172 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



form, prefers a stiff soil, while the Manetti and De la Grifferaie thrive best upon a 

 light, sandy loam. Teas and Noisettes should always have the Briar as a stock, and 

 a light ground must be prepared for them by adding heavier soil and close manures. 



Should the soil be naturally wet it must be drained, the drain pipes being placed 

 at least three feet below the surface, and a few pieces of broken bricks or other 

 rubble spread over them. The preparation of the soil is important ; bastard-trenching 

 (page 50) meeting with most favour among successful exhibitors of the Eose. Not 

 much manure is placed in the bottom trench, experience proving that periodical 

 mulchings are of greater benefit and have not the same tendency to encourage coarse 

 tap roots. 



Planting. 



When the plants are received from the nursery all bruised roots should be cut 

 away from the under side upwards with a sharp knife. The coarsest of the roots may 

 be shortened back half-way, and if much wood is present it will be well to reduce 

 this also. The object is to induce a greater number of fibrous roots, and reduce the 

 strain a large quantity of wood would be upon roots established in the soil. A spell 

 of frost and drying winds are a great trial to newly moved plants. 



Alwaj^s look over the plants thoroughly in case a few suckers from the stock may 

 have developed. This is most essential in the case of standard and half-standard 

 Briar stocks, in which case it is impossible to avoid more or less suckers from the 

 coarser roots. 



Standards may be planted the same depth as before, but dwarfs are better with 

 the junction of rose and stock placed two inches below the surface, as shown in 

 Fig. 85, in which the long shoots are also marked, for shortening in the spring. 

 Avoid the direct contact of manure with the roots, plant firmly, and stake all standards 

 and large plants at once. Wind-waving is very injurious and must be avoided from 

 the first. 



The distance from plant to plant depends entirely upon the growth of each variety. 

 Dwarf-growing Polyanthas and Fairy Eoses, also a few of the weaker-growing Teas 

 and Chinas, need massing closely together to produce a good efi'ect; say a foot or 

 fifteen inches apart each way. Ordinary growing bush roses will do well at twice 

 that distance, while the extra vigorous kinds need to be at least three and a-half feet 

 apart. The same remarks apply to standards and climbers, the great difi'erences in 

 strength of growth must be duly considered if uniform results are to be obtained. 



