil the rose " so far as most of the roses commonly grown are concerned. Light pruning, as a rule, lays the foundation of a rose that is bare at the base and full of weak, spindling growths at the top. It certainly does so if the grower does not prune hard the first year or two. All things considered, I shall pose as an advocate of hard pruning, for I have found that the average rose lives longer and gives more blooms worth having than a rose that is lightly pruned
Let us first consider bush or dwarf roses ; those most commonly grown in this form are Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid Teas, and Teas. It is among these classes that the amateur will find the best roses for garden display and for cutting. Apart from a knowledge of the characteristics of each variety, which I cannot here attempt to convey, the pruner should first acquaint himself with the habit and manner of growth of each sort. Some grow much more strongly than others ; some grow erect ; others are inclined to spread, and so on. Such an acquaintance will give the reader a clue as to whether he must shorten the shoots little or much. In any case, the first care is to cut out all growths that are soft and bend easily to the touch ; these are quite useless. Then, all thin and weak shoots that obviously can never bear a decent bloom are to be cut out, and those that have grown towards the c6ntre of the plant are either cut out or shortened to a bud that points in an outward direction. If . they can be spared, they are cut away altogether. The experienced rose grower aims at keeping the center of his plants open, and this is accomplished by cutting every growth to a bud that points away from the center. This is quite one-of the most important items the pruner has to bear in mind, and makes all the difference between good and bad pruning. Then comes the great question of, How long shall we leave each growth? It is much more easily asked than it is satisfactorily answered. Something depends upon the -aims of the grower. If he likes to have a tidy rose garden with each shoot more or less in its proper place, and to have. fewer blooms of good quality rather than many blooms of fair quality, then all growths of, say, the thickness of a lead pencil or the little finger, are cut to within 3 or 4 buds of the base. - If quantity rather than quality is the end in view, then such growths may be left 6 or 8 buds long. In plain words and figures , I cannot get nearer to a precise explanation of my point; in fact, I feel I am rather foolish to attempt so much. But having done it and having no eraser at hand, I will let it go, trusting to the intelligence of the reader to make up for what I am lacking in clear description. Growths that are not so thick as a lead pencil are cut back to within two buds of their base. In this case it does not matter whether you want many or few flowers, for you may think yourself lucky to get any at all ! If you are fortunate enough, by good cultivation, to get growths on the roses to which the pencil standard does not apply then, if you cannot by the law of averages judge how long to leave them, I advise that you call in the nearest qualified gardener to help you out of the difficulty. These remarks apply to the Hybrid Perpetual and the Hybrid Tea roses. The pruning of the Teas is so simple as scarcely to need doing at all. Not to continue in a paradoxical strain, they are generally so well pruned by the winter that the gardener's knife is scarcely required. The stronger shoots are cut to within four buds of the base, and the weaker growths to within two buds. If as many blooms as possible are wanted without regard to size and form, then the strongest may be left two or three buds longer. But I would strongly advise the amateur who values the expressed admiration of his friends and really wishes to see his roses at their best, to prune hard rather than leave the shoots too long. It is certainly a case of " spare the knife and spoil the rose " so far as most of the roses commonly grown are concerned. Light pruning, as a rule, lays the foundation of a rose that is bare at the base and full of weak, spindling growths at the top. It certainly does so if the grower does not prune hard the first year or two. All things considered, I shall pose as an advocate of hard pruning, for I have found that the average rose lives longer and gives more blooms worth having than a rose that is lightly pruned
Winter Protection
Winter Protection-Then comes the question of protection, which I am convinced is made too much of, so far, at least, as concerns gardens in the southern counties. I live in Middlesex, and I never protect any of my roses. Out of the many I have from time to time planted I can only remember losing one. Of course, if I had given the plants adequate protection I should not have lost even that one, I imagine some " protection " enthusiast exclaiming. But I submit that my experience makes out a very good case for " nonprotection "-with no political significance, I protest ! Those who have the fortune to live in the cold northern counties (the very mention of which fills me with uneasiness, so long have I lived in the south !) should protect there Tea roses, but all the Hybrid Perpetuals and most of the Hybrid Teas are quite hardy. At least, there is no reason why anyone should take any risk, for it is the simplest thing in the world to protect one's roses. There is no need for any of the elaborate methods often advocated; a little heap Of soil 3 or 4 inches high, around and among the lower branches, is all that is required. Readers may well cry " shame " that I do not even take so simple a precaution to protect my own roses rather than run the risk of losing even one; and while that censure is perhaps well deserved, I protest that I am so busy writing about roses in the winter that I am apt sometimes to leave them to look after themselves. And I make bold to say that it would be all the better for many other roses if they were similarly treated.
