Round the Year in the Garden 



should be cut back hard, those of the bush Roses to 

 within two or three buds of the base, of the climbers 

 to within 4 inches of the ground ; then, and only then, 

 may vigorous shoots be expected that will give the 

 trees a good start in life. In dealing with established 

 Roses those that have been planted for two or three 

 years, or longer one cannot advise in such a definite 

 manner, yet I firmly believe that hard pruning is best ; 

 one may, in consequence, obtain rather fewer Roses, yet 

 they are blooms that delight their possessor, and there 

 is no doubt that Roses hard pruned live the longest, or, 

 if not the longest, at least the most satisfactory lives. 

 They are always lusty and healthy, and show none of 

 those miserably thin growths and bare stems which 

 characterise Roses that have been lightly pruned. With 

 climbing Hybrid Teas and especially the climbing 

 " sports " such, for example, as Climbing Liberty, Climb- 

 ing Richmond, etc. it is better, instead of cutting clown 

 the stems to within a few inches of| the ground, to leave 

 them about 2 feet long. When, later on, fresh stems 

 develop, the old ones are cut out. 



An Explanation of Pruning. So far as the actual 

 cutting of the Rose bushes is concerned, the directions 

 are simple ; it is in their application that difficulties 

 arise. The plants differ so remarkably in vigour and 

 form of growth that it is impossible to advise concerning 

 each variety, let alone each form of plant. The first 

 thing to do is to cut out thin and weakly shoots, snags 

 and dead pieces; then comes the actual shortening of 

 the remaining stems. The weaker the growth the harder 

 should it be pruned. Any shoot not thicker than a pen- 

 holder may be pruned to within two or three buds of 

 the base; on shoots rather stronger four buds, and on 

 those as thick as the top of one's little finger five or six 

 buds may be left. Yet even this direction may lead one 

 astray, for the buds are much farther apart on the 

 stems of some varieties than on others ; it would perhaps 



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