VI PRUNING 89 



and the matter looks serious but does not often prove to 

 be so : the cut heals in about a week, and the subsequent 

 growth does not seem to be impaired. 



As to the method, we will take first, as being the most 

 complicated, the case of summer Roses, H.P.s, and other 

 fairly strong varieties where the object is to form hand- 

 some plants for general decoration with a quantity of 

 good blooms for cutting. 



The first care will be to cut out all the dead wood, 

 and all wood however thick and old which, as shown by 

 the small growth made last season, is becoming weakly 

 in comparison with the rest of the plant. Now we can 

 study the whole and see what we have got left. Our 

 object is to form a well-shaped head or plant, and by 

 " well-shaped " I mean that the plant itself should be 

 of the even globular form of a Rose. Rose petals are 

 evenly arranged, and do not cross each other in an 

 inward direction ; such should be the shape of the plant. 

 Bearing in mind that the top bud left of each shoot 

 will grow first and in the direction in which it points, 

 we should always cut back to a bud that looks outward, 

 and take care that the centre will not be overcrowded. 

 To get rid of a misplaced shoot it should be clean 

 removed at the very bottom; merely cutting it hard 

 back will only make it grow the more. It must be our 

 endeavour each year to do away with as much old wood 

 as possible, and in the case of strong growers to lessen 

 the number of their shoots rather than their length. 

 We should picture to ourselves what the plant will look 

 like in full growth, and remember that a lover of Roses 

 is more likely to leave too many than too few shoots. 

 There is a saying in East Anglia " no man should hoe 

 his own turnips." meaning that he is not likely to thin 

 them sufficiently, but those who are used to thinning 



