IV PLANTING 71 



important place ; if that be killed the whole plant is 

 destroyed : but if even an inch of sound wood is 

 alive at the very bottom, though all the rest be 

 killed, the Eose will probably grow up again as 

 strong as ever. 



In very severe frosts and on low-lying grounds 

 there is, however, great difficulty in keeping 

 standard Teas alive during the winter. Leaves or 

 earth, the most efficient protectors, seem impossible 

 of application ; and as the best Tea Eose blooms are 

 produced on standards, heavy losses are often 

 experienced by exhibitors. Digging the standards 

 bodily up, and, after laying them carefully in rows 

 in the earth, covering them with boughs or soil, has 

 been tried and recommended. For the weakly 

 growers, such as Comtesse de Nadaillac, Princess of 

 Wales, or Cleopatra, if on strong stems, this may 

 answer fairly well ; but for the stronger sorts with 

 large heads, such as Marie van Houtte and Anna 

 OUvier, it seems a pity to lose the advantage of 

 established plants. I have tried half-measures, with 

 great success so far as the frost was concerned ; 

 this consisted of digging the rows of plants up, or at 

 least loosening them, on one side only, then bending 

 and pegging them down flat on the ground and 

 covering them first with straw and then with earth. 

 Though completely uninjured by severe frost, they 

 did not do so well afterwards as I hoped they 

 would, but it was an exceptional season, and I 

 should try it again but that I have found a higher 

 spot for my standard Teas, where, with due protec- 

 tion of their heads , they have survived severe frost 

 without having to be moved. 



Marechal Niel is very liable to injury from frost. 



