542 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



CULTURE OF ROSES UNDER GLASS. 



By Geo. Mount, F.R.H.S. 



There are two principal ways of growing Roses under glass, either 

 by growing them in pots or planting them out in the soil ; both are good 

 (in their own way). I grow them both ways, but for early forcing, i.e. 

 getting them to bloom in mid-winter (February), it is best and necessary 

 to grow them in pots, as you cannot force them sufficiently to bloom so 

 early if planted out ; later on you can get good results with perhaps less 

 trouble by having them planted out. One great advantage of growing 

 them in pots is that when the plants have done flowering, and have made 

 their growth for next year, you can take them outside and use the house 

 for other purposes. I use mine for growing Tomatos in the summer 

 and Chrysanthemums in the autumn ; and when these are over it is time 

 to put the first batch of Roses in again, so that the houses are never 

 empty, and I am able to get three separate crops out of the same house 

 in one year. Of course, if the house is planted up with Hybrid Per- 

 petuals you only get the one crop; if planted with 'Teas' or 'Hybrid 

 Teas ' you are able to get more or less a succession of bloom, which will 

 depend on how you manage the houses. 



After this preface I will now tell you my own treatment in as few 

 words as possible. First as to potting. About the end of October or 

 beginning of November I take up young maiden plants from my out- 

 door beds, and put them into eight-inch pots. At one time I used ten- 

 inch pots, but now I only use eight- inch, as I think they are quite large 

 enough, and much easier to move about. The potting soil, which is care- 

 fully prepared, is composed of two parts turfy loam, one part well-rotted 

 manure, one part sand and "denture" i.e. wood ashes &c, with a little 

 bone or similar artificial manure, all well mixed together. The pots 

 must be clean and well drained, i.e. a large piece of crock in the bottom 

 of the pot, with finely broken crocks on that, with a few pieces of rough 

 turf over them ; put the Rose plant low enough to cover where budded if 

 possible, and be sure to p,)t very firm and well ram the soil with a stick. 

 After potting give the plants a good watering and put them in a cold 

 frame or under a sheltered wall, so that they can be covered if necessary 

 through bad weather, and leave them till the time for pruning, which 

 will depend on when you want them in bloom. Of course they will want 

 occasional watering when necessary, and if there is a lot of foliage on 

 them when potted, syringing will do them good by keeping the foliage 

 green, and so help the plants to make root action. I have spoken at 

 some length on this part of the subject, as I think a great deal depends 

 on starting on a good foundation, especially for early forcing. 



Now for pruning. I begin to prune early in November for flowering 

 in February. This first batch of Roses must be well established and 

 good strong plants, or you will be courting failure. It is no good thinking 

 you can bring the plants in for forcing that have just been potted as 