The surest way to weaken a rose is to coddle it. Many of those who protect their plants with bracken, straw and other material, leave these about the plants until late in spring, with the result that the roses start into growth earlier than they would otherwise do, and such growth as they make beneath the seductive covering that gives them a dangerous and unnatural warmth is soft and sappy and falls an easy prey to the least frost. And when is the rose . grower out of the wood so far as late spring frosts is concerned ? justly we may term this winter protection a " wolf in sheep's clothing," especially so far as the inexperienced gardener is concerned. And why go to this trouble when mother earth is all they need, and when nothing is better or even so good for them ? Even I, who would seem to hold a brief for garden soil as if it were almost to the ground in the month of March following planting. I believe, too, that most amateurs in their heart ' of hearts know this as well as the professional, but they have not the courage to put the precept into practice. At any rate, they have been told times enough. Anyone with a knowledge of the likes and dislikes of roses has doubtless had the pleasure of advising a friend as to the method of pruning his roses the first spring after planting. You find that he has cut bush roses back in the orthodox way; but the climbers, those with nice long growths that seem. to say, " Ah ! just leave me alone, and I promise that you shall not be disappointed " -with those it is different. He has listened to the siren's voice, he has started on that seductive short cut to Elysium. Naturally you expostulate with him, you argue, and finally threaten his roses will all the evils to which roses are heir. But no, he has heard the entrancing call, he is enraptured, by the charm of the dreams he has dreamed, and all entreaty is vain. Since he will do so, he must tread the path, which, alas! so many have trodden-I am not ashamed to confess that I am found among the number-that leads without delay to disillusion. You are told in a more or less shamefaced sort of way that, " I thought I ought to have cut them harder back, don't you know; but then I was not quite sure." And, knowing better, you interpret this as really meaning that the gardener knew that the roses ought to be cut to the ground, but that he could not bring himself to do it. How much wiser would he have been to go away for the day and commission the jobbing gardener to come in and cut off not only the heads but also the legs also of all the newly planted roses. The jobber would have had no scruples about doing it, for the more cutting the untrained worker can do the better he is pleased, as a rule.
But let me to the point, and say that every growth of every rose you plant between November and March should be cut to within three or four buds of its base about the last week in March or the first week in April. As a -preliminary, the growths may be half cut away as soon as they are planted. I have one crumb of comfort for the tender-hearted rose grower. If it -does really go seriously against the grain to treat the plants in this way, then all those that belong to the wichuraiana class may be more leniently dealt with, although, personally, I treat them all alike,. I am afraid I shall need at least a paragraph to explain all that is denoted by that fearsome word " wichuraiana -a word that, though used glibly enough by gardeners and garden writers, is more often than not misspelt. I have made sure of that extra " a " before venturing on this mild criticism ! The original rose called wichuraiana is a charming Japanese creeping kind with very long, slender growths and pretty little white blossoms, and by cross-breeding with some other roses distinguished by large flowers of rich coloring, Dorothy Perkins and many others have been evolved. They are commonly referred to as wichuraiana roses. Well, these make such remarkably vigorous growth with little or no attention on the grower's part that it is not necessary to cut them hard back to induce them to grow strongly. And there is the whole case in a nutshell ! One may leave the best growth almost its full length, and shorten all others by about one half. So much, then (and it is much more than I had intended), about pruning newly planted roses.
