126 ROSES FOR ENGLISH GARDENS 



trated liquid thus obtained should be freely diluted 

 with clear water before being used. The day after 

 each watering the surface soil should be hoed or 

 lightly forked over to keep it open and accessible to 

 light and air. It is often thought by non-exhibitors 

 that the fine blooms they see at the Rose shows are 

 almost entirely the result of heavy manuring. This 

 is a great mistake, for the size and quality of the 

 flowers depends much more on the free use of the 

 hoe and the unremitting attention that exhibitors 

 bestow on their plants than on the amount of 

 nourishment they may have received in the way of 

 manure. 



Mulching. — On hot, dry, shallow soils, it will be 

 necessary to cover the ground on which the Roses 

 are growing with a layer of half-decayed manure in 

 order to keep it moister and less liable to changes 

 of temperature than it would otherwise be. This 

 mulching should, however, not be put on earlier 

 than the beginning of June. Mulching should be 

 dispensed with wherever it is not absolutely needed, 

 as a frequent loosening of the surface soil is no 

 doubt preferable to any such covering. 



Disbudding. — At the end of each shoot that has 

 been left on the plants after they have been thinned 

 will ultimately appear, as a rule, three flower-buds. 

 Of these only the centre one should be allowed to 

 remain, the two others being removed as soon as 

 this can conveniently be done. Some use a pointed 

 quill for this purpose, but with a little practice these 

 small buds can be easily taken off with the fingers. 



