768 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 1, 1890. 
Budding Roses — As far as propagation goes the 
Rose is one of the most accommodating of hardy 
flowers, for there are many amateurs throughout the 
country that year by year bud their own briers, and 
meet with a full measure of success in the under¬ 
taking. And why should they not indeed ? Although 
the operation of budding may seem one that requires 
the trained hands of the gardener to perform aright, 
and doubtless this is the first impression made upon 
the mind of a beginner. Let such a one take 
courage, however, and at least make an attempt at 
attaining success which, rest assured, will come to 
him if he makes a fair effort. 
As we are now in the thick of the budding season, 
it may be of advantage if we discuss the pros and 
cons of the operation that may look to be so difficult, 
but is after all so easy. We may by this means stir 
up some to try who have never tried before, or 
stimulate others who have tried once, and failed, to 
try again and succeed. 
If we commence with the time-honoured, and 
hackneyed phrase that " budding Roses is as easy as 
anything can be," we shall not help matters very 
much, and certainly not at all if we go no further. 
We shall probably be greeted with the retort, “ very 
likely, to those who know how to do it.” It is the 
common wail of the amateur that if a professional 
gardener be asked whether such and such an opera¬ 
tion be difficult to perform, he will invariably answer 
no! possibly in supercilious tones. Off goes the 
amateur, tries, and fails, and straightway he feels dis¬ 
gusted for one of two reasons, either that he has been 
made a fool of by the big man ; or that he has been 
furnished with a glaring demonstration of his own 
incapacity when he fails to succeed in performing 
successfully an operation which existing authorities 
have declared to be easy. 
Briefly, the act of budding consists in inserting a 
dormant bud of any given variety upon a closely 
allied plant in such a way that a vital union shall be 
set up between the two, and the erstwhile dormant 
bud shall develop into a head of branches, and thus 
form a new Rose bush which shall draw its 
sustenance from the earth through the medium of 
the roots belonging to the stock with which it has 
set up a union. 
Stocks.—There a reseveral plants that are utilised 
as stocks upon which to insert buds. Of these, the 
common Dog Rose of our hedgerows is the one that 
is most commonly used, and hundreds of thousands 
of these briers are budded annually. Of the other 
stocks, the Manetti is the one most favoured, and it 
is especially suitable for dwarf bushes growing upon 
light shallow soil. 
We will not attempt to describe now the methods 
adopted for procuring briers, and the preparation 
they must undergo before they are in a fit condition 
to be operated on ; this must be left for a future time. 
All we have to consider now is the act of budding 
proper, supposing the briers to have been procured 
at the proper time. 
When to insert the Bud— Generally speaking, 
buds may be inserted throughout the months of July 
and August, but it will be necessary to seize the 
opportunity when conditions are most favourable to 
success. The sap must run freely in both the stock 
and the bud, and the bark must lift readily from 
both of them, if good results are to be obtained. In 
a season like the present, when rain is so scarce, 
there is often a little delay occasioned, and it is well 
to wait until everything is ready before making a 
start. Matters may be greatly expedited by giviDg 
the briers one or two good soakings with clear 
water. 
Buds. —These must be selected from well-matured 
shoots of the current year's growth. Those that 
have flowered may be taken with confidence, 
providing they are sufficiently strong, and the foliage 
healthy. The buds near the base of the shoot are 
the plumpest and best; those nearer the top beffig of 
inferior quality. The shoots from which the buds 
are to be taken should be thrown into a can of water, 
and kept there while the act of insertion is being per¬ 
formed, otherwise the hot sun will have a deleterious 
effect upon them. 
Requisites.—These are few and simple. A keen 
bladed knife is, of course, the first and most impor¬ 
tant. This knife should have a thin lath-like handle 
for the purpose of raising the bark after the cuts 
have been made with the steel. The second necessity 
is a quantity of raffia or soft cotton shreds for 
tying-in purposes, as will be presently explained. 
