560 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



While many rosarians would probably approve of the position of my 

 garden, I am sure not one would select the soil as suitable to Roses of 

 any kind. Resting on a subsoil of gravel, the greater part is very light 

 and stony, and totally different from that in which the Roses in this district 

 are mostly grown. I think that for Teas this light, open soil has its 

 advantages over those of a heavier texture, as there is no necessity to 

 raise the beds above the ordinary level to ensure perfect drainage and 

 warmth to the roots, and in it the plants do not make coarse growth late 

 in the autumn which has no chance to ripen sufficiently to stand even an 

 ordinary winter. The soil has been deeply cultivated, but I have not 

 added to it any other soil of a heavier or more retentive character. It is 

 very necessary, when preparing ground for Roses, that the trenching 

 should be done as early in the autumn as possible, to give time for it to 

 settle before planting in October or November. Many advise, where part 

 of an old meadow is to be prepared for Roses, that the turf should be put 

 in the bottom of the trench, and I think that this practice has much to 

 recommend it; but great care must be taken that the sods are well 

 broken up, and, if dry, they should be trodden somewhat solid before the 

 trench is filled in. If this is not done, when the grass rots, the ground 

 under the plants becomes hollow and does not provide a firm root-run. 

 I prefer to plant as early in the autumn as possible ; but if this is done 

 before the plants have lost their leaves, and while the sun has still con- 

 siderable power, much withering of the shoots will be the result. This 

 can be prevented by cutting off all the leaves, and so checking evaporation. 

 This takes rather a long time, but I have proved the plants to benefit so 

 greatly from the defoliation as to fully repay the time devoted to it. I 

 have examined plants a month or so after planting, aud have found that 

 they had started rooting at once. Many failures in the cultivation of 

 Tea Roses, I am sure, are due to a want of care in planting. The roots 

 are not spread out sufficiently, and unsuitable soil is frequently put into 

 direct contact with them. Some leaf- mould, containing plenty of grit, 

 should be put under and over the roots before the ordinary soil is 

 filled in. 



With reference to the stocks on which Tea Roses should be worked, I 

 will at once state that I prefer the standard Brier budded two to three 

 feet from the ground, but for some of the stronger varieties the Brier- 

 cutting stock gives good results. I know the seedling Brier finds favour 

 with many rosarians, but the tendency this stock has to throw up suckers 

 is, I consider, a disadvantage. In no class of Roses is the influence of 

 stock upon scion more marked than in Teas ; and my experience is 

 that the majority of varieties must be grown as standards if grand speci- 

 men blooms be the end in view. I know of no variety which cannot be 

 grown in that form, but I have found many which have failed to produce 

 flowers of appreciable size when grown as dwarfs. Standards can eas.ly be 

 protected against frost by bracken tied into the centres of the heads. This 

 will keep the union dry, and consequently this vital part will be less liable 

 to be frozen. 



The plants here are too large to be thatched as recommended by 

 some authorities. Should some plants be killed, as was the case during 

 the frosts in February this year, I think the loss is more imaginary 



