PRUNING STANDARD ROSE-TREES, CLIMBERS, ETC. 197 



year's wood ; every bud that grows forms a branch, and upon 

 that branch grows the rose. The first object, therefore, of the 

 rose-grower is to attain for his tree, or climber, or bush, the 

 form and size he requires, and when this is done, he merely 

 has to prune back all the summer's growth to a single eye, or 

 to two at the most ; indeed, it is always found that the fewer 

 the branches, the stronger they grow, and the larger the 

 blooms j but until the head of a standard is the size and form 

 required, the cutting must be close where it has extended 

 enough, and otherwise where it is not grown sufficiently. 

 The head of a rose standard should be as large across as the 

 stem is high ; a dwarf standard, therefore, ought not to be so 

 large as a tall one ; and the height of the stem is the best 

 guide. If the stock, or stem, be three feet high from the 

 ground to the under side of the head, the head ought to be 

 three feet across ; and the same rule should be observed for 

 any other greater or lesser height. In selecting the branches 

 which are to form a head, care should be taken they point 

 outwards all round ; and as we begin with a plant, perhaps, 

 with only one or two stems, our first business is to cut it 

 dowTi within two or three eyes ; as soon as the new shoots 

 which come out have got four leaves each, pinch out their tops, 

 and you wiU find the rose grow rapidly, with a thick small 

 head. Now is the time to remove all but those which point 

 the right way, and to let none cross each other ; let only such 

 be left as will grow directly outwards, and from time to time 

 take away all but these ; you may thus achieve the greater 

 part of your object the first season. It may be that one side 

 of the head is worse than the other ; be not afraid of spoiling 

 its appearance, but cut it in well to the eyes that you wish to 

 grow, and bear in mind that the single eye grows very con- 

 siderably in a year. In selecting the branches that are to 

 remain a tolerable length, for the purpose of forming the per- 

 manent head, we have to be careful not to select weak ones : 

 for, although they may hold their form pretty well at pruning 

 time, they may be totally inadequate to bear the weight of 

 the year's growth ; none but the strongest should be kept, all 

 weakly ones should be cut off close home. There are many 

 kinds of roses used as standards merely because they grow 

 and bloom best on briars, but which are totally unfit to form 

 handsome heads. Their growth is perfectly upright, or about 

 as much sloped as the twigs in a birch broom ; these are only 



