Pruning Rose Bushes 



DISAPPOINTMENT surely awaits 

 him who, having procured a doz- 

 en or so of rose bushes in the 

 early spring and having carefully plant- 

 ed them just as they came from the nur- 

 sery, anxiously awaits the blooming sea- 

 son, expecting to be able to gather an 

 armful of such roses as he sees pictured 

 in the seedsman's catalogue, and all be- 

 cause he has failed to realize that the 

 proper pruning of a rosebush is one of 

 the most important features in its suc- 

 cessful cultivation. 



Roses differ so greatly in their habit 

 of growth that no directions for pruning 

 established plants can be given that will 

 not require modification in respect to 

 certain individual plants. There are, 

 however, two rules which must be fol- 

 lowed invariably. One is that all prun- 

 ing should be done before any growth 

 begins in spring, and the other is that 

 all plants which come from the open 

 ground must be pruned before planting 

 or immediately after; such plants should 

 have all weak growth removed entirely 

 and the stronger shoots cut back to 

 within four to ten inches of the ground. 

 If set out just as they are. received from 

 the nursery, many of them will die and 

 at the best but a weak growth will be 

 made. No matter how carefully they 

 have been removed, many of the smaller 

 roots will have been destroyed and un- 

 less a corresponding amount of the top 

 be removed, there will not be sufficient 

 sap to nourish so many buds. 



In dealing with established plants, if 

 quantity rather than quality be the ob- 

 ject aimed at, the only pruning neces- 

 sary is to remove the dead and weakly 

 wood, and only cut back the remaining 

 shoots to a point below where the winter 

 has killed the immature growth of the 

 season before. If, however, the object 

 be, and it should be, the promotion of a 

 symmetrical growth and the improve- 

 ment of the quality of the blooms, a dif- 

 ferent course should be followed and here 

 practical experience must determine 

 what is to be done in each particular 

 case, always remembering the general 

 rule laid down by all writers on the sub- 

 ject, that "plants of a delicate growth 

 should be severely pruned, while those 

 of vigorous growth should have some of 

 the branches cut out entirely and the re- 

 maining ones only moderately shorten- 

 ed." Keeping this rule in mind, it will 

 be found that plants of moderately vig- 

 orous growth should be cut back severe- 

 ly, say to four or five buds, always cut- 

 ting at a bud pointing outwards and of 

 course to a point below where the wood 

 has been injured by the winter's frost. 



To severely cut back such vigorous 

 growers as Clio, Margaret Dickson, 

 John Hopper, Charles Lawson, Jules 



By " Amateur" 



Margotten and some others, results in a 

 crowded growth of wood and very few 

 blooms and it will be found that to re- 

 move some of the branches entirely and 

 only shorten the remaining ones a few 

 inches, will throw the whole strength ot 

 the plant into the production of bloom. 

 One shoot, however, should be cut back 

 severely in order to promote growth near 

 the bottom of the plant. 



Climbing roses should, after the prun- 

 ing recommended at the time of plant- 

 ing, have only the dead and weak shoots 

 removed and one shoot cut back to three 

 or four eyes for the purpose just men- 

 tioned, viz., to prevent a bare appear- 

 ance near the bottom. 



Some recommend a summer pruning 

 after the blooming season is over in or- 

 der to remove withered blooms, and to 

 promote autumnal bloom, but the true 

 lover of the rose will have few withered 

 blooms to remove because he will find 

 that one of the greatest pleasures con- 

 nected with his hobby is that derived 

 from the distribution of his flowers 

 among his friends and in doing this lib- 

 erally he will probably find that he has 

 done all the pruning necessary. 



The tools required for pruning are a 

 good pair of pruning shears and a sharp 

 pruning knife with a hooked blade. The 

 operator will probably discover for him- 



self that a good strong pair of leather 

 gloves are not to be despised. 



Nicotiana Affinis 



No garden is complete without a few- 

 plants of this delightful, fragrant free 

 blooming annual. Where the grounds 

 are fairly large a good plan would be to 

 plant them at intervals throughout the 

 garden, and the whole surrounding at- 

 mosphere, charged with the most delic- 

 iously pleasant sweet-scented odor 

 imaginable will possess that indefinable 

 magnetic influence which makes one 

 long to linger near. 



Seed may be sown in the cold frame 

 or in the open garden in May, and when 

 the young plants are large enough 

 transplant to the place where they are to 

 grow. If planted in clumps of two or 

 three set the plants about fifteen inches 

 apart. If given fairly rich soil with fre- 

 quent tillage to keep it loose and fine on 

 top, and kept well watered during dry 

 weather, the plants will bloom far into 

 the season. 



For training over stumps, fences, out- 

 buildings, trestles and screens, the 

 grape vine can be used to advantage. 



Keep the leaves of house plants clean. 



A Buntifal Dorolby Perkiot Rote Growing at the South Side of • Verandah 



At the residence of Mr. Johu McQuaker, "Elf Lodge," Owen Sound, Ont. In a letter to The 

 Canadian HoKTicui.TUHisT, Mrs. McQuaker tells its history as follows : "Thia rose was sent out by 

 the Horticultural Society five years ago. It is trained over a wire netting which is fastened at 

 the ends to the pillars of the verandah. About the end of November, we place a barrel against 

 the bush to prevent the snow breaking down the branches In winter. The fastenings are taken 

 out and the bush is turned over to the ground. The bush is well manured in fall and gets a lit- 

 tle liquid manure during the summer. It has never been pruned except to take the dead wood 

 out of it. It bears immense clusters of roses, many of them containing eighteen to twenty 

 blooms. 



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