i8o THE ROSE BOOK 



planted roses especially need severe pruning, and if 

 they are not put in until March, the stems may be cut 

 back at planting time. 



" Pegging down " is the term applied to the practice 



of tying down unusually vigorous growths of bush or 



dwarf roses, instead of cutting them back in the orthodox 



way, but it should not be attempted with stems that 



are less than half an inch or so in diameter. The end 



of the stem is attached, by a piece of string, to a peg or 



hook in the ground, thus forming, when pegged down, 



a miniature arch. The effect of bending the shoot down 



is to force all the buds into growth, and generally every 



one of them will bear a blossom or a bunch of blossoms. 



The only disadvantage of this method is .that the flowers 



are likely to be on short stems, but this is compensated 



for by the lavish display. As only biish roses that are of 



exceptionally vigorous growth are suited to pegging down, 



the stems that have flowered may be cut out as soon 



as the blooms are over, their place being taken by fresh 



ones to provide the flower display of the following year. 



It happens sometimes that a strong shoot will develop 



on the lower part or even near the centre of the pegged- 



down stem ; in such a case the latter must be cut back 



only as far as the new growth, for the latter, in its turn, 



will be pegged down. The work of pegging or tying 



down is done at pruning time in March. 



Most bush roses, the Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid 

 Teas, and Chinas, are pruned the third week in March, 

 the Teas the first or second week in April in southern 

 gardens. In northern gardens, pruning should be carried 



