181 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



vigorous plants for life and perfect blooms the 

 following season, it is essential that the buds he kept 

 dormant till the following spring. A good deal 

 depends on the choice of huds. As already observed, 

 plump, round, and quite dormant buds are the best. 

 The early removal of the ties is also an aid to 

 dormancy, as any severe check to the equable 

 growth of the stock, such as that caused by a 

 tight ligature, forces the bud to break. The wild- 

 ing shoots must also be left full length till the 

 spring. Those who force their buds to break, cut 

 these off three or four inches beyond the bud, about 

 three weeks after budding. By this means growth 

 is partly confined to the bud instead of being carried 

 on through the whole briar-shoots as well, and the 



rig. 15.— Briar Cut Back, and finally Cut further Back to 

 near the Bud at a. 



bud has the entire autumn, winter, and early spring 

 to fiU itself with a maxlmimi amount of vigour and 

 of beauty. 



If buds break into shoots soon after budding, 

 on no account must these be allowed to grow or 

 produce flowers. So soon as they have made three 

 or four leaves, pinch off their tops. This course 

 will enable them to form and to ripen several nice 

 buds at their base, and these may break into shoots 

 next season, not greatly inferior in vigour to 

 dormant buds. 



Shortening Back the Wild Shoots on 

 Briar or other Stocks. — Towards the end of 

 January, or any time in February, these may be 

 cut back to within about six inches of the buds ; 

 one result of this being to keep the newly adherent 

 bud as free from disturbance as possible. Soon 

 after the latter has fairly started — that is, towards 

 the end of April or early in May — the wild shoots 

 may be cut back to the top of the bark-section of the 

 bud (Fig. 15). The cut should be made as short as 

 possible by cutting the shoot almost at right angles. 



No dressing should bo applied, as this only hinders 

 the healing of the wound, and is apt to cause canker 

 and run down the wood, to the weakening or destruc- 

 tion of the bud. This last cut finishes the operation 

 of budding, the stock being now transformed into a 

 Rose-tree (Fig. 15). 



Securing the Safety of the First Shoots 

 of the Buds. — This is of the utmost importance, 

 as otherwise all our instructions may end in a fiasco 

 most disheartening to the rosarian. The bud starts 

 with all possible vigour, and shows blooms full of 

 promise. A gust or a strong wind comes, and, lo, the 

 bud and all its appendages are twisted ofE their 

 stock in a moment, and their fair promise of beauty 

 and sweetness is dashed to the ground. To render 

 such mishaps impossible, at the heading back of 

 the stocks tie one or more stout sticks, a foot or 

 eighteen inches in length, on to the upper portions 

 of their stems, and fasten the branchlets from the 

 buds to these so soon as possible. 



When, as on a large scale, this mode of protecting 

 the young shoots, is impracticable, further stability 

 may be given to the unity of buds with stocks, and 

 less purchase given to the wind as a twisting-out 

 force, by nipping the points out of the strong bud- 

 shoot so soon as it has made a few leaves. This will 

 force the one shoot to break into three or more, and 

 while it puts back the flowering period considerably, 

 it produces far better and more saleable plants before 

 the end of the year. 



From this stage the budded briars are Roses, and 

 must be treated as such. For some time, however, 

 much of the vigour of the plant wiU try to rush back 

 into briarhood again in the form of suckers, and 

 these, whether springing from root-stcim or branch- 

 let, must be promptly and vigorously suppressed. 



BUDDING WITBOVT STOCKS. 

 As each bud is in a degree an independent plant in 

 embryo, it follows that it may be converted into such 

 by artificial means. The art of budding on other 

 plants proves so much; but the proof is stiU more 

 decisive if buds are rooted in moist soil, sand, or 

 other mediums. And though this mode of propagat- 

 ing Roses is neither so common nor so easy as others, 

 it is nevertheless quite practicable, and possesses 

 the merit which is now more than ever recognised, 

 that of producing rapidly Roses on their own roots. 



Size and Form of Bud Cuttings. — These 

 may be larger than those used for inserting in briars, 

 and the section of wood is left intact. The length 

 is immaterial, but the depth of the bud-section 

 should never penetrate the pith ; the woody section 

 may also be of about the same depth throughout, 



