ON DIFFERENT WAYS OF STRIKING ROSES. 



523 



recommended because they do not grow strongly. I grow Roses largely, and can 

 assure you that Teas from cuttings grow more quickly and are much stronger than 

 when budded. There are very good reasons for this. The Brier is neither flori- 

 ferous nor a perpetual bloomer, and only puts forth fresh shoots once a year ; and to 

 make it flower oftener it is necessary to induce it to shoot by inserting a bud of a 

 better-bred race than itself, whilst, on the other hand, Tea Roses are by nature 

 vigorous and rloriferous. 



Thus plants of ' Souvenir du Dr. Passot ' have in my garden reached a height of 

 one metre in two months, as also have other varieties of Teas, grown always from 

 cuttings, and they are covered with flower-buds. I have been lucky enough to make the 

 method of striking so perfect as to obtain 80 per cent, of plants from them for certain. 

 The plan I have followed for three years has never failed : it gives regularly the same 

 quantity. 1 use pots of three centimetres diameter, and for potting soil, leaf mould 

 mixed with chopped-up sphagnum. The points to be aimed at are : a bottom heat of 

 about 25° C, and to be kept quite close under glass ; remove every day any signs of 

 mouldiness or excess of damp, and at the end of twenty-five to thirty days all the 

 cuttings will be rooted. I can guarantee this method as absolutely certain, and with 

 it you can produce thousands of Teas in particular, but also of Polyanthas and 

 Bengals. 



With the object of rendering service to horticulture in general, I have thought it 

 well to inform you of this my method of making cuttings. As you will see, I follow 

 the ordinary plan, except as to the soil I use, and it gives astonishing results. 



I wrote, in answer to Monsieur Bejan, that the climate and soil of 

 Roumania, in which his Rose cuttings were planted, must be exceedingly 

 favourable to their growth for them to attain so rapidly the sizes men- 

 tioned in his letter. In other countries things are not always so, and 

 particularly in France. Tea Roses budded on the Brier or on Rosa indica 

 major (this latter being generally used in the South) grow vigorously, 

 whilst plants from cuttings remain weakly for several years, even in 

 the most favourable soils. Indeed, some varieties never make good bushes 

 unless they are budded. As for thinking that a bud on the Brier can be 

 affected detrimentally as to the amount of its blossoming power by the 

 stock it is on, this is an idea which experience contradicts. Tea Roses 

 budded on Rosa canina flower almost throughout the whole year, from 

 May to November. I fully recognise that the method pointed out by my 

 correspondent is a very practical one. Except as regards the compost he 

 uses — chopped-up sphagnum and leaf mould — I have struck Roses in the 

 same manner with entire success. But I repeat — in France Tea Roses on 

 their own roots do not make as good a growth as those which are budded 

 on the root of the Brier or on B. indica major. It is well known that the 

 different species of Roses do not all grow in a wild state in the same; 

 climates ; some inhabit the colder parts of Europe ; others Southern 

 Europe ; others Asia, Africa, or America. Nature has assigned to each 

 one of them certain well-defined regions where they flourish vigorously, 

 each with its own particular characteristics. When they are suddenly 

 transported to other skies, their growth becomes weakly, and it is often 

 only with great attention, skill, and care that they can be made to thrive 

 at all. It is certain that when an Indian Rose is united by budding to a 

 Rosa canina stock, it will grow very well in lands where B. canina is 

 indigenous, but very badly if taken to India or similar climates, such as 

 the South of Europe. In this country it was long ago noticed that this 

 union between Briers and Tea Roses was not a happy one, so another 



