November 12, 1898. 



GARDENERS' 



MAGAZINE. 



73i 



WORK AMONG POT ROSES. 



WlNTER-FLOWE 



B 



~ m ^rlvnart of November is a particularly busy and important time As the tnhpmnc u ^ ^ , 



TH V, not ro es ; whether it be the potting up of fresh plants from the £1* S^T"™*" 1 Wonias pass out of flower after a long season of 



am nr shifting on those already in pots. The batch of plants for early T? m ' , fibrous -™oted species and varieties may be utilised to take 



nnen or MuitiA 6 . - 1. _ A . , , r n _ 1 , ~, . ^ their nlar^ rr» o . 



open 



Sbeon the move at once, 

 tered and cared for the past dry summer has ensured more than 



also needs attention, and those intended for flowers at Christmas 



' Even where pot roses have been well 



wa 



sua. 



their place to a certain extent, especially where a warm greenhouse or 

 intermediate house exists. The blooms, although not individually so large 



1 j A n „j r f w- • < , ft - . .„ as th °se of the tuberous-rooted section, are yet to be counted among the 



iiv well-ripened wood, and there are very few plants that will not be most showv anri pftWtixro ~c • * n -a a 



ex K condition for forcing. It is an excellent plan to examine all hybri ds nol to bfnh I °™i T 5°^ 5 ^ 7 ' ' 



1 fSes at this season. Those that have been standing in the open will _ T obtained, a display of handsome flowers and foliage 



P eed their drainage made efficient, and should be given some slight ^ be maintaine d throughout the winter months. 



shelter from excessive rain and frosts. A very little cover or protection Amongst those in flower now are Begonia coccinea, more generally 



will secure this, and there could be no better place than a deep pit or frame, know n as B. corallina ; this is decidedly one of the best of its class, a 



over which the lights could be placed as occasion requires. But many are strong grower, with stout stems and green leaves with a reddish margin : 



ehnrt of such cover ; and even where it is possessed there are several both soecific title* rWriK* flA i ;* i . u n j 



Sets needing it more than pot roses intended for late use. We have tltlcs ° escnbe lts flowers ' and ]t mayalmost be called a per- 



found a few hurdles, with some branches of birch, fir, orgorse interwoven, 

 a capital and efficient protection when some loose framework is erected over 

 the roses. They are quickly and easily removed, and last a long time. 

 We are, however, more concerned at present with pot roses needed 

 " * ' I am aware that the majority of gardeners prefer 



This 



petual bloomer. The now well-known and deservedly popular B. 



for immediate forcing . , . 



a p 0 t rose to be well established in the same pot it is to flower in. 

 does not recommend itself to us, and, after many years 3 experience, we 

 have decided to repot all roses before forcing. Let me give the reasons 

 for this. A plant that has become completely pot-bound must neces- 

 sarily have exhausted the compost. One need not fear that any disturb- 

 ance of root will interfere with the flowering properties of wood made 

 under those conditions. So long as the wood is well matured, and the 

 roots not unduly disturbed, the plant will flower quite as freely and with 

 as much certainty as if forced in its pot-bound condition. It is very 

 different to plants lifted afresh from the open, in which case we lose 

 many roots, and have none that are established in the soil. On the 

 other hand, our pot plants have the bulk of their roots undisturbed, and 

 when we afford a little fresh compost new roots are made more freely, 

 and feed the plant to much better effect than can be the case with 

 artificial manures only. I am not alluding to large plants and pots, 

 comparatively few of which are grown in these days, but the majority of 

 our pot roses for conservatory decoration and winter cut flowers. We 

 cannot continue to repot very large plants ; they must have an occa- 

 sional shaking from the soil, and be replaced in the same sized pots as 

 before, feeding them in the meantime by mulching and liquid manures. 

 It may be said that this is simply what is done when smaller plants are 

 treated without repotting ; but I contend that to give them a little fresh 

 compost is the better plan of the two. We know how very quickly rose 

 roots respond to a little heat, and how quickly new roots are formed 

 when plants are laid in fresh soil, even in the open ground. Then why 

 not give them the same encouragement under glass, and the needed 

 fresh food at the same time ? 



