March Sowing and Planting 



other details, such, for instance, as choice of stock, soil, 

 and planting, exert an influence on the career of the 

 tree. It is obvious that, before starting to prune, one 

 should have some knowledge of the effect that will 

 follow the shortening or removal of the stems or shoots ; 

 to prune without discrimination and merely to give the 

 plant a presentable shape is a practice that can only 

 lead to dire results. If it were remembered that the 

 majority of climbing Roses bear the best blossoms on 

 growths of the previous summer, and that bush, or 

 dwarf, and standard Roses yield the finest blooms on 

 growths that have still to develop, fewer mistakes would 

 be made. 



Often enough those who do not know are actuated 

 by a desire to prune Roses in a fashion exactly contrary 

 to that which is correct. For example, one often finds 

 that climbing Roses are hard pruned and dwarf Roses 

 lightly pruned ; the result is that the best flowering 

 growths of the former are cut away, and the latter have 

 no chance of producing shoots that will bear satisfactory 

 blooms, for the best flowers are borne by strong shoots. 

 Weeping standards are formed by climbing Roses, so 

 that their pruning is similar to that needed by the 

 latter. 



The conditions of soil and climate exert a considerable 

 influence on pruning : especially do they modify or even 

 nullify the effects of wrong pruning. If one's garden 

 is on rich loam soil, and the district is mild and warm, 

 then most Roses will thrive and blossom, in spite of 

 indifferent pruning, or if not pruned at all. But such 

 gardens are in the minority, and the question of pruning 

 is still one that needs careful practice to ensure the best 

 returns. 



Pruning Newly-planted Roses. There is no doubt 

 that newly-planted Roses, those put in between last 

 autumn and the present time, benefit by really severe 

 pruning. Whether dwarf or climbing sorts, the stems 



