232 THE amateue's geeenhotjse 



CHAPTEE XIX. 



GREENHOUSE EOSES. 



The rose is not a greenhouse plant, but we shall never tire 

 of seeing roses in the greenhouse and conservatory, provided 

 they are well grown and flower early. If these two conditions 

 are not fulfilled, roses under glass are simply out of place, and 

 the amateur would save worry and vexation by quietly 

 consigning his greenhouse roses to the fire when a general 

 burning of rubbish takes place. A lover of roses will 

 derive one peculiar pleasure from growing them under glass, 

 and that is, he will see them in a remarkably fresh and 

 brilliant condition in the months of April and May, when 

 there are no roses out of doors, and his sheltered pets will be 

 as attractive for the delicate colour and texture of their leaves 

 as for the splendour of their early and most welcome flowers. 

 To do roses well under glass requires a little care, but there is 

 nothing occult in the business, and the amateur who means 

 it, and knows a little of the rose to begin with, will be sure to 

 succeed. A rose house is a fine garden feature, but it is not 

 necessary to devote a structure especially to roses, for they 

 may be grown with either hard-wooded or soft-wooded plants 

 if carefully managed, and, of course, the warmer the house 

 the earlier will they flower. They must have plenty of light 

 and air, and in any case they must be forced gently ; so it will 

 be unwise always to put them in heat suddenly, for, instead of 

 flowering nicely, they will become covered with mildew and 

 the flower-buds will drop before they open. In an unheated 

 house pot-roses may be nicely done, provided the aspect is 

 sunny, and the shelter will aid them so much that they will 

 flower a month or more in advance of those in the open 

 ground. The best time to begin is in September or October, 

 when vigorous plants in flve- or six-inch pots may be pur- 

 chased at a cheap rate. These, pruned back to within three 

 or four buds of the base of the shoots, will form nice speci- 