The surest way to weaken a rose is to coddle it. Many of those who protect their plants with bracken, straw and other material, leave these about the plants until late in spring, with the result that the roses start into growth earlier than they would otherwise do, and such growth as they make beneath the seductive covering that gives them a dangerous and unnatural warmth is soft and sappy and falls an easy prey to the least frost. And when is the rose . grower out of the wood so far as late spring frosts is concerned ? justly we may term this winter protection a " wolf in sheep's clothing," especially so far as the inexperienced gardener is concerned. And why go to this trouble when mother earth is all they need, and when nothing is better or even so good for them ? Even I, who would seem to hold a brief for garden soil as if it were almost to the ground in the month of March following planting. I believe, too, that most amateurs in their heart ' of hearts know this as well as the professional, but they have not the courage to put the precept into practice. At any rate, they have been told times enough. Anyone with a knowledge of the likes and dislikes of roses has doubtless had the pleasure of advising a friend as to the method of pruning his roses the first spring after planting. You find that he has cut bush roses back in the orthodox way; but the climbers, those with nice long growths that seem. to say, " Ah ! just leave me alone, and I promise that you shall not be disappointed " -with those it is different. He has listened to the siren's voice, he has started on that seductive short cut to Elysium. Naturally you expostulate with him, you argue, and finally threaten his roses will all the evils to which roses are heir. But no, he has heard the entrancing call, he is enraptured, by the charm of the dreams he has dreamed, and all entreaty is vain. Since he will do so, he must tread the path, which, alas! so many have trodden-I am not ashamed to confess that I am found among the number-that leads without delay to disillusion. You are told in a more or less shamefaced sort of way that, " I thought I ought to have cut them harder back, don't you know; but then I was not quite sure." And, knowing better, you interpret this as really meaning that the gardener knew that the roses ought to be cut to the ground, but that he could not bring himself to do it. How much wiser would he have been to go away for the day and commission the jobbing gardener to come in and cut off not only the heads but also the legs also of all the newly planted roses. The jobber would have had no scruples about doing it, for the more cutting the untrained worker can do the better he is pleased, as a rule.
But let me to the point, and say that every growth of every rose you plant between November and March should be cut to within three or four buds of its base about the last week in March or the first week in April. As a -preliminary, the growths may be half cut away as soon as they are planted. I have one crumb of comfort for the tender-hearted rose grower. If it -does really go seriously against the grain to treat the plants in this way, then all those that belong to the wichuraiana class may be more leniently dealt with, although, personally, I treat them all alike,. I am afraid I shall need at least a paragraph to explain all that is denoted by that fearsome word " wichuraiana -a word that, though used glibly enough by gardeners and garden writers, is more often than not misspelt. I have made sure of that extra " a " before venturing on this mild criticism ! The original rose called wichuraiana is a charming Japanese creeping kind with very long, slender growths and pretty little white blossoms, and by cross-breeding with some other roses distinguished by large flowers of rich coloring, Dorothy Perkins and many others have been evolved. They are commonly referred to as wichuraiana roses. Well, these make such remarkably vigorous growth with little or no attention on the grower's part that it is not necessary to cut them hard back to induce them to grow strongly. And there is the whole case in a nutshell ! One may leave the best growth almost its full length, and shorten all others by about one half. So much, then (and it is much more than I had intended), about pruning newly planted roses.
