PRUNING 41 



back to make them shoot out freshly from the base, 

 but this is not a regular occurrence. They should be 

 pruned in April. 



The Boursaults are pruned in March, and require 

 little thinning. They are very vigorous growers, and 

 throw up long firm shoots from the base which should 

 be left at their full height. The older wood should be 

 shortened to the height required, and the side shoots 

 left from 6 to lo feet long. They are treated in a 

 manner very similar to the Sweet Briars, including the 

 Penzance Briars, the latter being pruned almost exactly 

 like the Boursaults. Lord and Lady Penzance are not 

 quite such sturdy growers as the rest, and should not 

 exceed 6 feet in length. The Sweet Briars are weaker 

 again and should have all weak and naked shoots cut 

 away, leaving the plant about 4 feet high. All these 

 Briars will need some thinning, and if used for hedges 

 the long shoots should be pegged down to fill in the 

 base of the hedge. They should be pruned in early 

 March. 



The Sempervirens class should be pruned early in 

 February, and need almost the same treatment as the 

 Ayrshires. The lateral shoots should, however, be 

 shortened, as they are more slender in the stem. Where 

 these Roses are planted as rambling plants on banks, for 

 which they are eminently suited, they may be left to run 

 almost wild and untouched. 



The Multiflora Roses need rather, diverse treatment 

 according to variety, but as a general rule it may be 

 taken that as they bloom mostly on the tips of the 

 branches this habit must be regarded and if possible 

 counteracted in pruning. This is done, when the plants 

 are grown as pillars or climbers, by shortening some of 

 the weaker one-year-old shoots, the stronger ones being 

 left to their full length. Where they are grown as a 

 hedge they hardly need this, as the tops will fall over 



