ON THE PRUNING OF ROSES. 



443 



branches which would hinder flowering or prevent the full access of air 

 and light. Then, of the remaining branches, select rather more than 

 half of the shoots of the year's growth ; entirely remove the old wood 

 above the point from which the shoots spring, and finally shorten the 

 shoots themselves to 10, 20, or 30 centimetres, according to whether the 

 varieties operated on are naturally small or of large and spreading 

 growth. 



Second method. — If, not being a dealer in flowers, you only want fine, 

 beautiful, symmetrically-placed blossoms, it is necessary to proceed more 

 soberly ; to prune at the end of February or in March ; always cutting 

 out all the twigs and spindly branches, &c. ; then choose, according to the 

 strength of the plant, two, three, or four shoots, not more, and cut these all 

 to about the same length, above an eye pointing outwards, so that the 

 extreme shoot, when it grows, will not fill up the middle of the 

 bush. As a matter of course the varieties that are of feeble growth will 

 be pruned to 10 centimetres in height, the strong-growing ones to 20, 

 and the spreading ones to 30 centimetres. In both methods alike it is 

 necessary, as far as possible, to get rid of the old wood, which absorbs 

 much sap, and not to leave a single stump, which is always a cause of 

 decay. 



On Rose-trees the flowers spring from twigs of the current year's 

 wood, except in the case of the Banksias and two or three other species 

 which do not belong to our climate. On these the flowers only come on 

 two-year-old wood— that is, on the shoots of the year before ; and these 

 flowers do not grow at the base of the branch, but at a certain height 

 and near the top of it. Thus to cut back these branches in the way I 

 have just pointed out would be to never have any flowers on them. For 

 Banksian Roses, then, it is only necessary to cut out the dead wood, 

 cross branches, and those which do not go in the right direction, and 

 above all to preserve the two-year-old shoots entire. You see, then, that 

 there is another very important matter as regards pruning, viz. to know 

 the best time of year to prune, according to the district you live in. 

 M. de Chesnel says : 



Formerly the pruning-hook was employed for pruning Rose and 

 sundry other bushes into spheres, pyramids, and other shapes, but now we 

 limit ourselves to the use of a knife or of secateurs, and do little spherical 

 pruning unless in the case of the Meaux Roses and the Scotch with 

 double white flowers, which, budded on the Brier and pruned in this manner, 

 give fine effects. Roses ought to be pruned with scissors as soon as ever 

 the flowering is over. Besides this first cutting, most varieties should be 

 pruned again with the knife in the month of February, when the sap 

 generally begins to flow. They should also be freed from any dead wood, 

 branches that are spotted with white mildew, and lastly from anything 

 that hinders their growth. 



This shows us that, for certain varieties of Roses, the principal pruning 

 should take place in June : that is to say, when they are in full growth, 

 but after the blossoming is over. Monsieur Cagneux writes as follows : 



The pruning of Roses is usually done at the end of January ; for my 

 own part, I operate on hardy Roses, such as the Hybrid Perpetuals as 

 soon as the last flowers have done. I cut out the old wood and stumps, 



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