134 

 176.-ROSES. 



In No. 2 vol. 2 p. 45 I called attention in a short article to Rose- 

 Culture, but the following on the same subject by my friend and 

 former colleague in Jamaica Mr. Nock, now of Ceylon ; is so clear 

 and to the point and so much in accord with my own experience that 

 I give it in full as of the highest value to cultivators of the Rose in 

 the West Indies, the conditions of climate in Ceylon being similar if 

 not identical with those existing in Trinidad. 



ROSES 



THEIR CULTIVATION IN CEYLON : 



By W. Nock, Superintendent of Hahgala Gardens, Nuicara Eliya. 



Site. — Although roses will grow in almost any situation they can never be 

 grown to perfection, or indeed to give satisfaction, unless the site is carefully 

 chosen. The rose delights in an open sunny situation and one that has an Eastern 

 or Southern aspect is the best, provided it is sheltered from strong winds. Under 

 the shade of tall trees and lofty buildings they never thrive and these conditions 

 should be avoided as much as possible. Even in small gardens it is best to keep 

 all rose plants together ; they can then, without injury to anything else, receive 

 the treatment most advantageous to them at any time of the year. As for in- 

 stance should diseases attack them the remedies can be applied more easily and 

 with greater effect than if they were scattered all over the garden. And again 

 with manure if they are planted among other plants they scarcely ever receive 

 the full benefit, as the roots of the surrounding plants will be sure to run in and 

 rob them before they have time to take up anything like the quantity they need 

 for the development of strong healthy shoots and foliage. The robbery that is 

 going on under the soil among plants is very much greater than most people 

 suppose. I know from actual experience that a hole, 18 inches in diameter and 

 one foot deep, which was got out at a distance of 12 feet from the trunk of a tree, 

 and filled in again with a mixture of manure and good soil, was in six weeks just 

 one mass of hungry roots and the rose plant that was planted in it, not being able 

 to hold its own among them, was quite sickly and dying. This of course is an 

 extreme case, as the roots happened to come from an Acacia tree, but the roots 

 of all trees do some damage and it is well, especially in the case of roses, to be on 

 the look out for them and keep them at a respectable distance. 



The drip from large trees will also keep roses from thriving and injure the 

 flowers. 



Soil. — The soil that roses most delight in is a rather strong rich loam, the 

 deeper the better, and it should be quite free from stagnant moisture. This 

 refers to roses generally, but roses on their own roots will thrive in much lighter 

 soil. They will not flourish or last long in heavy clays or in soil that is of a light 

 sandy or gravelly nature. Of course these soils can be manured and prepared so 

 as to suit the plants, as will be explained a little further on, but where the ground 

 is so bad as not to admit of improvement in this way, it must be removed altogether 

 and replaced with that of a proper description. Good drainage under all condi- 

 tions of soil is of the utmost importance, for roses will never flourish long in a 

 soil that is naturally wet. 



Manure. — For general purposes a mixture of the following will form as good 

 a manure as can be desired. Pigs' dung, cow-dung, burnt earth or wood ashes 

 and old night-soil in about equal parts and to this slaould be added a good sprink- 

 ling of crushed bones and quick lime, and all thoroughly mixed together. It is 

 important that the dung, of whatev'er description, should be well decayed and 

 the night-soil should be very old. For light soils strong loam should be used 

 with cow-dung and night-soil. For heavy soils burnt earth, sand and leaf-mould 

 should be used freely in addition to the compost mentioned above. It would be 

 well too in very heavy soils of a cold nature to use good stable manure in the 

 place of cow-dung. 



