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HARDY ROSES. 



CONDUCTED BY JOSEPH FROST. 

 IHABDY BOSES. 



The rich, exquisite fragrance of the rose, its varied 

 and perfect form, combining among the different va- 

 rieties almost every conceivable color, makes it a fa- 

 vorite with evei-ybody; its easy cultivation, too, thri- 

 ving, as it does, in a degree under all sorts of mal- 

 treatment, which makes this flower, of all, the most 

 popular. Necessary as is this plant to ornament our 

 grounds, yet comparatively little is known of the differ- 

 ent species, and much less care is given its cultivation. 

 In fact, there is no flowering plant, in proportion to 

 the extent of its cultivation, that receives worse 

 treatment. It is placed in hard, unprepared ground, 

 with a retentive subsoil, and frequently in borders 

 adjacent to the walls of buildings, containing earth 

 thrown from cellar bottoms, freely intermixed with 

 stones and lime, and fully exposed to the scorching 

 rays of the sun in midsummer, where it is expected 

 to flourish. ^j._Then its after culture produces the fin- 

 ishing touch. Should the plant be able to produce 

 any branches, they are allowed to crowd and choke 

 each other, wholly excluding the light and air. If it 

 were suggested to prune as a means to produce flue 

 blooms, it would be considered an absurd idea. The 

 result is that the flowers produced under such circum- 

 stances, are very inferior in size and color, with but 

 few blooms. Whatever nursery establishment receives 

 orders for a garden conducted in such a manner, bears 

 the entire censure, while the fault is wholly the ne- 

 glect aud mismanagement of others, and entirely out 

 of the control of the commercial florist. 



There are, however, many amateurs who know how 

 to cultivate roses, and who take the pains to have 

 them in the greatest perfection ; which amply rewards 

 them for the care and attention that la given to their 

 cultivation. 



Whatever treatment one may give roses after they 

 are planted, all the results in cultivating them will be 

 very unsatisfactory, unless the ground in which they 

 are expected to flourish is properly prepared. Wher- 

 ever it is intended to make a plantation of roses, the 

 ground should be firstly well drained, (if not natu- 

 rally a porous soil), and spaded or trenched to the 

 depth of two or thi-ee feet. As no soil can be too 

 rich for the rose, a quantity of well rotted compost 

 or manure should be thoroughly mixed iu the earth 

 before plantmg. Every autumn rich compost ought 



to be placed thickly about the stems of the roses, 

 and upon the approach of spring spaded or forked 

 into the ground. 



It is far more essential that roses should be pruned, 

 to have a profusion of fine flowers, than to prune any 

 variety of fruit trees that they may be more produc- 

 tive. This should be done during the latter part of 

 March or the beginning of April. All of the pre- 

 ceding years' growth should be cut off, leaving only 

 three or four eyes, which would throw out as many 

 vigorous shoots, producing a quantity of fine blooms. 

 Long established plants, having stunted or old wood,, 

 should be cut out entirely, protecting only the young- 

 and vigorous shoots. Hybrid Perpetual roses require 

 to be pruned during the summer, which will insure a. 

 succession of blooms during the summer and autamn. 

 This may be done as follows : As soon as the flowers 

 fade in June, the branches that sustained the blooms 

 (the flowers of which are always produced at the ex- 

 tremities of the shoots) should be cut back to two 

 or four eyes, leaving them to push and form branches 

 again. By pursuing this course the plants may be 

 kept in a neat form, and produce flowers in the great- 

 est profusion during the season. This class embraces 

 the most beautiful and desirable roses. They com 

 prise the different colors, from a dull white to abrigh' 

 crimson or dark purple. They are all perfectly bar 

 dy, too, and will endure our coldest winters unpro 

 tected, — very vigorous, and blooming at interval; 

 from June to November. 



Our stool ground of this class, containing hundredi 

 of plants, has remained wholly unprotected durint 

 this severe winter, aud they all appear to be unin 

 jured. 



Moss roses are all very hardy, blooming but once 

 excepting some three or four sorts, said to flower tw( 

 or three times during the season. Under ordinar 

 treatment, however, we have not been able to bloon 

 but one sort more than once. This was Blanch 

 Perpetual — producing a number of fine flowers du 

 riag the end of last season. 



The Hybrid China, Provence and Hybrid Provence 

 Hybrid Bourbon, French roses, Austrian or yellov 

 roses, microphylla roses, &c., bloom only in June 

 They are highly esteemed, being very hardy, generally 

 very vigorous, some making such rapid growth as to 

 be termed pillar roses. They are cultivated vei 

 much, as they contain many varieties possessing quit( 

 distinct colors and forms from any in the Hybrid Per 

 petual class, — as the PoWan, yellow; Jlureti, darl 

 velvety-purple; Madam Hardy, \i\xk white; stripeo 

 roses, &c., &c. 



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