ROSES IN AND ABOUT LONDON. 



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ROSES IN AND ABOUT LONDON. 

 By James Hudson, V.M.H. 



General Bemarhs. — It is with the object of encouraging the cultiva- 

 tion of this, the most popular of all flowers, when within the prejudicial 

 influence exerted upon vegetation by dull leaden skies and a smoke- 

 begrimed atmosphere, that I am induced to make the following remarks. 

 At Gunnersbury we are fairly within what may be termed the London 

 fog-radius, yet we have succeeded very well with the cultivation of the 

 Rose. I have found that most reliance can be placed upon those Roses 

 which possess a vigorous constitution, whether they be climbers or 

 bushes. Those of tender or delicate growth are more susceptible to 

 injury, hence it is not advisable to attempt their cultivation. For instance, 

 that beautiful Rose ' Sunrise ' is not with us a success out of doors, 

 neither is ' Comtesse de Nadaillac' By keeping to those of a robust or 

 hardy character we can secure a good return, and but few deaths have to 

 be recorded. When I first came to Gunnersbury in 1876 I found several 

 standards of the then well-known and best Roses. For many years these 

 were retained in good condition. Of climbing early-flowering Roses 

 there were also a goodly number. Some of these had been planted, as I 

 was informed by the man who planted them, as long before as 1850, and 

 several of them are still in good condition. With these my practice has 

 been to adopt the extension principle ; by so doing they are more vigorous 

 now than they were twenty-six years ago, when I first took charge. Since 

 then I have planted other Climbing or Pillar Roses with the same 

 satisfactory results ; 1 Charles Lawson,' for instance, planted about twenty 

 years ago, has grown into a huge mass. In later years the ' Penzance 

 Briers ' have been added and the extension system adopted, the growth 

 being as vigorous as could be desired. ' Crimson Rambler ' was added 

 when it was first sent out ; this also succeeds well. This latter is a good 

 example of what a London Rose should be, both in its constitution and in 

 its shining glossy foliage, which is washed clean from smoke -deposit after 

 rains have fallen. Some of our very oldest Roses here, still in robust 

 health, are now comparatively unknown to present-day rosarians. They 

 flower well in their season, viz. from the third week in June to the 

 second week in July, after which there is with these a blank, save in their 

 healthy leaf-growth. 



With the introduction, however, of the improved race of Hybrid Teas, 

 Hybrid Chinas, and better autumn-flowering climbers, we have received 

 a great accession of strength. These continue the Rose season well on 

 to the end of October. On October 25 last there were still a quantity of 

 blooms in good condition, individually smaller, it is true, and not of such 

 good colour, but none the less welcome. These Roses to us are simply 

 invaluable for a late autumn display ; they are good even after the early 

 frosts have cut short the beauties of the Dahlia, the Heliotrope, the 

 Salvia, and the Geranium. True, we have had ' La France,' which was the 



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