Planting Roses
There is probably more varied advice given on the planting of roses than on any item of gardening work; the soil preparation, which is a necessary preliminary and may be considered in connection with it, is the subject of even more contradictory direction. Rather than attempt to weigh the possible disadvantages of one method with the possible advantages of another, it will be more to the point, I think, if I give my own experience and my own methods, for they have for some years given me most satisfactory results. My soil is ordinary garden loam-that is to say, it is the kind of soil one would expect to find in any fairly well tilled garden. It is neither very heavy nor very light, although of course clay preponderates; otherwise it would scarcely grow roses. The method I adopt is a simple one. I do not trench 3 feet deep, as is often advised. Not for the reason that I underestimate the value of trenching, but for the very human reason that full trenching is hard and heavy work, and that a less elaborate method gives good returns. I like to do my own digging, then I have the satisfaction of knowing that it is well done or, at least, done to my liking. In preparing a bed for rose planting I first of all take out a trench 18 inches deep and 2 feet wide across one end of the ground. The soil at the bottom of the trench is then turned over with a fork. We thus get some 2 feet depth of tilled soil. The top " spit " of the undug soil is then turned into the trench ; the second " spit " is also turned into the trench upon the first " spit." Thus, to use an " Irishism," we have proceeded one step backward, a new trench having been opened. The, soil at the bottom of this is forked over. It may be worth while to mention that in digging over the first " spit " the worker faces the open trench ; in turning over the second " spit " he works sideways to it ; so, too, when forking the soil in the bottom of the trench. There is really nothing more to tell except to say .that the worker " proceeds backwards " until the end of the plot or bed is reached. The last trench is filled with the soil that was taken out in making the first trench. This, by the by, should at once be placed at the end of the ground, so as to save a second removal.
The question of manuring is one of importance to the welfare of the roses. There is no doubt that farmyard manure is the best stuff for digging in the soil when preparing for planting, and it is best placed below the second "spit " that is, immediately upon the forked-up soil at the bottom of the trench. When farmyard manure is not to be obtained readily-and near towns it appears to be difficult to procure the best substitute is basic slag. This may be conveniently applied after spreading it over the surface at the rate of 1/2 lb. to each square yard, and then digging it in dig the bed. In any case, whether farmyard manure is used or not, basic slag is an excellent fertilizer to apply in autumn; it is a slow-acting manure, and the plants will derive benefit from it the following season.
The actual planting presents no difficulties. The chief points to bear in mind are to dig a hole large enough for the roots to be spread out in it, to plant at such a depth that the point where the plant was budded-the junction of stock and scion-is covered with about 1 inch of soil ; first to soak the roots in a pail of water or puddled clay for several minutes, and to cut off all broken and bruised root ends. It is most harmful to leave the plants lying about when waiting their turn to be planted; they should either be placed in water or covered with soil. The root fibers so quickly dry up and perish when exposed to the air even for a short time. Finally, it is necessary to make the soil firm about the roots. It follows from this that planting cannot be done when the ground is wet ; neither is it wise to plant when the ground is dry, as it sometimes is in October. As to the time of planting, early November is the best of all. However, rose planting may be carried out successfully from the middle of October until the end of March or early April, but not later when the plants are from the open ground. Roses from pots may be planted at any time of the year, though preferably not later than May, since the roots are not disturbed and the plant receives no check.
If the removal is carefully carried out one may shift even large roses from one part of one's garden to another without their suffering, providing they are transplanted, say, not later than the first week in November. I have shifted 6 feet high plants of Hugh Dickinson from a bed for which they proved too tall, planting them against a fence without even a shoot shriveling When bought plants are put in, severe pruning is invariably necessary the following spring. Some growers advise covering the rose beds with manure in autumn when planting is finished. Others, and I am among. the number, think a covering of manure in spring preferable. I give a coating of farmyard manure 'as soon as pruning is finished, which is usually about the first week in April. This is forked just beneath the surface. The roses receive no further manure, except occasional dressings of fertilizer during summer.
There are many excellent special fertilizers on the market, as, for instance, Clay's, Guano, Wakeley's Hop Manure (which, by the by, is an excellent substitute for farmyard manure), and others. Tonks' manure is especially beneficial to roses. It is compounded from a prescription formulated by the late Dr. Tonks, and may be purchased already made up. Those who like to mix their own may care to know the ingredients, which are as follow :-Super phosphate of lime, twelve parts; nitrate of potash, ten parts; sulfate of magnesia., two parts; sulfate of iron, one part, and sulfate of lime, eight parts. This is applied in early spring at the rate of one pound to the square yard. Tonks manure is best applied in February. It is scattered on the surface of the bed, and then turned in with a fork.
