HOW TO STRIKE ROSES 



MOST varieties of Roses may easily be propagated by 

 cuttings, but some hard-wooded kinds, such as the Moss 

 Roses, present difficulties. Green or soft- wooded cuttings 

 root easily enough, though this sort of cutting is employed 

 somewhat rarely as they are not on the whole so satis- 

 factory as cuttings taken from ripened wood. These 

 green cuttings must always have some of their leaves 

 preserved. The method of taking them is as follows. 

 Roses in pots are placed in a warm greenhouse in 

 February, and when the shoots have grown to 2 or 

 3 inches in length they are torn off, their heels 

 trimmed with a knife and some leaves removed from 

 the base. The cuttings are then planted in small 

 pots, and placed at once under bell-glasses in a pit with 

 a bottom heat of about 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 They will require careful watering, and will take about 

 a month to root. From that time onward they are 

 gradually hardened by admitting air, after which they 

 should be re-potted and put in a cool frame until May, 

 when they may be planted out in suitable soil. 



It is, however, usually simpler and better to take 

 cuttings from ripened wood, preferably such as is 

 furnished with leaves. Such cuttings readily root in 

 the open air, at any time during the Summer and 

 Autumn after the Roses have bloomed. Monsieur 

 Chas. Grosdemange has described in detail the different 

 operations which he finds most satisfactory in making 

 cuttings of Roses. The soil used in striking Roses 

 should be fairly light, of such a consistency as just 



