THE WICHURAIANA ROSES n 



question is, " What does one gain by it ? " And my 

 own experience teaches me that the Answer is, " Nothing 

 except a half-hearted display of flowers the first summer," 

 which is never sufficient compensatidn for a deficiency of 

 fresh, vigorous stems. 



The pruning in subsequent years is rather more 

 complex, though it is really not difficult. When one is 

 confronted by a vigorous plant with numerous stems 

 of varjdng ages, many of them bearing innumerable 

 secondary shoots, the beginner has, I admit, more cause 

 for alarm. But a little observation will show how need- 

 less it all is. He has only to realise that the biggest 

 crop of the finest flowers is borne by the stems formed 

 in the previous year, and that all older stems flower 

 less freely and bear poorer blossom bunches. Obviously, 

 then, the aim in view is to possess a tree with as many 

 one-year-old stems as possible. If the rose has been 

 well planted in good soil and hard pruned at first, there 

 wUl be no lack of fresh, vigorous stems each summer, 

 and the pruner's chief object should be to cut out as 

 many of the older stems as may be necessary to make 

 room for the new ones. The pruning of this type of rose 

 is carried out at two different seasons — ^late in March (or 

 early in April in northern gardens) and in August, as 

 soon as the blossoming season is past. The chief pruning 

 is carried out in August. 



To make matters thoroughly clear, let us trace 

 briefly the career of the rose cut down to within six 

 inches of the ground in the March following planting. 

 During the summer, a number of strong growths will 



