no GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Moss Eoses, Damask Roses, Maiden's Blush, Hybrid Chinese, and Gal- 

 licas may he left from twelve inches to eighteen inches long, hut reduce 

 the number of old growths. Roses of the type of Gloire de Dijon, if 

 grown as bushes, may be left two feet to four feet long, and they will 

 flower up the shoots. Do not prune into the old wood, but always cut 

 back the growths made the previous season. Old wood merely yields 

 blind or flowerless shoots. 



The Rose grower should always endeavour to cut away entirely some 

 of the old growths each season. This should be accomplished in Septem- 

 ber. There is a sacrifice of some 

 autumn bloom, but the young wood 

 is strengthened for another year. 

 Four to six good, sound one-year-old 

 growths upon each plant, even when 

 the bushes are twenty years old, are 

 better than a bush with innumerable 

 shoots. Many Roses flower upon the 

 new growths no matter if pruned to 

 the ground line each year. La France, 

 Baroness Rothschild, and others are of 

 this nature. By pruning to within 

 five inches or six inches of the ground, 

 splendid new wood is obtained. If an 

 abundance of bloom be wanted such 

 rigorous treatment is fatal. The longer 

 the growths are retained for this pur- 

 pose the better, but even in this case 

 it is well to remove a whole growth or 

 two each year to allow air and sun- 

 shine to play upon the heart of the 

 bush. Remove in the third year the 

 strong centre growth quite to the 



ai _ -<--i __ w _^__ base. By this time younger growths 



will have appeared to take its place. 



MEDIUM GROWING ROSE, TWO YEARS It is always best to prune to dor- 

 OLD ; CROSS LINES SHOW PLACE TO mant eyes. Some years the growths 

 PRUNE start out so early that one must 



prune back severely to find dormant 



buds. With very strong growers that have, say, five or six long 

 growths, these growths, through cutting back to about eighteen inches 

 and then spreading outward by means of galvanised iron pegs, result 

 in a very fine plant with plenty of flowering growths ; whilst this 

 bending outward compels strong new growths to break out from the 

 base which the following season will be used for flowering, and those 

 flowering this year will be cut away. 



Standard Roses of the same kinds as dwarfs are subjected to a similar 

 pruning. Only quite strong growers should be grown as standards. The 

 climbing Teas make very fine heads, but all Teas as standards, except the 

 familiar Gloire de Dijon tribe, run great risks of being killed in a hard 



