ROSES, PROPAGATION OF. 442 ROSES, PROPAGATION OF. 



to the cold frame, in which they should be 

 kept till spring. 



Roses, Propagation of, by Cut- 

 tings in Autumn. 



The following is a method of striking 

 rose cuttings in autumn, which involves 

 but little trouble, and is adapted to all 

 sorts of perpetuals, and other hybrids with 

 hard wood, which are usually considered 

 troublesome to strike. In September or 

 October, when the young wood is well 

 ripened, take off the slips, and cut them in 

 the usual way, to two or three eyes, ac- 

 cording to the distance which they are 

 apart, taking care at the same time to re- 

 tain a portion of the principal leaf-stalk 

 and some of the stalks of the first leaflets. 

 Put them singly in small cutting-pots, or in 

 pans, using plenty of drainers, and filling 

 up with peat or with a compost of sand 

 and leaf mould. Plant with a small dibber, 

 pressing the soil firmly to the base of the 

 cuttings ; then water, and plunge the pots 

 to half their depth in a bed sloping about 

 6 inches, and well exposed to the sun ; and 

 cover with a handglass. In a fortnight or 

 three weeks the cuttings will have cal- 

 lused and emitted some rootlets. They 

 will not succeed well in the shade so late 

 in the season. An old melon bed is a 

 good situation for them, as it does not 

 afford too much moisture. Shading should 

 be attended to for some time, if the 

 autumn sun has much power. At the 

 end of a fortnight air must be given by 

 raising the edge of the handglass on a 

 small pot. When frost sets in, keep the 

 glass perfectly close, and put dry leaves 

 round as high as the top of the handglass. 

 In April or May the pots will be found 

 well filled with roots, even in varieties 

 most difficult to strike. The young plants 

 should now be gradually exposed more and 

 more to air and sun, till the handglass is 

 wholly removed. The points of the young 



shr Dts should be removed, and all flower 

 buds, if any show themselves, pinched off, so 

 that the plant may gain strength and throw 

 out branches. In June all those which have 

 been struck in the same pans should be 

 separated into single pots and plunged 

 again. They may require shading for a 

 short time, till they begin to grow, but 

 they will soon be well established and fit 

 to plant out. 



Roses, Propagation of, by Cut- 

 tings for Dwarfs on own 

 Roots. 



The following directions for striking per- 

 petual and other roses, so as to produce 

 dwarfs on their own roots, may be found 

 useful : Any time from July to October 

 take the matured wood of the current year's 

 growth of perpetual and other roses, having 

 four eyes just protruding ; avoid, if pos- 

 sible, blossom -bear ing shoots : plant these 

 on a south border, burying two eyes in a 

 sloping direction, from west to east, or, as 

 the gardener's say, in graft. Be careful, 

 also, to press the earth close round their 

 roots, and occasionally look over them, as 

 worms, &c. , may loosen the soil. Cuttings 

 are best left for two years, to become well 

 rooted before they are removed to the 

 flower beds. 



Roses, Propagation of, by Seed. 



When the flowers have disappeared, and 

 the seed pods begin to swell and ripen, 

 they should be protected from birds ; at the 

 same time, the pods should remain on the 

 trees till perfectly ripe, and even turning 

 black, when they should be gathered and 

 buried in the earth, either in pots or in 

 the ground. Before sowing, however, the 

 operation of cleaning the seeds is performed 

 by rubbing them out between the hands, 

 preparatory to sowing them in February or 

 March. So soon as the seed -pods are 

 broken up, lay the seeds out in the sun to 



