234 



Gardening for Amateurs 



thinning out more than those of Roses of 

 spreading habit. 



The aim and intention of pruning is to 



amount of useful pruning, if done with 

 judgment, can be performed as the season 

 progresses. At any time it is well to remove 



get rid of useless and worthless wood ; to dead or diseased growth, cutting down to 



open out the plant so as to let in light and 

 air ; to improve its appearance and pro- 

 ductiveness ; and to arrest leaf growth at a 

 critical time when frosts are probable, with 

 the subsequent result of getting an abund- 



A lovely climbing Reseda wall facing west-Crepuscule, copper. 



ance of strong, healthy young shoots from 

 basal buds that would, in the absence of 

 pruning, remain dormant. 



The golden rule to remember is to prune 

 Roses of weak growth severely, and those of 

 strong growth comparatively lightly. Re- 

 member " Growth strong, Pruning long," 

 and vice versa. 



healthy wood. Pegged -down shoots which 

 have flowered should be cut out directly 

 the flowering is over, so as not to exhaust 

 the plant unnecessarily. Snags that have 

 been overlooked should be cut out, and 

 branches or shoots seen to 

 be dying back need to be 

 cut well below the unhealthy 

 portion. It is also better to 

 remove small shoots or leaves 

 bearing isolated patches of 

 mildew directly these are ob- 

 served. The mildewed pieces 

 should immediately be burned 

 and the rest of the bush and 

 other bushes round it sprayed 

 with a fungicide as soon as 

 possible. If there be much 

 blossom on these bushes, each 

 flower can be tied up in soft 

 paper whilst the spraying is 

 being done, unless it is found 

 better to cut all the blossoms 

 off ; otherwise they will prob- 

 ably be spoilt. 



The tools and appliances 

 needed for pruning are, first, 

 a stout pair of leather gloves. 

 Gloves are made of thick 

 leather specially for the pur- 

 pose. A sharp pruning knife 

 of the proper shape that is 

 to say, having an incurved 

 blade is a necessity. If an 

 ordinary pocket-knife be used 

 harm is generally done ; at the 



end of the cut a strip of bark 

 - g genera% ^ off ^ ^ 



of the shoot being pruned. 

 One can scarcely do without a pair of good 

 secateurs ; at present the French makes 

 appear to be better than the British ones, 

 unfortunately. When the number of Roses 

 to be dealt with is not large the secateurs 

 can be used first, cutting off the wood an 

 inch or two above the point to which it is 

 intended to prune, after which the work 



In addition to the annual spring pruning can be neatly finished off with the knife 

 dealt with in the foregoing notes, a certain A small, thin saw, something like a wood 



