PRUNING CLIMBERS. 



149 



it to the roots ; if planted above the level, as if 011 small mounds, the water passes 

 from them, the plants languishing or dying accordingly. Pack the soil firmly down 

 about the roots, not patting it smoothly round the stems only, as is too frequently 

 done by the inexperienced, both amateurs and persons who call themselves gar- 

 deners. ISTarrow borders ought not to be turfed over for two or three years after 

 planting, if at all, as turf excludes much warmth, air and moisture, in which case 

 healthy growth is impossible. A mulching, or lightly covering the surface with 

 manure, acts most beneficially. If it is objected to on the ground of unsightliness 

 or otherwise, cover it with fresh soil. 



Many apparently worn-out roses, clematises, crata3guses, jasmines, honeysuckles, 

 roses and other wall plants, might be brought into a much more presentable state by 

 freely cutting them back early in the spring. In some instances they may be cut down 

 to near the ground with advantage, and when commencing fresh growth, partially lifted, 

 and the roots, after pruning broken ends smooth, laid in fresh soil. Neglecting to 

 prune and regulate the growths of wall trees or plants leads to their becoming unsightly. 

 It does not follow that undue primness is advocated. On the contrary, a certain 

 amount of freedom is desirable, especially in the case of trailers ; and as new growths 

 are usually the most floriferous and ornamental, spring pruning ought not to be neg- 

 lected. Strong-growing ivies in particular should be closely trimmed when fresh growth 

 is starting in the spring, cutting away all the old leaves as well as straggling growths. 

 This prevents much breaking away from the walls, and a fresh close surface of glossy 

 leaves speedily follows. Ivies are practically the only evergreen clinging plants, and 

 some of the best large, medium, and small-leaved varieties are enumerated on 

 page 126. 



The strong-growing Yirginian creepers (Ampelopsis) require to be kept within 

 bounds. They produce festoons of growths in summer ; in some cases the streamers 

 almost covering the windows of numbers of residences in the suburbs of London. The 

 growths do not cling to walls, but those of AmpelojDsis muralis do, but not with the 

 same tenacity as those of the best of wall-covering plants in summer, A. tricuspidata 

 or Yeitchi, which forms a close green surface in early summer, changing to purplish 

 bronze or brilliant crimson, such as no other plant can equal for the purpose to which it 

 is so extensively and efi'ectively devoted. Much that has been advanced concerning the 

 early treatment of newly-planted trees and shrubs on page 58, also applies to many of 

 those newly planted against walls, and special hints upon pruning clematises are given 



