ox REARIXCt flo^tees. 



117 



producing flowers, and consequently that the plants thus 

 treated will not flower so well ; but this is a vulgar error, 

 at least so far as relates to the sorts now alluded to : for, 

 on the contrary, the more closely they are pruned, within 

 certain limits, the greater number of finer flowers will be 

 produced. In pruning roses, as in all other plants, the 

 shoots must not be uniformly shortened to within a certain 

 distance of the stem, but much consideration is necessary 

 with regard to the size and strength of the shoots, and, 

 with dwarf roses, the strong and vigorous shoots should be 

 annually shortened to vrithin six inches of their base, 

 while the slender and weak shoots may be reduced tu 

 thi'ee or four inches : yoiing suckers that are not required 

 for layering, should be pruned dovrn to within six inches 

 of the soil, and when these have attained to a good flower- 

 ing state, the older parts of the bush may be cut out, as 

 they will not flower so well after they have reached a 

 certain age. By this means, also, there will be no neces- 

 sity for removing them on account of their exhausting 

 the soil, as the young suckers will be far enough from the 

 old plant to prevent any injury from such a cause. 

 "Where the suckers become too numerous, they should be 

 eradicated, as some kinds of roses will spread themselves 

 over a large extent of ground, and not only become un- 

 sightly, but injure other plants. 



Standard roses require to be still more closely pruned 

 than the preceding, as it is desirable that they should form 

 a uniform and compact head, so as to present a favourable 

 appearance when viewed from any or all side?. The 

 young shoots should be annually shortened to within two 

 or three inches of the point they started from, and when 

 the heads are found to become too large or stragghng, some 

 of the old wood should be cut out, and its place supplied 

 with the young shoots which are continually springing 

 from the centre of the head. By attention to these direc- 

 tions for priming, standard roses may be made to form 

 some of the most attractive features in the garden : indeed, 

 there are few objects which possess a greater claim to merit 

 than a standard rose which has been judiciously pruned, 

 and which, when in flower, has the appearance of a dense 

 cluster of blossoms : besides which, they occupy so little 



