ROSE 



6703 



ROSE 



ROSES : VARIETIES AND CULTURE 



H. Havart, Author of The Back Garden Beautiful 



For further information see the articles Gardening; Grafting; In- 

 sects ; and those on other flowers and orders of flowers. See also 

 colour plate 



The rose (natural order Kosaceae) 

 is the emblematic flower of Britain, 

 whose cultivated forms have been 

 improved from strains or varieties 

 of the wild dog-rose, or briar. It 

 includes numerous hardy and half- 

 hardy trees and shrubs, the vast 

 majority of which are deciduous. 

 Many new species have been intro- 

 duced from foreign countries, of 

 which the most important are the 

 Damask rose from Syria, 1573 ; 

 Moss rose and Cabbage rose from 

 Southern Russia, 1595 ; French 

 rose, 1596; China rose, China, 1759; 

 Banksian rose, China, 1807 ; Poly- 

 antha rose, China, 1822 ; Japanese 

 rose, Japan, 1845. In addition 

 there are 100 natural species of 

 rose, and the varieties raised by 

 the process of hybridisation are 

 very numerous. The most distinct 

 classes of garden roses are those 

 known as Tea roses, Hybrid per- 

 petuals, and Climbing roses. 



Tea roses are among the earliest 

 flowering of roses. The hybrid per- 

 petual class is the most valuable for 

 general garden purposes, and con- 

 sists of roses which have been cross- 

 fertilised with the object of obtain- 

 ing as lengthy a period of bloom as 

 possible. Climbing roses have a 

 particularly vigorous stem growth, 

 and are especially suitable for train- 

 ing to cover walls, pergolas, etc. 

 Standard and Bush Roses 



Roses are usually grown in one 

 of two forms as standards or 

 bushes. A standard rose is primar- 

 ily a staked native briar of about 

 three ft. in height, known as the 

 stock, to which is united, by the 

 process known as grafting, the 

 scion, or bud, of a highly culti- 

 vated rose, which the stock is 

 intended to succour. This form of 

 rose is principally used for speci- 

 men or exhibition purposes. The 

 bush rose has a much shorter stock, 

 and is grafted at about planting 

 level. Its chief use is for broad 

 effects in beds and masses, and, as 

 it does not stand so high out of the 

 ground, it requires less protection 

 than the standard. The bush 

 method of cultivation will give a 

 greater number of blooms than the 

 standard, but they may not be of 

 such size or quality. 



CULTIVATION. Roses will grow on 

 practically any sort of soil, though 

 a good, rich loam, with clay at the 

 depth of two or three feet, suits 

 them best. The primary essentials 

 for rose culture are a good rich sur- 

 face soil, either natural or manu- 

 factured, below which is a layer of 



clay for the purpose of holding 

 moisture, in order to keep the roots 

 of the roses fresh and cool during 

 the dry months of summer, and 

 below that a layer of gravel or 

 other similar drainage material, 

 which will prevent the clay from 

 holding stagnant water for too long 

 a period. The best time of the 

 year for planting roses is from 

 November to March. In country 

 districts, the late autumn period is 

 preferable, but in towns and 

 suburbs it is wise to defer plant- 

 ing operations until the spring. 

 Town soils are usually poorer than 

 those in more favoured districts, 

 and there is danger of loss of 

 plants through frost and fog. 

 Method of Planting 



Roses require to be planted 

 with their roots spread out hori- 

 zontally, each in a hole about 12 ins. 

 deep. At the bottom of the hole 

 a layer of well-decayed horse 

 manure should be spread, and 

 thinly covered with soil. On no 

 account should the roots of the 

 freshly planted rose tree be 

 allowed actually to touch the 

 manure. This manure is the bait 

 which is to draw those roots down- 

 wards and cause them thoroughly 

 to establish themselves. The hole 

 should then be filled up with soil, 

 gently but firmly pressed down, 

 and a top dressing of manure given 

 to keep the surface of the ground 

 warm. In exposed and windy 

 situations, standard roses should 

 have each a stake fixed into the 

 soil and attached to the stem, in 

 order to prevent the wind from 

 swaying the newly planted rose 

 about and so preventing the roots 

 from settling themselves firmly. 



The best period of the year at 

 which to prune roses is the spring- 

 time, and the operation, especially 

 in the case of newly planted roses, 

 should be carried out with a seca- 

 teur or pruning scissors. Standard 

 roses should be pruned more freely 

 than bushes, and all weak, dead, 

 and unripe shoots should be cleared 

 right away. In the case of bush 

 roses, such drastic pruning opera- 

 tions are not necessary. Climbing 

 roses will need little pruning, train- 

 ing, in their case, being more im- 

 portant, as the undesirable shoots 

 die off automatically. 



ROSES UNDER GLASS. For out-of- 

 season blooming, roses should be 

 potted up in October, and sheltered 

 from, early frosts in a cold frame or 

 house. In January they should be 

 removed to a greenhouse which is 



kept just above freezing-point at 

 night and up to a temperature of 

 45-50 F. by day. Plenty of mois- 

 ture is essential, and occasional 

 applications of guano, with a gra- 

 dual increase in temperature. The 

 period of blooming can thus be 

 regulated. 



Insect pests to be guarded against 

 are green fly or aphis, and cater- 

 pillars. A strong solution of car- 

 bonate of ammonia, especially in 

 the greenhouse, is not only an effec- 

 tive remedy, but will also help to 

 stimulate the growth of the roses. 

 Where caterpillars infest, apart 

 from hand-picking, the best re- 

 medy for this and all other pests is 

 a mixture of lime, sulphur, and 

 soot, made into a strong solution 

 with soap and water, and liberally 

 sprayed over the infested plants. 



The natural colours of roses are 

 white, pink, crimson, and yellow, 

 though hybridisation has produced 

 what are known as florists' vari- 

 eties to the extent of between three 

 and four thousand. The number 

 is being constantly added to each 

 season, and any attempt to enu- 

 merate names here is impossible. 

 Bibliography. An English Flower 

 Garden, H. A. Bright, 1881 ; Cen- 

 tury Book of Gardening, E. T. Cook, 

 1900 ; The Book of the Bose, A. 

 Foster-Melliar, new ed. 1910 ; A 

 Book About Roses, Dean Hole, new 

 ed. 1911 ; and the publications of 

 the National Rose Society. 



Rose. Heraldic emblem. Both 

 the botanical and a convention- 

 alised type of flower are seen on 

 shields. The 

 latter are com- 

 posed of four 

 to six heart- 

 shaped petals, 

 with curved -in 

 tips, golden 

 seed centres, 

 usually small 

 green leaves 

 between the 

 petals (seeded 

 and barbed). In cadency, it is the 

 mark of the seventh son and his 

 house. The rose is prominent in 

 English heraldry, the white flower 

 having been adopted as the 

 badge of the House of York, and 

 the red by the House of Lancaster. 

 The two were united by Henry 

 VII, who introduced the Tudor 

 rose, first borne quarterly, red and 

 white ; then dimidiated red and 

 white ; and finally a red rose 

 within a white one. 



Rose, JOHN HOLLAND (b. 1855). 

 British historian. Born at Bedford, 

 he was educated at Owens College, 

 Manchester, and at Christ's College, 

 Cambridge, of which he was elected 

 fellow in 1914. Reader in Modern 

 History at Cambridge University, 

 1911-19, he was appointed lha 



Rose in heraldry 



