THE ROSE AXD ITS CULTURE. 



267 



the roots. Having- th.e pots filled with healthy roots, 

 nothing can be easier than the feeding of them once 

 or oftener in the course of the day with liquid guano, 

 soot, or other manure-water, such as house-slops or 

 sewage. 



Those who can neither command loam manure, 

 leaf -mould, charcoal, nor bone-dust need not despair 

 of growing Roses in pots. Common kitchen or other 

 garden soil, or a few spadefuls of loam off a common, 

 mixed with road scrapings, will also gi'ow Roses in 

 pots, and assuredly it is not always those that have 

 the pick of the best soils that score the greatest 

 successes, but very much the contrary. 



Lift the plants with care, with as many roots intact 

 as possible. Examine the roots carefully, remove 

 suckers, if any, or any prominent buds on the roots 

 likely to run into suckers, with a sharp knife, 

 and cut back any roots on plants worked on 

 briars that may seem to gi-ow too strong for the 

 size of the pot. The pots being pre\'iously crocked 

 — that is, drained as already described — place a few 

 pieces of the roughest soil or compost all over the 

 drainage, fill up the pot nearly haK full with the com- 

 post, and make it firm as the hand, or the base of 

 an empty pot, can make it. Then, holding the Rose 

 plant in the left hand, place it carefully in the 

 pot, and begin to place the longest roots on the 

 top of the soil, giving the roots an upward and 

 circular start roimd the pots. Fill in with the right 

 hand, and press the earth fiimly on to the roots, 

 laying the latter in carefully in different planes as 

 the work of potting or filling in the soil proceeds. 

 Properly potted, each root of the Rose will be sepa- 

 rated from any other root, and will have a small area 

 of soil wholly to itself at starting and for some time 

 afterwards. It is almost impossible to press the soil 

 home too firmly around the Rose-roots. Leave a full 

 inch of space from the surface of the soil to the rim 

 of the pot, and let this surface be as level as the eye 

 and fingers can make it from the Rose-stem in the 

 centre to the side of the pot. In larger pots, say 

 from twelve inches in diameter upwards, this space 

 should be from one and a half to two inches in depth. 

 This is the water-space, and it is of great importance 

 that it should be level and ample, so that ever\- 

 portion of the soil within the pot should receive its 

 equal share of moisture. 



After potting, water the roots home, that is, fill 

 the entire space left from the rim of the pot to the 

 surface of the soil with water. This finishes the 

 levoUing of tlie surface, and consolidates the roots into 

 their new quarters. One such watering is mostly 

 sufficient, but if there is any doubt about the soil 

 being moistened through, a second filling up may bo 

 given. The plants should be left to drip or dry 

 thoroughly, and then placed in their quarters in the 



open air or under glass, as already indicated, or 

 the watering may be defeiTcd till after placing. 



Surface Mulching. — An inch, two, or more of 

 cocoa-fibre refuse or half-decomposed manure is the 

 best material for excluding frost and conserving the 

 moisture and manurial strength of the soil. It also 

 renders watering unnecessary until the roots are in 

 full activity — a point of almost vital importance to 

 success, for nothing is so injurious to the texture 

 and strength of composts, however good, as fre- 

 quent watering, before the roots have permeated 

 through them. So soon as the soil becomes fairly 

 full of roots, Roses in pots may be watered freely as 

 often as required. It is a decided gain, however, at 

 all seasons, to prevent, as far as may be, the loss of 

 moisture and of strength by surface-mulchings. As 

 the Roses get into full growth during the summer, 

 or by forcing or fostering under glass at any season, 

 the mulch should be converted into a perpetual sup- 

 ply of rich food by the use of strong manure on the 

 surface. 



Keeping the Roots in the Pots.— Rose-roots 

 have a strong tendency to dig deep to find the gold, 

 that is, their food. This deep boring proves rather 

 troublesome to the cultivator of Roses in pots, for 

 instead of sta%'ing within the pot, the best roots not 

 seldom make tracks for and rush through the bottom, 

 thus exchanging the very best for the worst of soils. 

 Much may be done to keejj the roots at home by 

 giving them a horizontal rather than a vertical incli- 

 nation at starting. Another most useful check to 

 root-wandering is the production of a vacuum under 

 the pot Rose by inverting an empty pot imder 

 it. This is also the most effectual baulk that has 

 yet been de^-ised against the entrance of worms into 

 Rose-pots, and the ingress of the latter is almost 

 more fatal to successful ciiltivation than the egress 

 of the roots. A handful of soot imder the inverted 

 pot will render this device worm-proof. 



Staking Pot Poses. — If the plants are large 

 and the situation at aU exposed, stakes will be need- 

 ful until the roots are re-established and possibly 

 afterwards ; one good stake at first will suffice, and 

 this is given as touch to insure rapid rooting as for 

 the safety of the top. As the dwarf Rose runs into 

 a dense bush, six, or even a dozen stakes may be 

 needed to mould it into form, but the fewer the 

 better. 



Culture and Pruning.— The whole of the top 

 should be left intact for at least a month, six weeks, 

 or two months after potting. Each branch and twig 

 of the Rose-bush will exert a stimulating influence 



