VII 

 PRUNING 



PRUNING is one of the most important parts of 

 rose culture; just as it is most necessary to prepare 

 the ground properly and to plant intelligently, so 

 also should one be certain to prune systematically. 

 The whole growth of the plant is changed by the 

 manner of its pruning. 



Under climbing varieties we have given rules for 

 their proper care and in this chapter we will take 

 up that pruning which applies to all the roses con- 

 tained in our main list. It is an easy matter when the 

 theory of it is understood. Perhaps the simplest 

 and clearest illustration which could be given would 

 be to suppose a rose cane has fifteen buds or eyes 

 on it; from these buds or eyes spring the shoots 

 which afterward become the flower stalks of the 

 plant. Now, if you did not prune at all but left 

 the entire cane, the sustenance received from the 

 roots would be divided into fifteen parts. As a 

 matter of fact the greatest amount would go to the 

 end or top of the cane and to those buds nearest 

 the top, for in all plant life it is more difficult to get 

 the sap to break the buds nearest the base, especially 



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