ROSARY. 



763 



near to the surface of the ground : this will 

 cause it to throw out strong and proper shoots 

 during summer, which will be fit for layering in 

 autumn or winter following, which is the usual, 

 although not the most proper season. The pro- 

 cess has been described, vide p. 351. Roses 

 layered during autumn or winter will, for the 

 most part, be rooted by the autumn following, 

 and fit for transplanting into nursery rows. The 

 Moss rose, however, and some others, often re- 

 quire two years to furnish themselves with roots; 

 and to remedy this in some degree, it has been 

 suggested to perform the operation during sum- 

 mer, as soon as the shoots are so far advanced 

 in growth as to bear bending. Dwarf roses only 

 are propagated in this way; and to insure suc- 

 cess, the whole plant should be cut over, as 

 above ; for although a strong shoot or two may 

 be occasionally got near the base of the plant, 

 should these even be laid, it is a chance if they 

 will strike roots while the top remains in action. 

 The best rose -cultivators lay their roses during 

 June, July, and beginning of August, supplying 

 them abundantly with water, should the weather 

 be dry ; by this process the free-rooting sorts 

 are ready for removal in November. 



Propagating the rose by suckers. — Some few 

 species, as the Scotch and Dog-roses, propagate 

 themselves naturally in this way ; others, like 

 the Moss and Provence, do so rarely. Little 

 dependence is placed by the cultivator on this 

 mode of propagation, although advantage is 

 often taken of the circumstance when it occurs. 



Soil. — The rose delights in a pretty stiff, 

 holding, rich loamy soil, thoroughly drained and 

 deeply trenched, and further enriched with the 

 cooler manures, such as cow-dung, as a basis, and 

 a portion of super-phosphate of lime to act as a 

 stimulant. Such soils as will grow good wheat 

 will grow roses well ; but to grow them fine, it 

 must be much richer. Stubborn clay-soils are 

 unfit, until they are ameliorated either by burn- 

 ing, or by the addition of foreign matter, such 

 as decayed vegetable substances, sand, &c. In 

 light sandy soils, although they will grow for a 

 time, their existence is of short duration, and 

 their flowers never develop themselves in full 

 perfection. This is more, however, the case with 

 budded plants, than with those on their own 

 roots, as the stocks employed are chiefly those 

 of the wild Dog-rose found in our strong loamy 

 soils. The process of budding has nevertheless, 

 as regards some sorts, something to do in the 

 matter. The hardier kinds of roses will thrive 

 pretty well in a peaty soil, if dry, but much 

 better if strong loamy soil, approaching to clay 

 or brick earth, be laid on the surface during 

 autumn, and forked in during early spring, after 

 it has become pulverised by the action of frost 

 and air. Marl is a good manure for such soils, 

 and lime stimulates it considerably. Very sandy 

 and gravelly soils are the worst of all, because 

 they do not retain sufficient moisture during 

 summer, and are both poor and hungry. Such 

 soils are scarcely capable of improvement, so as 

 to suit the rose, short of replacing them with 

 that of a rich loamy character. Soil abounding 

 in oxide of iron, although injurious to many 

 other crops, rather, it is supposed, improves the 



rose than deteriorates it. So much is this said 

 to be the case, that the superiority of the roses 

 grown in the neighbourhood of Provence, for 

 medicinal purposes, is attributed to the abun- 

 dance of this oxide that exists in the soil. The 

 rose also delights in a new soil, and in time dies 

 out of land where it has been long cultivated, 

 unless the soil be naturally adapted to it, and 

 there they will luxuriate for an unknown length 

 of time, if supplied annually with moderate 

 manuring. The rose transplants pretty freely, 

 even when of a considerable age. They may 

 therefore be taken up when the soil appears to 

 become defective, and a portion of it be removed, 

 and replaced with new soil; and when both are 

 properly mixed together, they maybe replanted. 

 There are soils in which the rose luxuriates for 

 years ; while in others, prepared artificially for 

 them, they will not prosper, and ultimately 

 cease to exist. 



Season for planting. — From the beginning of 

 October to the middle of November is the pro- 

 per autumn season, and from the beginning of 

 February to the end of March is a good sea- 

 son for spring. Some, however, who wish a 

 late display of bloom, either plant their newly- 

 received sorts in April, or take up and replant a 

 portion of those already in their possession. The 

 check thus given by late planting causes a later 

 growth, and consequently a later season of 

 blooming. When the plants have been kept 

 long out of the ground, and their roots exposed 

 to drought, it is well to place their roots for a few 

 hours in water, or to dip them in soft puddle 

 previous to planting ; for, however hardy the 

 roots of even the Dog rose may be, they suffer 

 much when long exposed to the air ; and those 

 of a more delicate constitution, upon their own 

 roots, do so in a still greater degree. If the 

 soil be light, a few spadefuls of rich loamy soil 

 should be afforded to each plant at planting ; 

 and if of a strong or retentive nature, the same 

 quantity of leaf-mould and sand will be of great 

 advantage to them, and encourage the speedy 

 formation of roots, more especially as regards 

 Chinas and the Tea-scented varieties. Standards, 

 when planted in beds or groups, should be 

 allowed 3 feet plant from plant, and at this 

 distance dwarf plants may be set between them. 

 Attention should also be paid that the taller and 

 stronger-growing kinds be placed in the centre, 

 that is, farthest from the sides of the beds. 

 Avoid deep planting, which induces the sending 

 up of numerous suckers ; and as the standards 

 are planted, supply each with a neat stake for 

 support. Autumn planting is best for all the 

 hardier sorts, but all tender varieties should 

 only be planted in spring. Roses planted in 

 autumn should have the soil over their roots 

 mulched with littering manure for the exclusion 

 of frost, and also that its fertilising properties 

 may be washed down to the roots by the rains 

 of winter. In light dry soils late autumn plant- 

 ing is quite proper, but in strong soils spring is 

 a preferable season. 



Pruning.— A judicious system of pruning con- 

 stitutes the chief part of the rose - cultivator's 

 art. The varieties are now so numerous, some 

 French catalogues extending to two thousand, 