It may be well to remind rose planters how necessary it is to secure standards and climbers to their stakes or the wall immediately planting is completed. November is notoriously a windy month and, as I know to my cost, many shoots may be broken off if they are not made fast to their supports. It may be said that I do not practice what I preach; but even supposing this to be the case, surely it is no good reason why I should not give others the best advice. It is true that I have neglected always to observe the rules that I now give for the guidance of others; but have I not paid the penalty ? I would parody the old adage and say that, " A tie in time saves nine," but as a matter of fact it does much more, it saves a rose from disfigurement and possible destruction.
The question of manuring is one of importance to the welfare of the roses. There is no doubt that farmyard manure is the best stuff for digging in the soil when preparing for planting, and it is best placed below the second "spit " that is, immediately upon the forked-up soil at the bottom of the trench. When farmyard manure is not to be obtained readily-and near towns it appears to be difficult to procure the best substitute is basic slag. This may be conveniently applied after spreading it over the surface at the rate of 1/2 lb. to each square yard, and then digging it in dig the bed. In any case, whether farmyard manure is used or not, basic slag is an excellent fertilizer to apply in autumn; it is a slow-acting manure, and the plants will derive benefit from it the following season.
The actual planting presents no difficulties. The chief points to bear in mind are to dig a hole large enough for the roots to be spread out in it, to plant at such a depth that the point where the plant was budded-the junction of stock and scion-is covered with about 1 inch of soil ; first to soak the roots in a pail of water or puddled clay for several minutes, and to cut off all broken and bruised root ends. It is most harmful to leave the plants lying about when waiting their turn to be planted; they should either be placed in water or covered with soil. The root fibers so quickly dry up and perish when exposed to the air even for a short time. Finally, it is necessary to make the soil firm about the roots. It follows from this that planting cannot be done when the ground is wet ; neither is it wise to plant when the ground is dry, as it sometimes is in October. As to the time of planting, early November is the best of all. However, rose planting may be carried out successfully from the middle of October until the end of March or early April, but not later when the plants are from the open ground. Roses from pots may be planted at any time of the year, though preferably not later than May, since the roots are not disturbed and the plant receives no check.
If the removal is carefully carried out one may shift even large roses from one part of one's garden to another without their suffering, providing they are transplanted, say, not later than the first week in November. I have shifted 6 feet high plants of Hugh Dickinson from a bed for which they proved too tall, planting them against a fence without even a shoot shriveling When bought plants are put in, severe pruning is invariably necessary the following spring. Some growers advise covering the rose beds with manure in autumn when planting is finished. Others, and I am among. the number, think a covering of manure in spring preferable. I give a coating of farmyard manure 'as soon as pruning is finished, which is usually about the first week in April. This is forked just beneath the surface. The roses receive no further manure, except occasional dressings of fertilizer during summer.
There are many excellent special fertilizers on the market, as, for instance, Clay's, Guano, Wakeley's Hop Manure (which, by the by, is an excellent substitute for farmyard manure), and others. Tonks' manure is especially beneficial to roses. It is compounded from a prescription formulated by the late Dr. Tonks, and may be purchased already made up. Those who like to mix their own may care to know the ingredients, which are as follow :-Super phosphate of lime, twelve parts; nitrate of potash, ten parts; sulfate of magnesia., two parts; sulfate of iron, one part, and sulfate of lime, eight parts. This is applied in early spring at the rate of one pound to the square yard. Tonks manure is best applied in February. It is scattered on the surface of the bed, and then turned in with a fork.
