86 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Roses and the Rose Garden 



ARTHUR SMITH 



WF. ha\e jircviouslv alluded to separate gardens de- 

 voted to special purposes, as being possibilities 

 in connection with home surrovmdings, and cer- 

 tainl}' where there is room a good Rose Garden is one 

 of the most desirable features. 



The genus Rosa is a very large one. and perhaps in 

 no other is there so much dispute among botanists re- 

 garding the number of species contained in it. While 

 a French botanist has listed and described some four 

 thousand as being distinct species, the majority of bot- 

 anists confine the number to about one hundred. WhUe 

 some knowledge of roses from a botanical standpoint 

 is interesting in connection with the parentage of the rose 

 of today as known in our gardens, from a purely horti- 

 cultural point 

 of view botani- 

 cal classifica- 

 tion is of mi- 

 nor importance 

 as, with one or 

 two exceptions 

 to be noted 

 later, all culti- 

 vated roses are 

 hybrids, al- 

 though the 

 leading gar- 

 den-groups fol- 

 low to some 

 extent specific 

 lines. At the 

 same time it 

 is impossible 

 to trace back 

 all of the hy- 

 brids to their 

 original species 

 with accuracy. 



We know 

 that from the 

 earliest times 

 when any at- 

 tempt at gar- 

 dening was 

 made at all, great dependence was laid u])on the 

 ro.se. We have a race of roses which have come down 

 from the ancient gardens of Persia: the medieval 

 gardens have given us others, and down to the present 

 time gardeners have always vied with each other to 

 produce new and wonderful varieties of this classic plant 

 which has been known for ages as the Queen of Flowers. 

 Consefjuently we have now a rose for every situation and, 

 where the climate is genial enough, roses in bloom every 

 month of the year. The results of domesticating the 

 rose are marvellous, yet, so far as being at the end of 

 possibilities in the way of producing kinds more suitable 

 for the extremes of climates found in this country arc 

 concerned, the real breeding of roses has little more than 

 begun and a rich field for the future is indicated. In 

 this direction the passing away of Dr. Van Fleet is a 

 tremendous loss to horticulture as the success of his work 

 as far as the time alloted to him permitted, proved that 

 he was working along the right lines. 



Leaving out botanical considerations entirely, horticul- 

 tural roses may be divided into three groups: "garden'' 

 roses, a term confined to tea roses, hybrid teas and hybrid 



perpetuals or remontant; climbing roses; and shrubbery 

 roses. 



Those contained in the first group are the result of 

 hybridizing about a dozen species, and selections and 

 seedlings from the resulting hybrids. These roses do not 

 lend themselves to landscape effects because they have 

 comparatively little foliage and lack strong shrubby char- 

 acteristics. These highly improved roses are essentially 

 flower-garden subjects — hence the term given them. To 

 produce anything like good results from them they must 

 be grown by themselves so that they can receive the 

 special care in the way of soil treatment, pruning, water- 

 ing, feeding, which could not be con\-enientl\- given else- 

 where. 



It is worth 

 while to state 

 some of the 

 distinctions be- 

 tween the three 

 classes of 

 w h i c h this 

 group is com- 

 posed. 



The tea roses 

 are admired 

 the world over 

 for their deli- 

 cious frag- 

 rance, the ex- 

 quisite form 

 and rich tints 

 of their flowers 

 and value for 

 cutting. They 

 are the least 

 hardy of the 

 group and re- 

 q u i r e special 

 methods for 

 protecting 

 them in cli- 

 mates of se- 

 vere Winters. 

 A good way, 

 where they cannot be wintered in the open, is to place cold 

 frames over them, the size of bed and position- of 

 the plants being previously arranged with this idea in 

 view. The slope of the frame shouUl be to the east. It 

 is important to remove the sash when the temperature is 

 at thirty degrees or above, and air should be given when 

 the thermometer is at twenty. 



The hybrid tea varieties have some of the characters 

 of the teas, especially their constant blooming qualities, 

 and most of them have some of the hardiness of the 

 liybrid perpetuals. but thev require to be well protected 

 during Winter with strawy mani're or leaves in climates 

 where the tcm])erature reaches zero. This class has been 

 I)roduced by crossing the teas with hybrid perpetuals, 

 l)Ut there is considerable variation among them, especially 

 as to hardiness, as well as in flower production, and the 

 most satisfactory are those partaking of the good qualities 

 of both. 



The hybriil perpetuals are hardier than the preceding, 

 and more vigorous and robust in habit, their flowers 

 being larger, some of them of immense size and generally 

 of more substance than either of the others. They 



(niiiit-it. (iiii(ili-sy of liol'biiik I'r AlL-iiis.) 



