IRISH GARDENING 



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Roses. 



By ODosKL Hkownk, M.D. 



BV lliis liiiu' all phimiiiiij <shoiiKI have Ihhmi tiiiislicd 

 aiul l\osi--> slioukl 1h' siuiiily sculcil down in ilifir 

 piMin.iTU'iU iiiiaitois, ll will iiol niL-iely do lo 

 plant llioni and leave tliein ; one should ijo round the 

 beds from lime lo time and see how the beds and trees 

 are behavinj;. Wind has a most injurious etVeet on 

 newly-planted trees, be they Dwarf or Standards. After 

 every storm of bad wind look to your trees, and if 

 there should be a loose tree i,'ather some soil round the 

 base and tread fn inly. There is no necessity to stake 

 Dwarfs, but you must si.ike Slainl.uils or half Standards. 



delicate, and owinj; lo their beinjj perched up on -.toek 

 Hre more exposed to rude winter. (Jet old wine bollle 

 cases and pull them down, having previously lied in all 

 the slr.'i^glinj^ growths over the crown of the tree. Gel 

 an I'Xtra stnuij^' anti lonj; stake to hold all firm, as the 

 str.'iw head will catch more wind. \\'h\' Si.-indards shouhl 

 be such contrary lliiiij^-s is a pu/.zle to many rosarians, 

 but it is a fact tor ;ill that. Now, this thalchinjc is a 

 ffrcat inducer andexciler of precociousgrowih, for if you 

 remove this coverinj;, and if the weather has been mild, 

 you will sec that precocious jjrowths h.tve pushed out, 

 some of which are white in coloin*. These growths are 

 of no import if they are coming from the tops of the 

 growths, but I do not like lo see them coming from the 

 base of the plant. They will be of no use to you at 

 pruning lime, go they must. Vour best course is to 



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RclSA MllSCIlATA 1 I.ORIMl Nl).\.— TkN KI!F.T ACRO<;s. 

 Phntographed at (il;isnevin. 



If the plants have long rods on them shorten them well 

 back, as they will catch less wind by you so doing, 

 and also the plants will be the belter for this. Should 

 a really sharp snap of weather come, and it looks as if 

 it were going to last, you can give your delicate varie- 

 ties, such as the Tea section, some extra protection. 

 Straw, fern, or any protection, such as laurel or fir 

 boughs, spread through and over the plants, will do a 

 good deal to protect them from any harm. I never 

 now use these me.isures, as I have found that the pre- 

 sent day varieties, even of Teas, are fai more hardy 

 than those of yore, and, barring accidents, will come 

 through most Irish winters practically unscathed. If I 

 anticipate a sharp bout of frost I merely draw earth 

 rountl .'ind over the first three inches or so of the plant ; 

 this in itself is as good a protection as you will need. 

 If you .an protect the crown of the plant — i.e., the 

 junction of stock and scion — you will save your trees, 

 and by cutting back to this untouched part in the 

 spring you will get just as good a plant as ever you 

 had. Standards require more care. Thev are more 



commence taking on some of the thatch as soon as the 

 frost is over, little by little, to gradii.dly bring your 

 plant to stand its covering quile removed. Nature 

 gives us the hint by blowing the covering away. It 

 may be said that it was nalin e who made these growths 

 push ; so she did, but you aided and abetted her by 

 covering. If possible refrain from all coddling of your 

 pl-ants ; strive to get them, as the}- say in the west ot 

 Ireland, " to be as hardy as a wild duck." In the same 

 wav vou should remove your earthiiig-up from Dwarfs. 

 Mr. I'emberton in his book says that Roses which re 

 quire such .attention are not worth growing. I cannot 

 agree with him. X'arieties such as Comtesse de 

 Nadaillac. Golden Gate. Muriel Grahame are not to be 

 despised, though I am sorry to say that we do not see 

 them so often as we used to do. The modern Teas, 

 such as Mr. Folev Hobbs. \Vm. R. Smith, and .Mrs. 

 Mvles Kennedy, are surely of the " wild duck" class, 

 and are very welcome to us. The day is not far 

 distant when we shall have more of these varieties, and 

 then we can let our old friends go, 



