Gardening in California 



rich, light soil and plenty of water, care being taken, however, 

 not to get the soil soggy or sour. 



ROSA (Rose). 



This important genus of highly ornamental flowering shrubs 

 is widely distributed over the Temperate Zone. It is divided 

 into many sections or groups, these again being divided into 

 numerous varieties. No one of our ornamental flowering plants 

 is more worthy of attention from cultivators or flower-lovers than 

 the Rose. It is well named the Queen of Flowers, and is useful 

 and beautiful in the many positions it is called upon to adorn, 

 provided it is given fair treatment in the way of soil and cul- 

 tivation. Some of the groups will be found suitable for almost 

 any situation: covering trellises or arbors, covering walls or 

 verandas, in mixed borders, or as bedders. A number of the 

 stronger-growing species (such as the Ramblers, the Cherokees and 

 the Banksias) make grand effects when allowed to grow wildly 

 among the branches of a spreading oak or a tall pine, their 

 showers of white, red or yellow blossoms almost covering their 

 own leaves, as well as those of the tree which gives them support. 

 The Rose is propagated by seeds, cuttings, layers and budding, 

 but by cuttings is without doubt the best system for increasing 

 the great majority of the finer varieties. Roses of nearly all 

 the varieties do well on their own roots, and propagation by 

 cuttings may be carried on during the Summer and Autumn 

 months. The first batch should be put in as soon as the first 

 crop of flowers is over, and half-ripe wood is in condition, which 

 is generally as soon as the flowers drop from the young growth 

 and before the buds on the flowering shoots begin to swell. Cut- 

 tings of this wood make excellent material and should be about 

 six inches in length, if taken off with a heel so much the better. 

 The cuttings should be inserted in a cool, shaded border free 

 from draughts, in soil composed of half sand and half leaf- 

 mold. When making the cuttings in the Summer season, the 



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