510 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



ON DIFFERENT WAYS OF STRIKING ROSES. 

 By Monsieur Yiviand-Morel. 



Old authors who wrote, though very briefly, on the cultivation of the 

 Rose, mentioned that it was propagated by cuttings, by layering, from 

 suckers, and by budding. They did not lay any particular stress upon 

 cuttings. Miller, the author of the " Gardener's Dictionary," in par- 

 ticular, after having mentioned striking, without saying how it was done 

 in his time, adds : " Plants which are propagated from layers are less 

 likely to throw out suckers than those which are taken from around old 

 plants ; hence they are to be preferred, as they take up less space and 

 blossom more profusely." It is only when we come down to our own 

 time that we find the methods of striking clearly explained in horticul- 

 tural writings. 



Most varieties root easily ; but some of the hard- wooded ones, like the 

 Centifolias, the Mosses, and some of the Hybrids, are never very satisfac- 

 tory as regards striking. 



Cuttings may be made either in the green or woody stage ; in either 

 case they will root well. The green cuttings should always have some of 

 their leaves preserved. The woody cuttings can be made either with or 

 without leaves, according to the variety of Rose and the time of year 

 when the cuttings are made. A large number of varieties will not root 

 well unless they are struck with some of the leaves left on. It is desir- 

 able, or even necessary, to know the varieties in question, or at least the 

 types or sections to which they belong. As a general rule, all Roses 

 which hold their leaves for a long time at the end of the season and 

 those which are almost evergreen, such as those classed with the Teas, 

 Bengals, Bourbons, Polyanthas, Sempervirens, Banksias, Noisettes, and 

 all derived from these, require to be struck with their leaves on. The 

 Hybrid Perpetuals may also be struck with the leaves on, but will also do 

 very well without them. The cuttings with leaves should be struck under 

 co\er ; ti e cuttings without leaves may be struck in the open air. 



I will now mention the principal methods of operating. 



Soft- wooded Cuttings. — This sort of cutting is not often made, and 

 only in some horticultural establishments. Pot Roses are put into a 

 moderately warm greenhouse in February, and when the shoots have 

 grown a sufficient length (from 5 to 7 centimetres *) they are torn off from 

 the mother stem. The heel is trimmed with a pruning knife, and some 

 of the leaves removed from the base ; the cuttings are then planted in 

 small pots and put at once under bell-glasses in a propagating pit, with 

 a bottom heat of from 15 to 20 degrees centigrade. They are then 

 treated the same way as cuttings of other plants — watering, watching the 

 l>t 11 glasses to guard against damping off, shading, &o. The cuttings take 

 from thirty to forty days to strike root. They are hardened-off by gradually 



* A metre = 89*87079 inches, or practically 3 feet 3 inches and a third of an inch. 

 A o< ] it inn ti e = '89971 of an inch, or practically two-fifths of an inch. 



