IRIShl GARDLLNIN. 



169 



;ilnnr ri'innn'iiu'iils in a ijumIit or loss doj;ivo, and 

 lli.il hi'aiiliriil blooms oaii be produi'i-d in llio iieijjh- 

 boiirliooil of larjje towns, many i-.\amples in tho lar>;ir 

 shows can toslily. Tho tiisi lomlilion bi'injj satislieil, 

 Ihfrel'oro, llu- noxt must bo lonsidcrcd. which is iho 

 preparation ol iho soil. 



Till-: Sim.. — Tho iiloal soil lor roses is iindoubtodly a 

 yellow clay with streaks of black in it -the sort of soil, 

 in fact, which the ordinary man with a back garden 

 reads ■iboiil. wishes he had, but rarely jjots ; but. in 

 reality, roses can be got to grow in almost .my soil if 

 oriiinai'y care be exercised in dealing with it. To the 

 ni.m, thoreforo, with any ordinary clay less difhcullies 

 .110 consequently presented than to one who is the 

 possessor of a gravelly or sandy soil, as in this case it 

 will be necessary to improve it by the admixture of 

 clay. 



lis 1'ki.1'.\r.\ 1 lo.\. It is well, if possible, to devote 

 one or more beds exclusively to roses, and not to mix 

 them up promiscuously with ollu'r subjects. Roses are 

 voracious feeders, anil i|uiclily resent the withdrawal 

 of their nourishment by I'lhcr plants. Well dig the 

 plot selected two spatlos dei'p eai'ly in the autumn 

 bel'ore the ground gets sodden, and mix some well- 

 rollod horse manure with the bottom spit. This is 

 really of iuipoitance, as the roots of roses always 

 work their way down to this point ; and if wheti they 

 get there nothing is provided for iheir sustenance, that 

 particular- tree will not grow exhibition or any other 

 kiiul of blooms worth showing to the individiuil across 

 the road, who is also having a shot at rose growing. 



Tub Holes. — 1 have seen it argued that it is better 

 to dig the holes intended for rose plants square and 

 not round. The point is, perhaps, a trivial one, but 

 whether the holes be square or round, let them be wide 

 enough to lake the roots so that they can lie out 

 straight without touching the sides; moreover, let the 

 centre of the hole be a little higher than the outside, so 

 that the tips of the roots will point down and not up. 

 Care should also be taken to see that they are just 

 deep enough 10 allow of the point at which the rose 

 is budded on the stock being buried an inch or so under 

 Iho soil, which may induce an additional root action to 

 Ih' si'i up from the rose itself. Finally, do not cramp 

 the plants too closely together, but allow eighteen 

 inches at least from plant to plant, and give the 

 stronger growers more space. These suggestions are 

 obviously commonplace, but are nevertheless of impor- 

 tance, and are apt to be overlooked when, say, a dozen 

 or more plants arrive and no provision has been made 

 for their reception. 



The Receipt .\ni) I'l.ANiiMi of hie Trki-s. — Most 

 rose catalogues give a warning against planting out in 

 wet or frosty weather. .After unpacking, the roots 

 should be immersed in water for an hour or two. Each 

 pl.'int should then be ex;imined, and any injured 

 pot lion of tho roots cut aw.i)- with a sharp knife, and 

 if the ground is sullicienlly dry they may be planted at 

 ouco. If the weather is unpropitious. however, it will 

 be better to dig out a trench in some sheltered spot 

 and "heel" them in until conditions improve. Bv 

 "heeling" is meant that Iho plants should be put in 

 singly in a slanting posiiiou as close together as they 



can be .irr.iiigod. W lion planting. Iho soil should lie 

 oarefully laid over the roots, and before treading it in 

 sh.ike the pl.iiit a little, so as to settle the soil around 

 tho pl.iiii. If the manure has been used, as suggested 

 above, noiio will be needed now, but in any case. 

 oaro must bo taken to sc-o that none comes in 

 till 001 contact with Iho roots. Let them find their own 

 way to it. which, wlun Iho plant is established, Ihej- 

 will do quickly enough. Do not apply any artificial 

 stimulants the first season after planting, as by that 

 time sullicient root growth has not taken place for the 

 plant to take advantage of it. 



.\ Wakmnc;. — iMost amateur gardeners sutler from 

 lliis l'ailing--lhat they are afraid to use the pruning 

 knife on their rose trees. Now, in addition to shorten- 

 ing about one-third of the long growths inmiediately 

 afler planting (which will prevent the plant being 

 blown about by the winior winds), it is necessary, if 

 a rose tree is to h.ive .my career at all, that it be cut 

 right back to the ground in the spring of the following 

 year after |-i|antiiig, or as soon as growth commences, 

 if tho roses are planted in the spring. There must be 

 no hall nioasuros in this respect. Let the medium 

 growths bo taki'ii b;ick to one or two " e\'os" or 

 dormant buds, and tho very strong ones to three or 

 four. This will enable the plant to devote all its early 

 energies to the fonnation of root growth, which will be 

 a reserve fund on which it may draw when the real 

 business of its existence is to the fore — namely, the 

 protluction of such roses as ma}', if its possessor wills, 

 be fit to grace an exhibition boaid. F. L. 1'. 



Climbino" Roses. 



o 

 By O DoNEL Brciwne, M.I). 



ALTHOUGH I have, before this, written about 

 climbing and rambler roses, yet I feel lh.it 

 the demand for climbers is on the increase, 

 and so 1 may be pardoned for again approaching 

 this most fascinating and beautiful class. The usei 

 of the climbing section are many, in fact this section 

 may well be classed as the most useful one which 

 the rose world can give us. A few \ears ago one 

 noticed the climbers were conspicuous by their ab- 

 sence ; now the reverse is the case, and long may it 

 continue. But we must remember that ramblers have 

 often been barbarously treated and asked to do too 

 much. .\ bare wall has to be covered — shove a 

 climber there ; a dead tree has to be enriched with 

 flowers — dump a climber down. .-\nd yet, strange 10 

 say, the climber usually obliges us, but it should not 

 do so if it were mean. Ramblers are just as fas- 

 tidious as dwarfs, in fact more so, inasmuch as they 

 have to make more wood and give a greater .ibun- 

 dance of blooms. How then should they be treated? 

 Ciood, strong, healthy plants should be ordered from 

 a reliable source. Before the order goes, one should 

 seriously consider when one requires the plant to 

 bloom, for some are summer-flowering and others 

 autumnal, and some are perpetual. "My gardener 

 tells me my climbers were very good this year, but 

 I was awav from home," is a remark which I often 



