PRUNING ROSES. 



-, N important operation con- 

 \ nected with planting is prun- 

 ing, which is better done im- 

 mediately after being planted. 

 A pruning shears is best for this purpose, 

 as if a knife is used the plant is likely to 

 be loosened in the soil. Only general 

 instructions on this all-important opera- 

 tion can bd given. Right here it is well 

 to say that if any of the roots are bruised 

 they should be cut away to the sound 

 part, and if any are of immoderate 

 length they should be shortened back 

 before planting. The strength of a 

 shoot will determine how far it should 

 be cut back ; if very strong, cut it back 

 to four or five eyes from the main stem, 

 if weak, to the second or third eye, and 

 let the topmost eye be on the outside 

 of the shoot wherever possible. If the 

 branches are crowded and the shape of 

 the plant necessitates it, drive in a sharp 

 pointed stake — not too large — and 

 spread them by tying, or cut enough 

 away to ensure against over-crowding as 

 they grow. Those directions apply 



mainly to hybrid perpetual roses, the tea 

 or monthly roses only require a shorten- 

 ing back of the main shoots, severe in 

 the case of soft, immature wood, and 

 less so on well ripened shoots, and the 

 cutting completely away of all light 

 spray wood, which will only produce 

 foliage and no flowers. When the 

 plants bloom and the flowers are cut off", 

 either for use or after they fade, it is 

 better to cut back to the second eye as 

 they are more apt to flower again than 

 if a greater portion of the flowering shoot 

 was allowed to remain on the plant. 



The distance at which to plant varies 

 somewhat according to the class and 

 variety ; but as a general rule it is safe 

 to say that the hybrid perpetuals may 

 be planted eighteen to twenty inches 

 apart, hybrid teas fourteen to sixteen 

 inches and the tea or monthly roses 

 twelve inches. The climbing roses, if 

 planted on a trellis or fence, should be 

 planted about six feet apart. — Garden- 

 ing. 



PRUNING HARDY SHRUBS. 



OW do you prune your hardy 

 flowering shrubs? Some per- 

 sons take the shears and clip 

 the bushes to a perfectly 

 rounded or oval form, something as they 

 would prune a hedge, and then call the 

 job well done. Others have a great 

 fancy for tree-like forms in shrubs, and 

 they cut with a view to developing a 

 trunk to support the leafy head. Neither 

 of these ways are to be recommended, 

 where the object is handsome shrubs 

 and a profusion of bloom. In the case 

 of the majority of shrubs, to clip them 

 in winter to a rounded form is to cut 



away just so much of the flowering 

 branches, for the bloom appears on the 

 young wood of the previous year. To 

 aim for the tree form of shrubs, in most 

 cases results unsatisfactory, for the 

 reason that it is unnatural, and the 

 trunks are almost sure to be too weak 

 for the head, hence they will become 

 crooked and ungainly. After a long 

 experience with this valuable class of 

 decorative material, the writer is con- 

 vinced that by all odds the best way to 

 trim is after a manner to preserve the 

 natural characteristics of the shrubs. 

 To do this, all of the older and unthrifty 



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