November 16, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
445 
16th 
Tu 
Kingston, Tunbridge Wells, and Croydon Chrysanthemum 
17th 
P 
[Shows. 
18th 
S 
Leicester Chrysanthemum Show. 
19 th 
20 th 
Sun 
M 
24th Sunday after Trinity. 
21 st 
TU 
Manchester, Liverpool (two days), Oxford, and Brighton (three 
days) Shows. 
22 nd 
W 
Northampton (two days), Birmingham (two days), and Wimble¬ 
don Shows. 
HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES IN POTS. 
HE cultivation of Roses in pots is becoming 
more general, judging by the numerous ques- 
o (Miwlwy’H tions asked and answered in these pages. All 
are anxious to grow a few plants in pots to 
yield a supply of flowers before they can be 
gathered outside. In gardens where there is 
only a glass frame some good Hybrid Perpetual 
Roses may be grown, and blooms will be pro¬ 
duced long before any can be gathered outside. 
The cultivation of Roses in pots is easy in compari¬ 
son to that of many plants, and none need fail to produce 
blooms of first-rate quality from plants in pots if care and 
attention is devoted to them. No time is more seasonable 
than the present to commence their cultivation. When blooms 
are wanted without losing time in preparing the plants it is 
decidedly the best way to purchase a number, as plants can be 
had at moderate prices quite suitable for potting. Young 
plants can afterwards be raised to increase the stock. 
It is difficult to obtain good Roses on their own roots suitable 
for this purpose, as the majority prepared for sale are worked 
upon various stocks. The question arises, Upon what stock 
are Roses likely to succeed the best when grown in pots ? 
Upon this, as upon many other subjects, there is a variety of 
opinions. Some prefer the seedling and cultivated Briar, 
others the Manetti, and others plants upon their own roots. 
For pot culture I have found the last-named preferable to 
worked plants. Roses do well on the Briar, and where 
standards, half-standards, and others on short stems are re¬ 
quired no stock can excel it. Roses also succeed on the 
Manetti for a few seasons, but will not last long if the union 
of the stock and the Rose is above the soil. Where there 
is no choice, and circumstances compel cultivators to pot 
Roses upon the Manetti, those worked close to the root should 
be selected. Some work them very low, while others work 
them so high that it is impossible to bury the union when first 
placing them in 7-inch pots. In ordering the plants for 
potting it is well to state what the plants are required for, and 
request that they be worked close to the root. When the 
union is buried the plants quickly emit roots from it, and in two 
or three seasons are independent of the stock. When worked 
upon the Briar it is immaterial whether the union is buried 
or not. 
Where Roses have been annually raised from cuttings and 
the cultivator is in possession of plants from fifteen to eighteen 
months old that were grown for a time in pots and then planted 
out for a clear season’s growth, he will have a good start. 
These plants, if they have had liberal treatment, will be 
equal to any worked plants that have taken three years to 
produce. When practicable I prefer lifting the plants before 
the foliage falls, and then roots are formed after they are 
potted before winter. Roots are seldom formed in autumn 
when the plants have to be purchased late and perhaps travel a 
long distance. After potting the plants should not be pruned 
further than merely removing the long straggling ends of the 
shoots. 
The autumn treatment is simple after potting. They should 
be plunged outside, covering the pots with ashes or other ma¬ 
terial. They will need no water if the soil used was sufficiently 
moist, as the material in which they are plunged will prevent 
them drying. High winds quickly dry the soil in the pots 
checking root-action if the plants are stood outside, and 
on these grounds alone I recommend plunging. It will be 
found upon examination in a very short time after potting 
that many roots have reached the sides of the pots, and in 
consequence vigorous growths will be produced in spring. 
The winter treatment entails but little labour. They should 
have the protection of a cold frame on the approach of severe 
frosts. Abundance of air on all favourable occasions, and 
water at the roots when they require it, is then all the attention 
needed. 
The first pruning should be done during the month of Feb¬ 
ruary, but before that the frame in which they have been 
during the winter should be kept rather close, so that growth 
will commence from the top of the shoots. By this means 
root growth is encouraged, and after the final pruning the 
plants start vigorously. In pruning the wood should be well 
cut back, leaving only about two eyes on each shoot, as no ad¬ 
vantage is gained by leaving them longer. The pruning after 
the first season’s growth will much depend upon the cultivator, 
whether he is an advocate for hard or moderate pruning. The 
shoots can be left 8 or 9 inches in length, and tied out, bring¬ 
ing the ends of the shoots well down, otherwise they are liable 
to break only from the one or two buds nearest the end, thus 
leaving the lower buds dormant. Although this system can be 
practised with marked success, I prefer subjecting the plants 
to a more severe system of pruning, and trust more to growths 
thrown up from the base to form a good plant than by tying 
out the shoots. The plants cut back closely will produce better 
wood and finer blooms than by a more moderate system of 
pruning. 
After pruning, and when growth has fairly commenced, air 
must be carefully admitted to the plants. If this is injudi¬ 
ciously carried out much injury may be done during March, 
when the foliage is tender and the air at times piercingly cold. 
It is a frequent practice in spring to start these young plants 
in heat for the sake of the few blooms they will produce. This 
is a great mistake, as it proves detrimental to their future 
development. They should remain under cool treatment, and 
be allowed to grow and bloom—that is, if the blooms really 
are required—with the protection only of the frame. If the 
blooms are not wanted they should be removed as soon as they 
appear, which will prove beneficial to the plants, and the 
growth in consequence will be stronger. 
Very little syringing is needed early in the season, as the 
leaves will be covered with dew every morning while the frame 
is entirely closed during the night, which should be the case 
No. 125.— You Y., Third Series, 
No. 1781.—Yol. LXYHL, OLD SERIES. 