To my mind there are no better roses for early forcing than those 

 which have been growing in five or six inch pots, and well ripened in 

 the open air during summer. We do not need a large quantity of 

 wood— a fair amount, and that efficiently matured, is ample. I am not 



iding to climbers, but such free growers as Niphetos, Madame Falcot, 

 Catherine Mermet, and the like. Turn them out of the pots, remove 

 is much as possible of the old soil without seriously disturbing the roots, 

 tod repot, using the following compost, or one as nearly like it as your 

 conveniences will allow : turfy loam one-half, thoroughly decayed vege- 

 table refuse and leaf-mould one-fourth, and the same of well decayed 

 stable or farmyard manure. " 



» given must be efficient. 



Roses do not need much drainage, but what 



Place a little of the coarser compost over the 



jrainage, and set the ball of roots upon this. We should thus have the 

 we of the plant half an inch or so deeper than before. Give a double 



pots two sizes larger than the rose previously occupied. On no 

 account should the compost be passed through a fine sieve or riddle ;one 

 an inch and a-half mesh is quite small enough. As a rule our own 



post is not passed through a sieve, but is chopped up with a spade and 

 flayer s trowel. Be sure that the bole of your plant is not over dry 



r g, u and make the com P° st firm a11 r °u n <l it. 

 sibl^ of 1 bers j nten ded to flower in pots we need as much as pos- 

 ted tvi se fj on ' s wood ! and here a strongly grown plant is an advan- 



K*wi nin ! } , shlft these on J ust the same as already noticed. Really 

 {^Plants of Marechal Niel, William Allen Richardson, and others can 



fcature/ Slx "! nch P ots > generally carrying from one to two rods of well- 

 fcve in v, W ° ui An eight or ten ~inch pot suits these. Such climbers 



**inch ml? t k f ° rCed ° n ' and cannot fail t0 exhaust the soil in a 

 farcal j n po h * 1 have never had blooms of so good a quality from plants 



*fcen a sh ff Sa ? e root "bound pot they grew in the previous summer as 



**s suffir a i h com P° st ha s been given. We do not disturb the 



somelh t0 CaUSe blind & rowths from the lon S rods > but S ive the 

 * w tan DmH^ t0 feed Upon durin £ the excessive strain climbers are put 

 **** Af> UClng a flower from almost every eye upon a six or ten feet 



f or at pottin & P Iace the rose s in a cool pit or house, keep rather 

 *|ktly war 6 ' and prune about three weeks later, when taking them to 

 Do ^t cut X q £ arters - ° ne need not fear to prune teas fairly hard. 

 ^Bier Jt ° ld wood » that should have been done during 

 Ifepbetos Sor n ? ce ^ s ar y> but cut back the new l a teral growths of 

 *4ree^vc U \ ei l lr * un Ami J Maman Cochet, and others to within two 

 t^J* «)es of their mar 1 1 ~ 1 ' 



2^^ nts re ^oved. 



— ' — # W— — — — W - - - — — — - — — — 



The climbers will only need their 



^ ff ncn I* is a great mistake to hurry roses at the 



^it inn 0 / 106 l ^ ey ^ ave rece i ved a forcing temperature of 65 to 70 

 ■tote thev n °V be allowed to fal1 much lower - After th e flower bud 



Altb a> hurried on, if needed, but not with safety before 

 its 8 ** re P° tted > weak liquid manures will help very much 



ir **tbe 



»*ie foots "r w *»*««) wcaA iiL^uivA ujauuiv.o win 



Afield. We ^ at wor k among the new compost. 



President Carnot also belongs to this class of strong growers, carrying 

 inflorescences almost a foot across ; all the male flowers drop from these, 

 leaving the large pistillate blooms with their very large and brilliant 

 ovaries. Begonia Teuscheri is also a tall grower, with stems six to eight 

 feet long, carrying large foliage, deep green above and reddish beneath ; 

 the flowers are of a pinkish-red colour, and are now expanding. B. 

 undulata is a dull white-flowered species which makes a break 

 between the bright-coloured begonias noted above ; the foliage has 

 undulated margins. All the foregoing begonias are best grown planted 

 out either in beds or, better still, planted in some good soil under the 

 stages, when the strong bamboo-like growths may be brought up at the 

 back and trained under the roof in a cool stove or intermediate house. 

 If this method be adopted, little trouble will be given, and a good supply 

 of flowers obtained and effectively shown. 



