HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



195 



ROS 



each shoot, and that will be the perfect flower; 

 and it is from such flowers, shown at the Lon- 

 don exhibitions, that our American travelers 

 give their orders, often paying enormous prices 

 for Roses that, when grown under ordinary treat- 

 ment here, never fail to disappoint. Were the 

 English amateurs to take their " Standards"from 

 nursery rows, and keep them out of the ground 

 for nearly two months, as is the case with us, 

 and then give them but indifferent treatment, 

 we doubt if their favorable climate would give 

 them a Rose that would be recognized by those 

 who have only grown them properly. R. rugosa, 

 a Japanese species, first sent to this country by 

 Commodore Perry in 1855, is one of the hand- 

 somest hardy shrubs in cultivation. It forms a 

 sturdy bush from four to five feet high, covered 

 with large, dark green, pinnate, glossy foliage, 

 and producing terminal chisters of ten to twenty 

 flowers, three inches in diameter, of a bright 

 rosy crimson color, and very fragrant. It con- 

 tinues in flower the whole summer, making a 

 very attractive object. If it never produced a 

 flower, it would still be entitled to a prominent 

 place on the lawn for the beauty of its foliage, 

 which scarcely resembles that of the Rose, but 

 is very heavy, rich, and shining, remaining on 

 until late in autumn. 



CULTURE OF THE ROSE. 



WINTER FORCING. The intense interest now so 

 generally taken in the culture of the Rose, not 

 only for outside decoration, but for the produc- 

 tion of Rose buds in winter, induces us to depart 

 from the general rule adopted in this work, and 

 give a full and detailed account of the methods 

 of cultivation practiced in the vicinity of New 

 York City, which is believed to be unequaled in 

 any other part of the world, particularly in the 

 methods in use for the winter forcing of the Rose. 

 For this purpose, strong, healthy cuttings are put 

 in to root any time from September to January. 

 We keep the sand in our cutting benches about 

 65 or 70, with the temperature of the house 10 

 less. Rose cuttings, under these conditions, 

 will root in from twenty to twenty-five days, 

 and are then potted in any good soil in two and 

 a half inch pots, and placed in a green-house 

 having a night temperature of about 50, with 

 10 to 15 more in the daytime. The young 

 Roses are regularly shifted into larger pots as 

 soon as the "ball " gets filled with roots, great 

 care being taken that the plants at no time get 

 pot bound. Syringing is done once a day to 

 keep down red spider, and fumigating by burn- 

 ing tobacco stems to kill the Aphis or Green 

 Fly must be done twice a week. With such at- 

 tention, plants which were put in as cuttings at 

 the season named above, by the middle of July 

 will be from one and a half to two feet in height, 

 with roots enough to fill a six-inch pot. Now, 

 if intended to be grown in pots, the shifting 

 into larger pots should be continued whenever 

 the ball gets filled with roots, (which is usually 

 in about five or six weeks after every shift, ) until 

 the 1st of October, when they will have reached 

 a size requiring a pot of eight or nine inches in 

 diameter. They are then in condition for win- 

 ter forcing, no further shifting being required. 

 But if they are to be planted out on benches, 

 or in solid beds of soil, the planting should be 

 made from the pots from the 15th of July to the 

 15th of August. There is quite a difference of 

 opinion as to whether the Roses can be best 

 grown in solid beds or on raised benches. We 



ROS 



believe that it really makes but little difference, 

 as we find them grown with nearly equal success 

 by both methods, although the method mainly 

 in use at Madison, N. J., where, at present writ- 

 ing, Roses are probably grown better than any- 

 where else in the country, is the raised bench 

 system. The green-houses used are about twen- 

 ty feet wide, and are what is known as three- 

 quarter span ; that is, three-quarters of the glass 

 roof slopes to the south at an angle of about 

 thirty degrees, while the other quarter slopes 

 north at an angle of twenty degrees, giving a 

 base space for the benches on which the Roses 

 are to be planted, taking out the walks, of 

 about fifteen feet. The benches may be either 

 a level platform, or divided into four or five 

 platforms, about three feet wide, or so as to 

 be about equal distances from the glass; the 

 bottom of the benches may be from five to six 

 feet from the glass, as desired. There is no 

 necessity for bottom heat for Roses, so that it is 

 best to have the pipes for heating run under 

 the front and back benches of the Rose house, 

 with none under the middle benches. The 

 soil in which the Roses are to be grown need 

 not be more than six or eight inches deep, 

 the boards so arranged as to allow free drainage 

 for the water. The soil is that made from sods 

 cut three or four inches deep from any good 

 loamy pasture land, well chopped up, and 

 mixed with about one-thirtieth of their bulk of 

 pure broken bones and bone dust. It is per- 

 haps best to let the sod be well rotted before 

 being used, although, if not convenient, it will 

 do fresh, if well chopped up. The distance for 

 Roses such as we describe (those that have been 

 grown in six-inch pots, and average twenty 

 inches high) should be one foot each way, so as 

 to get the full benefit of a crop. It is true that, 

 if planted twice that distance, they would be 

 thick enough before spring ; but they would not 

 fill up sufficiently until the middle of January 

 if planted much wider than one foot. The tem- 

 perature at which Roses are grown in winter is 

 an average of 50 to 55 at night, with 10 or 15 

 higher during the day. Watering is a matter 

 of the first importance, and requires some ex- 

 perience to know what is the proper condition. 

 As a guide, whenever the soil shows indications 

 of being dry on the top, a thorough watering 

 should be given, sufficient to completely satu- 

 rate the soil. Such a watering will not usually 

 be required more than once in two weeks. A 

 mulching of two or three inches of moss, mixed 

 with one-twentieth part bone dust, is very bene- 

 ficial. Syringing may be done once a day , suffi- 

 cient only to moisten the foliage. If done heav- 

 ily it would keep the soil too wet. Fumigating 

 with tobacco for the suppression of the Aphis 

 (Green Fly) should be done twice a week. The 

 varieties grown are changing every season, and 

 no list we can give to-day is likely to remain as 

 the best ten years hence. The favorite Tea 

 Roses now grown for winter are Perle des Jar- 

 dins, (yellow;) Niphetos, (white;) Catharine 

 Mermet, (rose;) Madame Welch, (blush;) Cor- 

 nelia Cook, (white;) Belle Allamande, (pink;) 

 and Bon Silene, (carmine.) There are still a 

 number of the older sorts, such as Safrano, 

 Douglas, and Isabella Sprunt, yet grown; but 

 they are fast giving way to what is known as 

 "fancy" Roses, of which the yellow variety, 

 Perle des Jardins, is a type. Of Climbing Roses, 

 which are grown on the rafters of the green- 

 house, Marshal Neil, (.yellow;) Lamarque, 



