ROSES 69 



spread out carefully. Dwarf or bush Roses are either on their own roots, 

 that is to say, struck from cuttings, or budded upon a foster stock. This 

 foster stock is of four kinds the Briar-cutting, the Seedling Briar, 

 Manetti, and De la Grifferaie. These are described under the heading 

 of Stocks. All these stocks spread their roots outwards, except the 

 seedling briar, which makes a long tap-root, and must be shortened to 

 prevent it going too deep into the cold soil below the first spit. Place 

 the junction between scion and stock an inch below the surface (not 

 more) as shown in the illustrations. The roots having been dipped in 

 water, hold the plant in the left hand and arrange the fibres to the 

 right and left. It is not labour lost to prepare ready a bushel or 

 two of fine soil for placing immediately over the roots. Give them 

 a thin covering of this, and lift the plant gently up and down to 

 allow the soil to run among the fine roots. Now shovel on a little more 

 soil, then give each plant a good handful of bone-meal well scattered 

 around it. Put some more soil on and tread firmly. Roses like firm 

 planting when the land is not wet. Do not quite fill up the hole. When 

 a saucer-like cavity is left around each plant this facilitates watering 

 should the weather remain dry. After the plants have been in the soil 

 about a week give one good watering, unless rain has intervened, then 

 fill up the cavity with fine dusty soil and allow this to remain as loose 

 as possible. Do not plant when the ground is wet and sticky, but leave 

 the plants in the trenches. When planting is finished the surface soil 

 should be left rough, not raked over and made neat. Earth up the 

 bushes in November in the same way one would Potatoes, hence the 

 wisdom of planting the bushes in rows. All the growths covered with the 

 soil are quite safe from severe frosts. The Hybrid Perpetuals should 

 be earthed up as well as the Teas. One never knows the kind of winter 

 to expect, and there is comfort in the thought that the Roses are safe. 

 Even when the soil is frozen very hard the growths remain uninjured. 

 When Roses for some good reason cannot be planted in November wait 

 until February and March unless one is blessed with a fine January. In 

 the case of deferred planting prune the plants back to three inches or 

 four inches from the base before planting. Remember that it is unwise 

 to allow fresh manure to come immediately into contact with the roots. 



To plant a bed 20 feet by 6 feet containing a good representative 

 collection, and arranged according to habit of growth, having the strongest 

 in the centre row, the following diagram will indicate the position of 

 each variety according to the number against the name : 



20 feet. 



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