IRISH GARDENING 



147 



Troubadour. — An excellent double crimson, 

 perhaps a shade darker than Excelsa, which it 

 much resembles. 



White Dorothy. — A white sport of Dorothy 

 Perkins, occasionally producing blooms partlj^ 

 pink. It seems to be specially good as a 

 standard, the arching of the stems throwing the 

 flowers well out from the foliage. 



Paul's Scarlet Climber is the latest addition 

 to the Hybrid wichuraianas, and created a 

 sensation in London, sweeping all before it by 

 winning the Gold Medal of the N.R.S., the 

 Award of Merit, R.H.S., and also the Cory Cup 

 for the best new British-raised climber. As it 

 was only distributed in 1916 I do not include 

 it amongst the varieties tried over many years, 

 but I can vouch for its vigour and for its brilliant 

 colour as flowered here this summer on the lines 

 of maiden plants budded last year. The blooms 

 are of medium size, semi-double, vivid scarlet 

 shaded with crimson, and as the maiden plants 

 have flowered it must be a profuse bloomer. It 

 is considered to surpass any other climbing Rose 

 for brilliancy of colour. 



Pruning. — If not already done, the pruning 

 of Wichuraiana Roses should be attended to 

 immediately, and I will conclude with a brief 

 reference to this subject, which, although the 

 most important part of their culture, is, never- 

 theless, freq[uently neglected or only half done. 

 It is very simple, but must be rigidly carried 

 out if the best results are to be obtained. If 

 planted in the autumn, in the March following 

 all gro\\ths should be cut hard back, 

 leaving only one or two of the strongest 

 shoots as much as a foot long, and re- 

 ducing the weaker ones almost to the 

 ground. If planted in Spring, prune as 

 above in March or April. Such a pruning 

 is the only fair start for the plant, and 

 by its means a number of vigorous shoots 

 will be formed during the summer to 

 produce flowers the second year. The next 

 pruning will not be required until about 

 seventeen months after the first was done, 

 and in late August or early September 

 of the second year all the shoots which 

 have flowered should te cut right away 

 to the base. During the second summer 

 the plant should again have put forth 

 an adequate supply of strong young 

 shoots from the base, and these should 

 be carefully tied up to take the place 

 of the wood which has flowered and 

 been removed by pruning. When there 

 are insufficient new shoots to clothe 

 the pillar or other structure, it is 

 desirable to leave some of the previous 



year's growths, choosing for this purpose 

 the freshest shoots and those which have 

 sent out strong new lateral growths. In 

 succeeding years pruning as described should 

 be carried out each autumn as early as the plants 

 are done flowering, as the removal of the old 

 wood at this time enables the plant to ripen 

 properly the young growths, and to devote its 

 whole energj^ to maturing these. On the young 

 shoots depends the future of the plant, and as 

 these shoots come from the base and sprawl 

 about the ground, care must be taken during 

 the summer months to ensure their safety from 

 injury. This can be effected by tying them up 

 loosely to prevent the tips being broken off by 

 passers by. 



In the case of Aveeping standards the first 

 pruning should be done at the same time and in 

 the same manner as the first pruning described 

 above. In succeeding years the pruning should 

 be done in early autumn immediately the 

 flowers fade, and when there are sufficient 

 young shoots of the current year's growth, all 

 the older growths should be cut hard back as 

 near to the head of the stock as possible. If 

 it be necessary to retain a few of the older 

 shoots to preserve the symmetry of the tree, care 

 should be taken to cut away the twiggy pieces 

 of flower stems remaining on these. Noav 

 growths which are so long as to be liable to trail 

 on the ground when weighted with the following 

 year's flowers should be shortened. 



Clontarf Nurseries. J. M. Watson. 



Herb Walk at Abbeyleix, p. 148. 



