72 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



Perpetuals and Hybrid Teas will, if pruned lightly after they have been 

 planted two years, develop into large bushes, giving an abundance of 

 blossoms. Such plants, however, are useless to the exhibitor who places 

 size and form high in the list of qualities a Rose bloom should possess. 

 In the Rose garden, however, they are delightful objects, and yield a 

 profusion of flowers for cutting. The exhibitor's Rose garden is not, as 

 a rule, a thing beautiful to look upon, since his efforts are directed 

 towards the production of individual blooms of quality and not towards 

 making the beds and borders a mass of flowers. 



Pruning Explained. What is Rose pruning ? In what are usually 

 termed garden Roses it consists of cutting back the growths made last 

 year more or less according to the variety, removing weakly growths, 

 unripened wood and surplus shoots, also any which cross each other. 

 The shoots must always be cut back to an " eye " or bud, which are in 

 the axils of last year's leaves. Most of the leaves have fallen, leaving 

 the buds exposed. At the first sign of spring some of these will com- 

 mence to grow, especially those near the ends of the shoots on Tea Roses. 

 The probability is that the cold winds and spring frosts will kill them. 

 However, these buds would probably be cut off when pruning later on, 

 and the cultivator has the satisfaction of knowing that the buds near 

 the base of last year's growth have not started. 



What to Prune With. It may be that when visiting a large garden 

 where thousands of Roses are grown one has seen secateurs used for 

 pruning. To prune all these with a knife would take more time than 

 could be spared. A sharp knife should always be used when possible, 

 it makes a much cleaner cut ; secateurs bruise the wood and bark. 

 Always commence to make the cut on the side of the shoot opposite 

 the bud. About on a level with the bud make a slightly upward cut, 

 the knife will then cut the wood on the opposite side just above the 

 bud that is to be left. 



When to Prune. From the middle to the end of March is the best 

 time. Commence with the Hybrid Perpetuals, leaving the Teas until 

 last. If cold winds and spring frosts are prevalent it will be better to 

 defer pruning these till April. How much or how little to prune depends 

 largely on the class and the individual variety. Roses, however, vary 

 considerably in growth, some sorts making much more vigorous shoots 

 than others even in the same class. If not carefully watched, the pruning 

 of Roses year after year has the tendency to leave a lot of old wood at 

 the base. If possible, one or two of these old shoots should be cut clean 

 out each year. This usually ensures a good supply of young wood. 

 Before commencing what may be termed " pruning proper," all weak, 

 unripened wood must be removed. The shape of the bush has to be 

 considered. Too many of the best shoots must not, of course, be sacri- 

 ficed, but a little regard should be paid to the shape of the bush. To 

 strengthen weak-growing sorts, cut back last year's growth to within 

 one or two buds of the old wood. Likewise, when dealing with strong- 

 growing sorts, half a dozen or more buds should be left, so that the 

 energy of the plant is distributed, not confined to one or two buds. 



