234 
THE CULTIVATION OF ROSES IN POTS. 
o. The individual blooms should be large, and the truss proportionably so ; though size counts for 
nothing if the other properties are deficient. 
6. The plant should be dwarf, and branching; and the flowers numerous, so as to cover it com¬ 
pletely when it blooms. 
The Phloxes constitute a very numerous family, very much varied in their habits, colour, and 
general nature; they comprise perennials and annuals. Of the latter, there is 
nothing more beautiful than Phlox Drummondii, whether we look to its 
colour or habit; in a pinch of seed there will be many shades of colour— 
some very nearly scarlet. The perennial kinds spread very much in the 
ground, and are easily propagated by parting the roots : new varieties may 
be raised from seed. The month of August affords the best opportunity of 
selecting such varieties as are likely to lead to improvement; some are very 
dwarf, very pretty, and in many respects approaching the standard here laid 
down. To pick out a few of the best of them, of different colours, and 
cultivate them close together for the purpose of saving seed, would be a task 
worth anv one’s undertaking 1 , because the flower is bv no means an un- 
important one in the season of its bloom, and greatly assists the variety of a well kept flower 
garden. The Phlox Drummondii , which may be procured now of nearly a bright scarlet, should be 
one among the number selected for breeding from, though it is an annual; but of course it should be 
used for crossing with, and not for seeding. 
’ 
.Co 
THE CELTIYATIOH OE PvOSES IX POTS.—SECOXD SEASOH, &c. 
By Mr. J. SAUL, Duedham Down Nursery, Bristol. 
1 PREFER potting in this way:—Having placed my compost on the potting-board, I procure a 
Jv quantity of turfs as they are brought in from the field, and very rough pretty dry well decomposed 
cow-dung. The pots being drained, and on the potting-board, I tear off' one or two large pieces of the 
turf, and put it into the bottom of the pot on the drainage, top downwards. In general this will be 
of sufficient height for the ball of the plant to rest upon ; if not quite high enough. I put in a little of 
the mixed material (p. 192) to raise it to the required height: next, tear off pieces of turf, six or seven 
inches long, and two or three wide, and as many thick ; about four such pieces should be crammed in 
between the ball and the side of the pots perpendicularly between this, place large pieces of rough 
cow-dung, nearly equivalent in bulk to the size of the loam, and fill up all crevices and cavities with 
the mixed compost, finishing off with the same, and making the whole quite firm. Dining the opera¬ 
tions, care is required not to leave any cavities between the mould and pot, but to fill all up compactly. 
This is to be the treatment of the strong growing varieties. The Teas, Chinas, &c., may be potted hi 
a similar way, except leaving out a portion of the rough cow-dung, and using more of the mixed 
material in its place. 
This manner of potting may appear strange to some ; but if such persons will give the after treat¬ 
ment, I shall now describe the beauty of the plants hi the following season will be to them equally 
novel. The great use of this rough potting during the following season of growth, will be apparent, 
allowing, as it will, water, whether soft, or liquid manure, to pass freely through, and the ah' to act 
upon the roots. 
•The plants ought now (September) to be properly trained—those intended for climbers, such 
as the Hybrid Chinas, Hybrid Bourbons, and strong growing Noisettes, round neat stakes, three to 
four feet high. If these had been thinned during the previous summer, they w ill now require little 
or no pruning, but merely to have their branches tied neatly and regularly round, shortening the ex¬ 
treme points. Any very strong growing perpetual or other summer Roses, may be trained in a pyramidal 
form, by placing stakes round the side of the pots, and making them meet at from two to two and a half 
feet high, passing a hoop round them at about afoot and a half from the pot: the branches must be tied 
down to the rim of the pot, and round the stakes up to the summit, bearing in mind to keep the 
branches well down, as there will be no difficulty in filling up the top the following spring. These, 
like the others, do not require much pruning; thinning out where crowded, shortening where too 
long, and regulating the branches, will be enough. This applies also to the less robust Hybrid 
Perpetuals, Bourbons, Chinas, Teas, &c.: the plants being all young, the wood thinned out and stopped 
when necessary, during the previous summer, they only require to be properly trained, 'with a little 
shortening. All the classes I am now speaking of, are best suited for bush Roses, and in training, the 