B. fuchsioides is another good plant of this kind, but suitable for a 

 cool greenhouse. This species is a native of New Granada, grows to a 

 height of eight or more feet, and is covered with quantities of small 

 green ovate leaves. The drooping panicles of flowers are rich scarlet in 

 colour, and commence to expand during October. Another good 

 subject for greenhouse cultivation is B. metallica, the specific name apply- 

 ing to the foliage, which is large and decorative ; the axillary inflo- 

 rescences are composed of pinky white flowers of large size. B. nitida, if 

 kept growing and planted out, will also give abundant supplies of its large 

 flowers. B. manicata is perhaps one of the most free-flowering, produc- 

 ing, if planted out, stems about four feet high and an inch in diameter ; 

 these bear huge panicles of pink flowers. It is a Mexican species, and a 

 good stove plant. The hybrid raised from this and another species, viz., 

 B. Paul Bruant, is also a good plant of like character, with dark-coloured 

 foliage of a rather metallic hue, and trusses of bright pink flowers. K 

 Dregi is a useful plant for pot culture, making pretty specimens about 

 eighteen inches high in small pots; the foliage is of a delicate light green, 

 flowers white. 



Perhaps the Socotran species, B. socotrana, is among the most in- 

 teresting as a winter bloomer. The leafage, borne on short stems, is 

 peltate, and of a light green colour, while the bright rosy-coloured and 

 large flowers are always attractive, lasting for a week or more. The 

 hybrid raised from this and B. Dregi is now probably more grown than 

 almost any other begonia, and undoubtedly I>. (iloirede Lorraine is a 

 most useful and pretty plant Shapely plants may be secured for flower- 

 ing from November through the winter if struck in the late spring and 

 kept growing in an intermediate temperature. Plants in five or six-inch 

 pots cannot fail to command attention, and such should be grown in all 

 collections for winter decoration. B. Knowsleyana is valuable where cut 

 flowers are in demand, being a good grower and free bloomer, the flowers 

 being pinky white. Another good pot plant is B. Ingramii, with flowers 

 of a reddish tint, and deep green, small foliage. For the greenhouse a pretty 

 small growing species is B. geranioides, a native of Natal. The root stock 

 of this plant is tuberous, the reniform leaves rise about six inches from 

 the ground, and are light green in colour, and densely covered with hairs. 

 The white flowers are borne on peduncles that rise above the foliage. 

 Many other begonias are in cultivation, which may be grown if required, 

 but the above are amongst those most useful for general purposes, 

 and when well cultivated are always attractive. 



Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh. R. L. HARROW. 



A. Piper. 



The Drill Hall Meetings —I often wonder whether there exists anywhere 

 in the world gatherings that at all resemble, not merely in connection with horti- 

 culture, but with any other great vocation, practice, or science, those ^ regularly 

 held in the Westminster Drill Hall by the Royal Horticultural Society. Ordinarily 

 habitues may look upon these meetings as very commonplace things, but then, if 

 so that feeling arises solely from not being invited to take a philosophical view of 

 them. But propound to the mc*t stereotyped visitor the question ' Are not 

 these meetings, after all, most remarkable and wonderful d ustiajiow of the wide- 

 pread devotion to horticulture which exists ,n Great ^Britain ? and the soul of 

 the materialist is at once aroused, and he admits that so regarded they are. I 

 ftlSSutaiSt. at lar fi e do not sufficiently value them all the same ; and 

 cer ainly the general public, perhaps from lack o knowledge of their existence, 

 rlr not Now it Ifl an undoubted weakness of all ordinary shows that we know 

 rWtv'well beforehand from previous experience just the nature of the exhibits 

 £ t will be presented to view. In the case of the Drill Hall meetings-and we may 

 write of them ordinarily really as e*hib,t ,ons-we never know beforehand what we 

 hall see at them. Most certainly we do see the very best of everything hoi ti- 

 Uural the kingdom, nay, almost the world, can produce. There is no pnvi ege 

 ^rHpner of any description can enjoy that is greater than being enabled to 

 any garaeu ' freauentlv, and no greater honour can be bestowed on any- 



S^^te^-SteWof the R-H.S.'s committees The njore I see of 



I realise that it merits at on« the coofidenot *n3 support of the entire commuiuty. 

 A. D. 



cu 