It may be well to remind rose planters how necessary it is to secure standards and climbers to their stakes or the wall immediately planting is completed. November is notoriously a windy month and, as I know to my cost, many shoots may be broken off if they are not made fast to their supports. It may be said that I do not practice what I preach; but even supposing this to be the case, surely it is no good reason why I should not give others the best advice. It is true that I have neglected always to observe the rules that I now give for the guidance of others; but have I not paid the penalty ? I would parody the old adage and say that, " A tie in time saves nine," but as a matter of fact it does much more, it saves a rose from disfigurement and possible destruction.
All About Roses - C. Simone
\GIVEN a writer with a willing pen, a day of June, a garden across which the soft wind comes full of the mingled scent of rose blossom-the delicate fragrance of the Teas, the deep scent of the full colored Hybrid Perpetual's and the old garden roses such as Cabbage, Provence and Sweetbriar, and the aromatic odor of the Musk Rose, as sweet as in far Himalaya-these, and an arbor with its face to the flowers and leaves and its back to the sunshine, and what realms of romance are not readily conjured up! One's thoughts are carried to the early years of the rose, to the lands of its youth, even to the Garden of Gethsemane, where, now as then, the rose blooms on sacred soil. To ancient Greece and Rome, where the rose was ever cherished by the people, " in their joys and in their sorrows the rose was their favorite flower." Nero is said to have expended at one feast 30,000 Pounds in roses; 11 a nice little order for the nurseryman " is Dean Hole's characteristic comment. Our thoughts are carried to' far China and Japan, home of the lovely creeping wichuraiana Roses that have given us such a favorite as Dorothy Perkins; to Syria and Persia, even to the lands of the midnight sun. What tales the rose could tell had I space to act as spokesman!
It would seem as though the entire world and his wife was growing roses nowadays; and how better can spare time are spent? Rose growing brings fresh beauty into sordid lives, and intensifies the interest of those that are already full. Chance moments snatched from busy days, long hours from those of leisure, all are repaid in full and with compound interest, not in coin of the realm, but in an increased appreciation of the beautiful, brought home, perhaps, to those who have never felt the magic attraction of flowers, and in steps directed to a closer communion with Nature. For is it not true that many can trace their love of gardening, which, rightly regarded is no more, no less, than a practical demonstration of a real abiding love for flowers, from the time when the rose, the queen of flowers, made her first appeal? With some, indeed, the rose was not only the first, but is still, the last and only love. When the late Dean Hole, whom. we may regard as one of the most ardent and constant of rose lovers, first fell under the spell of the flower, he tells us that, " I dreamed about roses that summer's night, and next morning hurried over my early breakfast that I might canter to the nearest nursery." Many of us have been equally fascinated, and while nothing else has been able to drag us from our beds at six o'clock in the morning, the rose has done it, and many of us now regard it as the most natural thing in the world that our roses should be the first care at the beginning of each new day.
In rose growing, as in growing everything else, one has to begin at the soil, for it is the soil that nourishes the roots, the roots that feed the leaves, the leaves that support the blossoms. "Take care of the soil," might I say, " and the flowers will take care of themselves," if you " take care of " that unwelcome little grub that comes with the coming of spring! But let us. write of pleasant things first, though not counting our roses before they bloom. Why should not soil preparation and planting be considered among the pleasant things of gardening ? The gardener who approaches these prosaic tasks with a mind rightly attuned will dream dreams of bursting buds and wide-opening blossoms; there will be soft showers and bright sunshine for him, even though a pall of gray obscures the heavens and a chill wind makes face and fingers tingle. For whatever may be the actual conditions that obtain, they will but serve to heighten the contrast between the real and the unreal, and render anticipation still more delightful. The gardener has an advantage over many practical workers, if he is an enthusiast, in that the pleasant shadow of the future hovers always over the present, the glamour of the unseen veils with a rose-colored cloak the trials and difficulties of the moment. And if the reader would like to have these pleasant dreams without the sharp contrast (though this, I assure him, makes them all the more real), then let him have the digging and planting done by a jobbing gardener who, whatever his qualifications for the work, and they vary greatly, may occasionally be trusted to do it with some appreciation of its importance if not of its possibilities. For the reader's own sake I trust if he is able he will do his own planting, for the gardener who entrusts his planting to another is likely, sooner or later, to form, one of that already fairly large number of people who find gardening disappointing. And why? Simply because they leave to others that which they should do themselves. Everyone must have felt a pride in homeraised cuttings or seedlings; and what is pride but the outcome of love, fond and real ? Only, as a mother with her children, does the gardener come to know and to love his plants and flowers when, from planting to blossoming, he and he alone has tended them. The longer he gardens the greater will be his love for the flowers he grows. Let us, then, plant our own roses and for a time relapse into the prosaic and practical, for in plant growing, full flower beauty waits only on those who till the soil.
