18 THE ROSE BOOK 



and if there is not room for both the new and the old, 

 one or two of the latter must be cut out at the base. 

 But never cut out even an old stem, unless there is a 

 fresh one to tie into its place, for the flower display 

 from an old stem is better than none at all. The next 

 spring (two years from the hard pruning) there will be 

 the side shoots to deal with. These are pruned to 

 within two or three buds of the base, so that the 

 resulting growths and their blossom may be as strong 

 as possible. 



Amateurs are often perplexed by thick growths that 

 appear late in the summer at the base of the plants, 

 and, owing to their tardy beginning, only reach a height 

 of a foot or two. The best plan is to cut them out. Most 

 probably they will shrivel as the tree begins to grow 

 freely, owing to damage by cold as a result of their 

 having failed to " ripen," that is, become hard and 

 firm. The multiflora roses are essentially roses for the 

 open garden, for arch, arbour, fence, trellis, or pergola, 

 but not for walls, especially hot, sunny walls. There 

 growth becomes stunted, the foliage is attacked by 

 red spider, and the plants generally present a woebegone 

 appearance in the course of a season or two. The 

 multifloras must have fresh air. Leave the walls 

 for those that need them, and will grow properly 

 nowhere else. 



It sometimes happens that fresh shoots make their 

 appearance on the old stems as well as from the base of 

 the tree. In such a case the old stem must be shortened 

 only to the new shoot ; the time to do this is in late 