All things being now in readiness, knife, tying 
materials, and a stock of buds ready to hand a start 
may be made. These notes are intended to refer to 
the budding of standards. For the buddmg of 
dwarfs, although the operation is essentially the 
same, there are other preliminaries to be taken into 
account. 
Preparing tho Buds. —We will now turn our 
attention to the method of preparing the bud for 
insertion. Take the shoot in the left hand, select a 
plump, well-developed bud, and cut off the leaf in the 
axil of which it appears. About an inch of the leaf 
stalk, however, may be left, as this affords some 
facility for handling, and will serve to shade the bud 
after it is consigned to its fresh quarters. Next insert 
the knife a little above the bud, and when it has 
reached nearly to the centre of the stem, make a cut 
right underneath the bud and continue it for about 
three-quarters of an inch below, letting it pass 
gradually to the surface again. This will remove 
the bud intact, with a portion of the bark and wood 
attached. Deftly using the point of the knife, the 
wood must be removed without injuring either the 
core of the bud or the soft inner bark. When ready 
for insertion, the bud will thus be surrounded by a 
quantity of fresh, uninjured bark. 
Preparing the Stock.—The bud having been got 
in readiness we must now turn to the manipulation 
of the stock. The buds must be put in upon the 
upper side of the branches close to the point where 
they diverge from the main stem. About an inch 
from this point make a transverse cut with the knife 
to embrace half the branch. Just sufficient pressure 
must be used to cut cleanly through the bark, but not 
sufficient to injure the wood to any appreciable 
extent. A longitudinal incision of the same depth 
must then be made, running from the transverse cut to 
the base of the branch. This leaves a T-shaped 
wound, with the leg of the T pointing to the main 
stem. The knife must now be reversed, and the 
handle, instead of the blade, brought into play. 
Carefully insert the edge of the thin handle in the 
longitudinal cut, and by pushing it between the bark 
and the wood, sever the connection between the two. 
This severance must be effected without lacerating 
the soft inner bark, which would greatly imperil the 
chances of success. 
All is now ready for the insertion of the bud, 
which must now be gently pushed into the wound, 
until its base reaches the bottom of the longitudinal 
cut. This will leave a portion of the attached bark 
protruding beyond the transverse cut, which must be 
cut off, in order that the whole of the bark attached to 
the bud may be neatly enclosed within the T-shaped 
wound. 
Tying .—This is the conclusion of the operation. 
Either raffia or cotton shreds may be used, the 
former being the handiest and best. Commencing at 
the foot of the T cut, the wound should be firmly 
bound up in guch a way as to bring the lips of the 
wound into close contact with the bud. Continue the 
wrapping past the bud and finish it off above the 
transverse cut, leaving the bud and the remains of 
the leaf stalk guarding it peeping out. If properly 
done the ties will exclude the air from the wound 
and the wound will soon grow together. 
Losing the Ties—It will be necessary to give a 
look at the briers now and again after budding has 
been performed, in order to make sure that the 
ligatures have not been made too tight, in which case 
they will need loosening.— Rex. 
— ■ ■ " 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
Anyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
“Amateurs' Page " on the top of their letters. 
Rose Leaves Curling.— Will you kindly tell me 
why, quite lately, the leaves of my Rose trees have 
become curled up and look sickly ? The garden is 
small, so I have been able to water with the hose 
each day. — M.A. 
As you have watered your bushes regularly, lack 
of water is evidently not the cause of the ailment. 
We should surmise that your plants are suffering 
from the attacks of larvae of Moths or Sawflies of 
some kind. You may easily discover if this is the 
case by unrolling the leaflets. Hand picking is the 
best method to pursue in order to get rid of these 
troublesome pests. You may follow this up by 
syringing the bushes with an infusion of Hellebore 
or Paris green. Occasional syringings with clear 
water are also of great service in keeping Rose bushes 
free from attacks of this kind. 
