ROSES IN POTS. 



freely amongst the plants to prevent damp, and the pots 

 should be covered over with fern or stable-litter. 



In selecting plants from the ground to grow in pots, I 

 prefer such as have grown moderately through the 

 summer ; they will be more compact, and the wood more 

 solid and better ripened than that of those which have 

 grown very vigorously. It is of great importance to have 

 them potted early in the season. As before mentioned, most 

 of the sorts will bear removing by the end of September 

 certainly the varieties of Tea-Scented, Chinese, and 

 Bourbon. The operation of pruning may be performed 

 at two seasons ; in November for early flowering, and in 

 March or even April to procure a later bloom. The first 

 season after removal the plants will require to be pruned 

 closer than at subsequent periods, and it is worthy of 

 remembrance that the flowers should be produced as near 

 home as possible, or in other words, that the plants may 

 become close and bushy. The Moss, Provence, Gallica, 

 and most of the Autumnal Roses, may be pruned in close 

 to within three or four eyes of the base. With the exception 

 of a few very robust growers, there is little fear of pruning 

 these varieties out of shape or flower. But with the hybrids 

 of Chinese it is far otherwise ; they are more disposed to 

 form wood, and should be well thinned out, and the re- 

 maining shoots left longer. In pruning, all Roses where 

 the shoots are crowded, or cross each other, it is beneficial 

 to cut some entirely out, that those left for flowering may 

 stand a good distance apart, for if too many be allowed to 

 remain they will become drawn and produce weak flowers. 

 It is in fact much in favour of a good bloom to have the 

 shoots thinned during the previous summer, which assists 

 in ripening the wood. And as a general rule in pruning, 

 weak growers should be cut in close, strong growers left 

 long, and those of intermediate growth pruned in propor- 

 tion. Soft unripened wood should be invariably removed. 



The hardy varieties (pruned and not pruned) may 

 now (November) be removed to an airy situation in the 



