32 
Ofye Slower (Brower 
March, 1918 
THE 
[ IV r it ten expressly for The flower Grower. ] 
Some Hints on the 
Pruning of Roses. 
I N THE PRUNING of all shrubs one 
must be guided by a knowledge of 
their individual flowering habits. 
For instance, the Spirea and the Ber- 
berry flower on the wood growth of 
the last season, while the Hydrangea 
flowers upon its new wood growth. 
The Spirea and the Berberry, there- 
fore, must not be pruned in the spring 
before flowering, or the very source of 
the flowers may be removed. The Hy- 
drangea, on the other hand, should be 
pruned in the spring so that it will 
throw out new wood upon which the 
season’s flowers are to set. 
The Rose family is a very large and 
cosmopolitan one, and embraces plants 
and trees with all manner of habits, 
and even our decorative garden Roses 
embrace many kinds, requiring diversi- 
fied treatment, some of them demand- 
ing early spring pruning and others 
that they must not be pruned until 
after flowering. To give complete in- 
structions for pruning Roses would re- 
quire a rather lengthy treatise, but 
one or two general rules will enable 
anybody not already familiar with 
proper pruning requirements to get 
satisfactory results. 
As pruning Roses is done mainly for 
the purpose of stimulating growth, a 
safe rule to follow is to prune in pro- 
portion to the natural vigor and grow- 
ing habit of the plant. Thus, a strong 
growing Rose requires but little prun- 
ing, while a weak growing one requires 
much. It follows then that climbing 
Roses, which produce their flowers 
from last season’s wood and also grow 
vigorously, require little or no pruning, 
it being only permissible that dead 
wood and old wood that is past bearing 
be cut out. To prune them severely 
would probably prevent them from 
blooming that season. Every few 
years an extremely cold winter kills 
back to the ground the climbing Roses 
in northern latitudes, and the follow- 
ing summer no flowers, or few flowers, 
are produced, but vigorous vine growth 
results instead. 
Hybrid perpetuals and hybrid teas, 
the bush Roses of our gardens, require 
more or less pruning according to 
their habit of growth, but much more 
than climbing Roses. Tall growing 
varieties should be cut back at least 
one-half ; better, two-thirds or even 
three-fourths. In fact it is not uncom- 
mon practice to cut hybrid teas back 
to within two or three buds from the 
ground in the case of weak growing 
varieties, and the stronger growing 
ones to within eight inches or a foot at 
most. It is well to understand that 
severe pruning results in a diminished 
number of flowers, but what one loses 
in quantity he will gain in quality, as 
the flowers will be both larger and 
more perfectly formed. 
ROSE I 
As regards the proper time, the 
hardier varieties will need pruning 
earlier than the tender ones. The 
operation should not be long delayed 
after the first signs of returning life is 
observed, as evidenced by the bark 
becoming green and the buds swelling. 
By this time the dead wood can be 
recognized beyond doubt and removed. 
All weak growths should be cut out, 
leaving only a few of the strongest 
canes and these should be cut back in 
proportion to the growing habit of the 
plant as previously explained. 
It is important that a sharp knife be 
used, or better still, sharp pruning 
shears, that the wood be not torn nor 
the bud bruised, and it is always best 
to cut just above an outside bud so 
that the resultant branch growth will 
be outward to make an open head that 
will allow sunlight and air to enter 
readily. 
As the sharp prickers on the dead 
canes inflict painful and unsightly 
wounds, a pair of canvas gloves will be 
found to be of good service during the 
operation of pruning Rose bushes. 
H. G. Reading. 
Awards by the General 
Bulb Growers of Haarlem. 
We are informed that the following 
awards have been made by the respect- 
ive committees of the General Bulb 
Growers’ Society of Haarlem, Holland, 
during the year 1917 : 
FIRST-CLASS CERTIFICATES. 
GLADIOLUS PRIMULINUS. 
Scarletta, orange red shaded brick-red. 
GLADIOLI. 
Mrs. Velthuys. 
Mrs. F. Pendleton, creamy-white shaded 
rose with purple-red spots. 
