302 



Gardening for Amateurs 



generously fed, pruned rather severely, and the 

 old wood ought to be cut out in July or August 

 annually. The colour is rosy-pink, but there is a 

 white variety, though it is now scarce. These 

 Roses are best grown in dwarf bush form. They 

 are summer bloomers only. 



Riigosa or Japanese Brier (Rosa rugosa). Al- 

 though Rugosa Roses were introduced into the 

 British Isles from Japan before the middle of the 

 last century it is only lately that they have become 

 popular, a popularity that now extends to them 

 as stocks, in which form I think they are being 

 used in increasing numbers. The type bears single 

 crimson flowers, but there is a single white variety, 

 Rugosa alba, a double or rather semi-double, 

 Blanc Double de Coubert, and a double crimson 

 form, known as Rugosa flore pleno. All the kinds 

 produce more or less brilliantly-coloured orange or 

 scarlet hips if the blossoms be left on the plants to 

 wither. These are excellent Roses for town gardens ; 

 the best known is probably Conrad F. Meyer, 

 which grows to a great height, and requires little 

 pruning beyond thinning. The National Rose 

 Society, in its handbook on pruning, says that an 

 excellent way of growing them is to cut them down 

 each year this sounds a little Irish, perhaps but 

 it is good advice, as the bushes spring up freely and 

 strongly, and although this treatment makes the 

 blossom late in coming, when it does come it comes 

 in quantities, and at a time often when other Roses 

 are failing, and it is doubly welcome. Blanc 

 Double de Coubert, which is little more than a single 

 Rose, having but a double row of petals, is of a more 

 spreading habit, its foliage is not so persistent as 

 that of some of the other varieties, but in fragrance 

 it stands almost unrivalled by any Rose that grows. 



Scotch (Rosa spinosissima). A species of Rose 

 whose habitat is by no means confined to Scotland, 

 extending, indeed, as far south as the Channel 

 Islands. It is occasionally called the Burnet Rose, 

 but is better known as the Scotch Rose. It varies 

 in height from a few inches to 2 and occasionally 

 3 feet, but the most usual height is about 2 feet 

 or less. In growth it pushes numerous leads 

 underground, which come up so as to form a regular 

 thicket eventually. The stems are covered with 

 very long sharp spines or thorns, so woe betide 

 anyone who meddles with this Rose without first 

 donning thick leather gloves. It grows best in a 

 sandy or gravelly soil. The original type bore 

 sweet-scented white blossoms, but under cultiva- 

 tion other colours have developed, that is if white 

 may be taken as a colour, and among these are 

 shades of yellow, pink, purple, and red. The plant 

 is extremely hardy, and will grow readily in soil 

 in which most Roses would soon perish. 



Sweet Brier (Rosa rubiginosa). The " Eglantine " 

 of Sir Walter Scott. The bloom is small and not 

 in any way striking, but the fragrance of the foliage 

 is delicious, and is the cause of the great popularity 

 of this plant. The Sweet Brier proper does not 

 grow to anything like the height of the Penzance 

 Sweet Briers already referred to, indeed it is seldom 

 much more than 4 feet high. It is well to cut 

 these Briers back when first planted, and after- 



wards they need nothing but the cutting out of 

 dead or diseased wood. 



Tea-scented Rose (Rosa indica). These Roses 

 are the progeny of Rosa indica odorata, which was 

 received from China at the beginning of last century, 

 when, and for long afterwards, they were grown 

 under glass only, but the race as now developed 

 has improved in hardiness, and many of them can 

 be grown out of doors in any part of the British 

 Islands, although it is always better to give them 

 extra protection in winter. In some ways, in fact 

 in most ways, they are the perfection of Roses, being 

 beautiful in shape and texture, and exhibiting the 

 rarest and most exquisite delicacy of colour and 

 tint. Their fragrance is delicious, but is different 

 in quality from that of other Roses, and is peculiar 

 to them and their hybrids. Tea Roses do better 

 in a lighter soil than clay, in which often they do 

 not flourish. The growth is more slender and twig- 

 like than that of most other Roses, and the flowers 

 are small when compared with those of Hybrid 

 Perpetuals. The flowering period is extensive, 

 and is generally prolonged late into the autumn, 

 and even at times into early winter if the season 

 be favourable. It is often found better to prune 

 Tea Roses lightly one year and severely the next. 

 Of course all of them should not be pruned severely 

 at one time, but, say, alternate plants or alternate 

 beds of them if they be very numerous. These 

 Roses generally do better in the country than in 

 the town. They are not good Roses for growing 

 in shade. 



Wichuraiana (Rosa wichuraiana). These Roses 

 take their names from Doctor Wichur, the Gennan 

 discoverer of the original wild type. The Hybrids 

 of this class are now the most popular of all climbing 

 and rambling Roses, as they grow very freely to a 

 great height, and the growths of most of them are 

 pliable and easily trained in any desired form or 

 direction. The foliage of many of them has a 

 highly polished or glistening appearance, and is 

 generally tough and leathery, and little liable to 

 attacks of mildew or black spot. We now possess 

 Wichuraiana Roses of all colours and many shades. 

 All are hardy and throw up an abundance of young 

 shoots every season, so, although it is not con- 

 sidered necessary by some gardeners, I think it is 

 better to cut out all the old wood annually so 

 soon as the flowering season is over. This must not 

 be done, of course, in the case of Roses which bloom 

 a second time in the autumn. Dorothy Perkins 

 (pink) is probably the best known specimen of 

 this type, and a beautiful thing it is. Alberic 

 Barbier is another very popular Rose of this 

 class. Its foliage glistens as though it had just 

 been dipped in gum; it is a very strong grower, 

 and its wood produces a number of laterals. 



SOME SWEETLY SCENTED ROSES 



Many of these are old Roses belonging 

 to the Hybrid Perpetual, Tea, Provence, 

 Bourbon, and Moss types. The following 

 list contains the names of many Roses 



