3M 



JOUENAL OF IIORTICULTITRE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEK. 



r M,\y 23, ISSS 



Koses ai'e planted closely or pegrged down. There is no 

 ItOEe suitable for onr climate and for grouping tliat is not 

 better on its own roots, and such alone are to be recom- 

 mended, subject to conditions of soil and situation. 



The ground intended to be planted -with Roses should be 

 well drained, dug deeply, and have a liberal application of 

 well-rottod n;anure worked in. If the soil is light, the addi- 

 tion of strong loam from a pasture will be of service, and 

 wiere it is little else than sand or gravel take the old soil 

 out to the depth of IS inches or 2 feet, and replace with 

 strong loam — the top spit of a pasture, mixed with one- 

 fourth of manure. If, 'on the contrary, thfi soil is veiy stiff, 

 shai-p sand or even road sand mixed witli it will be of service. 

 The bed should be formed rather high to allow for settling, 

 and be raised iu the centre, and if prepared in the autumn 

 and forked over occasionally during the winter iu di-y 

 weather, it would be iu better condition for planting. May 

 is a good time to plant out of pots in groups ; March is 

 better when the plants are taken from the open ground or 

 are not in pots. Two feet apart is a sufficient distance to plant 

 them, the first row being 18 inches from the edge of the 

 bed if they are to be pegged down, if not pegged down they 

 may be planted even neai-er the edge, especially the smaller 

 kinds of China Roses. 'When strong plants are to be 

 planted, the most suitable times are Kovember and Decem- 

 ber for summer Roses, and February and March for these 

 and autumnals ; they may be a yard from plant to plant, 

 •and should not be less than 2 feet from the edge of the bed. 

 In planting, the roots may be shortened a little, but only 

 those which are long and straggling, and the holes ought to 

 ■be made sufficiently large to contain them without cramping. 

 Avoid deep planting ; from 3 to 6 inches is a sufficient depth 

 to cover the roots, using rich compost for that purpose. If 

 tnmed out of pots loosen the ball and disentangle the roots. 



After planting mulch the surface with 2 or 3 inches of 

 short manure, if jjlanted in spring, having previously 

 watered well. The manure is to be pointed-in prior to giving 

 the bed a good watering during the first dry weather. Instead 

 of giving water in small quantities and often, reserve all for 

 a good drenching when necessary, and 'keep the surface of 

 the bed Ofien, for what will let out the moisture will asfiuredlj' 

 admit air and the night dew. Syringe the foliage as often 

 as vre may, it can hardly be done often enough to keep down 

 aphides. If these be allowed to remain undisturbed a viscid 

 substance wUl be deposited on the leaves, ultimately turn- 

 ing to a black fungus, and then we may bid farewell to 

 •liealthy Roses. Give them plenty of water, and keop the 

 enrface open, and they will thrive. Do not attempt to peg 

 the shoots down the first year, but tliin these out to three, 

 half a dozen or so, according to their strength. They wiU 

 make strong shoots the first year, and be suitable for pegging 

 down in autumn or spring. If this is done in autumn the 

 ground should be forked over, and the shoots laid down at 

 their fuU length, excepting the unripe portion of the shoot 

 which may be reduced — say a three-feet shoot to 2 feet, and 

 others proportionately. Lay them regularly over the surface, 

 removing the soil near the stem so that the bend may not 

 be too abrupt, otherwise the shoot may break. AVhen pegged 

 ^wn place 3 inches of short littery manure on tliem, covering 

 the whole surface; this will act as a protection, and through 

 this the shoots will come in spring, and give a carpet of bloom 

 in due season. I have not tried any of the more choice 

 'kinds in this way, but have eveiy reason to believe it would 

 :aii8weT well for the more delicate Teas and Chinas, which 

 ore mostly cut down to the ground by frost. It was common 

 to treat the Provence in tliis manner some years ago, and 

 finer beds of China Hones I have not seen tlian the follow- 

 ing: — Clara Sylvain in the centre of a lied, with Madame 

 Sarean round, the two fomiing a group of white Koaos; 

 Fabvior, scarlet; Mrs. Bosanquet, blush, with Cels Mnlti- 

 flore, also blush, round it ; a crimson bed of Cramoisie 

 Supi'rieure ; one of Prince Charles and Carmine Superbe ; 

 another of Madame Br£on and Augustine Ilorsent ; and, 

 finally, a bed composed of Etna, Virginie, and Archduke 

 <IJhnrle3 — all Chinos, and everyone blooming frmn June to 

 Oct'jber. They were pegged down towards the end of 

 November or early in December, pretty freely pruned or cut 

 'back, and then Cfivered over with from 1 to 2 inches of 

 flightish short litter. 'I"he soil was light, and they did not 

 mtStr in the lea«t from fro»t. China iioaea are, perhaps, the 



most chaste and beautiful of all Roses in groups; they are 

 so neat in habit and so profuse in their blooming. They 

 should be pegged down in summer if the growth is at all 

 u-regular, but rather loosely. 