It would seem as though the entire world and his wife was growing roses nowadays; and how better can spare time are spent? Rose growing brings fresh beauty into sordid lives, and intensifies the interest of those that are already full. Chance moments snatched from busy days, long hours from those of leisure, all are repaid in full and with compound interest, not in coin of the realm, but in an increased appreciation of the beautiful, brought home, perhaps, to those who have never felt the magic attraction of flowers, and in steps directed to a closer communion with Nature. For is it not true that many can trace their love of gardening, which, rightly regarded is no more, no less, than a practical demonstration of a real abiding love for flowers, from the time when the rose, the queen of flowers, made her first appeal? With some, indeed, the rose was not only the first, but is still, the last and only love. When the late Dean Hole, whom. we may regard as one of the most ardent and constant of rose lovers, first fell under the spell of the flower, he tells us that, " I dreamed about roses that summer's night, and next morning hurried over my early breakfast that I might canter to the nearest nursery." Many of us have been equally fascinated, and while nothing else has been able to drag us from our beds at six o'clock in the morning, the rose has done it, and many of us now regard it as the most natural thing in the world that our roses should be the first care at the beginning of each new day.
In rose growing, as in growing everything else, one has to begin at the soil, for it is the soil that nourishes the roots, the roots that feed the leaves, the leaves that support the blossoms. "Take care of the soil," might I say, " and the flowers will take care of themselves," if you " take care of " that unwelcome little grub that comes with the coming of spring! But let us. write of pleasant things first, though not counting our roses before they bloom. Why should not soil preparation and planting be considered among the pleasant things of gardening ? The gardener who approaches these prosaic tasks with a mind rightly attuned will dream dreams of bursting buds and wide-opening blossoms; there will be soft showers and bright sunshine for him, even though a pall of gray obscures the heavens and a chill wind makes face and fingers tingle. For whatever may be the actual conditions that obtain, they will but serve to heighten the contrast between the real and the unreal, and render anticipation still more delightful. The gardener has an advantage over many practical workers, if he is an enthusiast, in that the pleasant shadow of the future hovers always over the present, the glamour of the unseen veils with a rose-colored cloak the trials and difficulties of the moment. And if the reader would like to have these pleasant dreams without the sharp contrast (though this, I assure him, makes them all the more real), then let him have the digging and planting done by a jobbing gardener who, whatever his qualifications for the work, and they vary greatly, may occasionally be trusted to do it with some appreciation of its importance if not of its possibilities. For the reader's own sake I trust if he is able he will do his own planting, for the gardener who entrusts his planting to another is likely, sooner or later, to form, one of that already fairly large number of people who find gardening disappointing. And why? Simply because they leave to others that which they should do themselves. Everyone must have felt a pride in homeraised cuttings or seedlings; and what is pride but the outcome of love, fond and real ? Only, as a mother with her children, does the gardener come to know and to love his plants and flowers when, from planting to blossoming, he and he alone has tended them. The longer he gardens the greater will be his love for the flowers he grows. Let us, then, plant our own roses and for a time relapse into the prosaic and practical, for in plant growing, full flower beauty waits only on those who till the soil.
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