Lilium Auratum Dying.—You do not say, M.A., 
what the conditions are under which your Liliums 
are placed, and hence we can do but little except 
offer suggestions. As you speak of storing the bulbs 
we assume that they have already flowered. In this 
case the turning of the leaves is simply the natural 
outcome of age, as the stems are beginning to 
ripen off. It is not necessary to lift the bulbs unless 
you wish to do so. L. auratum does very well 
when growing amongst dwarf thinly planted shrubs, 
such as Rhododendrons, and Kalmias, and these 
serve to give some protection from frost in the 
winter. If your plants are not thus naturally pro¬ 
tected it will be well to cover them before winter¬ 
time with a layer of litter, which will enable them 
to pass through the winter safely. 
Carpet Bedding'.—Your questions will take a 
good deal of time to answer, Dianthus , and we are 
unable to give you a design this week, but will do so 
in an early issue, when we will also furnish you 
with a list of suitable plants. 
Alternantheras will need the temperature of an in¬ 
termediate house, i.e., about 50° Fahr. as a minimum 
by night to enable them to pass through the winter 
safely. Lobelias will require a temperature of from 
45 0 to 50° to winter well. In a lower temperature 
than this the plants are very liable to damp off. You 
will need to keep them quite dry during the dull 
months in order to keep the damp at bay. 
Echeverias will do very well in a cold frame, and we 
have even kept them safely through ordinary winters 
by planting them under the shelter of a wall, and 
covering them during frosty nights with dry straw 
or hay. Mesembryanthemum cordifolium variegatum 
should be given a place on a shelf in the green¬ 
house. This will suit it capitally, but a cold frame 
is too damp in winter for the likings of this pretty 
plant. You may put in cuttings of Alternantheras, 
Lobelias, Mesembryanthemums, etc., during 
September. If a portion of your stock dies, or you 
find you have not sufficient, you may propagate from 
the autumn struck cuttiDgs in spring, say about 
March and onwards. You will need artificial heat 
then to get the cuttings to strike readily. A hot bed 
is a capital contrivance for the purpose. Indeed, it 
will be well to make up a small one for striking your 
autumn cuttings in if you can manage it, as you will 
thereby get much better results. 
Aralia Sieboldii.—By what means is this plant 
propagated ? If from seeds kindly tell me whether 
it is worth my while to attempt raising them. I 
have only a small greenhouse and cold frame .—Oom 
Paul. 
Aralia Sieboldii is easily raised from seeds sown 
in the spring. The seeds germinate quicker when 
they are sown in a gentle heat, and hence if the con¬ 
venience exists it is wise to follow this plan. In 
your case, however, you may obtain very good 
results by placing the seed pan in a cold frame or on 
a shelf in the greenhouse. Germination will be slow, 
but still unsuccessful. April would be quite soon 
enough to sow the seed. 
Grapes not Colouring.—The Grapes you send us 
J. Symes will never ripen properly as they are badly 
“ shanked." This is the term applied by gardeners 
to the withering up of the footstalks before the 
berries are ripe. The best plan will be to cut out 
the bad berries with scissors. An unsatisfactory 
condition of the roots is usually the cause of shank¬ 
ing. You should, therefore, attend to this next 
winter, as it is impossible to do anything now. If 
you write us again a few months later we shall be 
pleased to give you directions to how to proceed. 
Grafting Styptic.—Will you be good enough to 
inform me through the medium of your valuable 
paper what the composition is that is used in grafting ? 
It is not a grafting wax but a composition put on 
with a brush .—Constant Reader. 
"Hughe’s Styptic" is probably what you 
refer to. It is an oily, brown fluid that may be 
applied either with the finger or a stiff brush. The 
branch should be rubbed quite dry, before the 
styptic is used. It dries quite quite hard within a 
few seconds of its application and effectually 
prevents the sap from exuding. 