Another mode of pegging down Roses is to encourage the 

 strong shoots that come from the base of the plant, and in 

 the following spring to peg these down regularly over the 

 surface, merely cutting off the ends of the shoots, the 

 ground being previously forked over and a liberal dressing 

 of manure given. The plants so treated send up strong 

 shoots from the base, and these are thinned or disbudded to 

 from four to six joints according to their strength. The old 

 shoots, or those previously pegged down, are cut away in 

 autumn, and the shoots of the cui-rent year are pegged down 

 in their stead either in autumn or spring. A number of 

 short stubby shoots arise fi'om those pegged down, and on 

 them flowers are produced abundantly, and the effect is very 

 good. The majority of the Roses that require close prun- 

 ing do well in this way, and it is a good old practice well 

 worth reviving. 



Roses, however, are fine in groups, whether pegged down 

 or not, and in the latter case the flowers though less plen- 

 tiful are finer. There is scarcely a Rose which is not in 

 some way beautiful ; but I now ask for information as to 

 what kinds are the most suitable for groups on lawns. They 

 must liave good flowers, be profuse-blooming, have fine 

 healthy foliage, and be of dwarf habit, and so hardy as to be 

 proof against ordinary winter frosts. I also wish to know 

 what are the best stocks, or whether thoy are better on 

 theu- own roots? I may observe that Roses on the Dog 

 Rose produce numerous suckers not fi-om the stock, as in the 

 case of the Manetti, but from the roots, and the latter run so 

 far underground as to give much trouble infinding out whence 

 the suckers spring. In liglit soils so many suckers are pro- 

 duced by the Dog Rose, and the Roses worked on it are so 

 short-lived, that in my opinion it is of no value for dwarf 

 plants. Where the situation is cold and moist, and the soil 

 strong, Roses for groups do best when budded or grafted 

 low ou the Manetti stock, so low, indeed, that the plant may 

 be on its own roots as well as derive support from those of 

 the stock continuously, or for a time at least. For light 

 soils and dry situations I have nothing to advance against 

 it, only it requires plentiful supplies of water, and liberal 

 treatment. Lastly, Roses are infinitely better on their own 

 roots where the soil is dry and light, if afforded abundance 

 of water to keep them cool, and liberal dressings of manure. 

 These are the conclusions at which I have arrived, from my , 

 own experience in places situated widely apai-t, and in dif- 

 ferent sods. 



The treatment of Roses in groups does not differ from that 

 recommended for those pegged down, as regards soil, water- 

 ing, &c. ; but they are planted 2 feet apart for the moderate, 

 and 3 feet apart for the more vigorous growers, and are 

 pruned so as to be always kept low, higher in the centre of 

 the group, and lower at the sides, the shoots being stopped 

 during summer so as to give as even a sui'faoe as circum- 

 stances will permit, and all decayed flowers broken off. The 

 shoots, if strong, should be stopped at the eighth joint, and 

 at the sixth if moderately strong, and this throughout the 

 season. An inch of short and cool manure spread over the 

 surface will be beneficial during the summer, and a loose 

 fre(iuently-stin-ed surface is better than a fine smooth one. 

 It may seem inconsistent to m ulch the surface, and frequently 

 point it over, but the soil should bo stiiTed early in June, 

 and then mulched ; all watei-ing after this will wash some 

 nourishment into the soil, and the mulching being forked 

 in after the first and priiicipnl bloom, hoaltby growth and 

 better autumn-flowering will bo encouraged. 



I have had the following in beds or groups, and though 

 they were good in some respect.^, they had tlmir failings, not 

 being continuous blooming enougii generally. Perhaps 

 some of your Rose correspondents will givo us the benefit of 

 their exporience. 



CiiiXA Roses. — Cramoisie Supcrieure, crimson scarlet 

 f ii.akcH a fine group) ; Fabvior, scarlet ; Cols Multiflore, 

 blush or pale flesh; Madame Br^'on, rose; Clara Sylvain, 

 Madame Uureaix, and the old white, sometimes called Lady 

 of the Lake, whites ; I'rioce Charles, rod or oarrainc ; Arch- 

 duke Charles, rose changing to crimson ; Mrs. Bosanquet, 

 flesh; Citoyen do Deux Mondos, orimson; Eugene Beau- 



