12 THE ROSE BOOK 



appear, say, six or eight ; they are tied in as they 

 progress, and are not pruned at all, except that in 

 March, if the tips are soft or very thin, they are slightly 

 shortened. During the second summer these stems will 

 bloom and fresh ones will grow. In August it may 

 be necessary to cut out a few of those that have 

 blossomed, to allow room for tying in the new ones. 

 In March of the next year all side growths (on which 

 flowers were produced the previous summer) are cut 

 back to within three or four buds of their base, and 

 the soft, thin tips of last year's stems (which have not 

 yet flowered) are cut off. In August the tree will con- 

 sist of fresh stems (which must be tied in), stems that 

 have flowered for the first time, and stems that have 

 flowered for the second time. It will, doubtless, be 

 impossible to accommodate them all, and the oldest 

 of the stems (those that have twice flowered) must 

 first be removed. There should be no unnecessary 

 sacrifice of old stems, for while these do not flower 

 so freely as younger ones, they give quite a good show 

 of bloom. 



Most wichuraianas send up annually fresh green 

 stems from the ground level. Some, however, develop 

 a woody stem, which gives rise to new shoots some 

 distance from the ground. Alberic Barbier and Rene 

 Andre are two notable instances. In such cases the 

 obvious thing to do when there is danger of the tree 

 becoming crowded with stems, is to cut back some of 

 the oldest to the point at which a strong new shoot 

 has developed. 