DAHLIAS. 
Sulphurea, (decorative), sulphur- yellow. 
Vauubaak, (decorative), scarlet and or- 
ange. 
E. F. Hawes, (Cactus), dark velvety-purple. 
Velours d’ Utrecht (single), dark velvety- 
purple. 
Franz Ludwig (Peony flowered), clear 
mauve. 
President Washington (decorative), lilac- 
rose. 
AWARDS OF MERIT. 
GLADIOLUS PRIMULINUS. 
Hesperia, salmon. 
Laetitia, salmon-rose. 
Salmonea, clear salmon-red. 
Jane, yellow with clear salmon markings. 
Maiden’s Blush, salmon rose spotted white. 
Sylphide, apricot, spotted clear yellow. 
GLADIOLI. 
Lena, purple, spotted brown. 
Lily Lehmann. 
Red Canna, dark purplish red. 
Yellow Standard, yellowish-green shaded 
lilac. 
Goliath. 
Mrs. K. Velthuys. 
Prince of Wales. 
Aurora. 
Golden West. 
Mr. Mark. 
Liebesfeuer. 
War. 
Nora. 
DAHLIAS. 
Penserosa, (decorative), lilac-rose. 
La Reine, (decorative), milk-white. 
Renselaer, (decorative), dark velvety-red. 
Moor, (Peony-flowered), dark brown. 
Melody, (Collerette), clear purple-violet, 
collar pure white, from seeds. 
Cunera (decorative), lilac and creamy 
white. 
Mont Blanc, (decorative), pure white, 
shaded rose. 
Adagio, (Collerette), rose violet, collar 
cream. 
Orange King, (decorative), amber and 
gold. 
Soleil d’Octobre, (decorative), clear yel- 
low. 
Purity, (decorative), salmon-red and lilac 
with apricot colored centre. 
Rigida, (decorative). 
Yellow Star, (decorative), sulphur-yellow. 
Mrs. White (decorative), rose-carmine. 
Jo Ballego (decorative), orange. 
Salmon Queen, (decorative), salmon. 
Dream, (decorative), apricot with amber. 
Carmen Sylva, (decorative), salmon shaded 
yellowish lilac. 
Brandaris, (garden cactus), clear yellow. 
Mea Vota, (decorative), clear orange 
shaded apricot. 
Marie Cats, (decorative), pure white cen- 
ter shaded green. 
Mars, (decorative), carmine shaded ama- 
ranth. 
Sunflower, (decorative), dark yellow. 
Buff Queen, (decorative), old gold shaded 
with cinnamon color. — The Gardeners’ 
Chronicle, (England.) 
Safety Packing for Express. 
We have perfected a system of packing 
green-house plants for shipping by express, 
during the continuous cold and zero weather, 
which has proved entirely satisfactory. We 
have sent plants to northern New York, 
Connecticut and other points. Each plant 
is well wrapped in a good-sized piece of 
newspaper and packed in a box heavily lined 
with paper. After the lid is nailed on, the 
box is wrapped in heavy paper and then 
placed in a larger box that will give a space 
of about two inches all around the box con- 
taining the plants. Two inches of fine, dry 
shavings are put in the bottom of the larger 
box and the smaller box then set in and the 
space all around and on top is filled tightly 
with shavings and the lid nailed on, when it 
is ready for tagging and shipping. Our 
customers responded at once, commenting 
very favorably upon the successful packing 
and good condition of the plants upon ar- 
rival, though going through zero storms. — 
John F. Rupp, in Florists’ Exchange. 
There have been many complaints 
this year about bulb stock frozen in 
transit especially by express and it has 
been caused largely by the great de- 
lays experienced. Packages require as 
long or even longer by express as would 
ordinarily be necessary by freight. No 
amount of care in packing will protect 
from low temperature continued for 
several days. 
Metzner Floral Co., Mountain View, 
Calif., sent us a large corm of one of 
their unnamed seedlings which was 
apparently one of three which formed 
on the old corm. This single corm 
sent us weighs 6| oz. and measures 11 
inches in circumference. 
