THE JOYOUS ART OF GARDENING 



THE BEST WAY TO BUY ROSES 



Whoever wants roses that will do something directly 

 doesn't experiment with slips or cuttings, except for the fun 

 of it, but gets two-year-old plants from a worthy rose-grower 

 who has grown them himself. Do not try imported plants, 

 even when a bargain-counter lures. The imported gown may 

 be all one could desire, but the imported plant is by no means 

 as satisfactory as the home-grown one. The climate of both 

 England and the Netherlands is quite different from ours; 

 solely for its horticultural value (and quite correctly) an eigh- 

 teenth-century poet praises "Britain's watery sky." It seems 

 to have been made especially for gardening purposes. Plants 

 coming from these countries to ours feel the difference sorely. 

 An expert knows how to manage imported plants; it is wiser 

 for an amateur not to try it unless he has a good deal of gar- 

 den wisdom. 



Latitude is an important consideration in the selection of 

 roses. The Crimson Rambler, which in the North will grow 

 for any one, is in the South rather liable to disease, and for 

 beauty cannot compare with the Banksias or the wild Cherokee 

 Roses. There is also a difference in the planting season. On 

 account of this difference one buys his plants preferably from 

 a nurseryman in his own latitude. If one has wisdom enough 

 to recognize "suckers" from the roots, and resolution enough 

 to cut them out, then a wide range of budded roses is possible. 

 But if one cannot tell a "sucker" when he sees it, he never 

 should buy roses except on their own roots.* 

 * See chapter on pruning. 



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