202 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
March 23, 1907. 
Hoses. 
Hints 
on 
Planting. 
The proper planting of Roses is a first 
essential to success in the cultivation of 
our national flower^ Even weak and poor¬ 
looking plants will often thrive wonder¬ 
fully if they receive the best attention at 
planting time. On the other hand it is 
useless paying a high price for good 
plants, and then sticking them in the 
soil anyhow. Errors in planting are pro¬ 
bably responsible for more failures in 
Rose growing than any other cause. 
The preparation of the ground must be 
attended to before planting. First of all 
see to it that the drainage is satisfactory. 
Ground in which Roses are to be grown 
should afford good natural drainage, or 
else be artificially drained. Then, what¬ 
ever the soil may be, it ought to be dug 
to a depth of at least eighteen inches — 
two feet is preferable. If the soil be suit¬ 
able, it may be replaced, taking care, 
however, toi keep the subsoil below. If 
not, reject it, and find some good 
material, such as the top spit of an old 
pasture, or chopped-up turf, to take its 
place. Manure should" now be liberally 
added, and thoroughly mixed in with the 
soil. The beds ought to be prepared 
some time previous to planting, in order 
to allow the ground to settle down. The 
more manure is used, the more the beds 
will eventually sink, as it decays. 
The period for planting extends from 
November to March. Autumn planting 
has this advantage, that root action often 
commences during the winter, and the 
plants have a longer period in which to 
get established before the flowering sea¬ 
son. Many, however, prefer to plant in 
spring, so as to avoid any risk of injury 
by severe weather. For this reason, the 
planting of pure Tea Roses in many 
localities is often better left until March. 
Rose trees purchased from reliable nur- 
serymen generally arrive with some damp 
material carefully wrapped around the 
roots. This is an important point, for the 
roots ought never to be allowed to become 
dry. If planting cannot be performed at 
once, the Roses should be heeled in, and 
the roots kept from exposure to the air. 
In planting, let the hole made for each 
Rose be wide enough; spread out the 
roots horizontally, and see that the soil 
in actual contact with the roots is fine and 
crumbly. On no account must manure 
be allowed to touch the bare roots. In 
the case of dwarfs on the Manetti stock, 
plant so that the point of union is two 
inches below the surface, whilst dwarfs 
budded on the Brier may be covered 
about one inch. Roses planted thus will 
eventually throw out roots of their own. 
The mistake often made is that of plant¬ 
ing too deeply. Comparatively shallow 
planting, and the subsequent surface cul¬ 
tivation, are two points to be well borne 
in mind. Standard Roses may be planted 
somewhat deeper. Newly planted Roses 
had better be securelv tied to a bamboo 
stick, to hold them against being rocked 
about and loosened by the wind. In the 
case of standards it is absolutely neces¬ 
sary to provide a permanent stout stake 
to support the tree. 
When planting is done in. spring, dur¬ 
ing dry, sunshiny weather, give a good 
watering overhead and at the roots, and 
this may be repeated until a rainy time 
supervenes. 
W. Cowley. 
-- 
Seedless Lemons. 
Lemons without seeds, grown in Cali¬ 
fornia, and never before seen in England, 
are now being Exhibited in a shop in 
Tottenham Court Road, London. 
A New Fruit. 
By a series of grafting experiments Mr. 
J. P. Cillie, of Wellington, Cape Colony, 
has produced a curiosity which partly re¬ 
sembles the Apricot and the Plum, and 
has the flavour of both fruits. 
The Prevention of Corruption Act. 
It is stated by a contemporary that the 
new Act has been eagerly seized upon by 
nurserymen as a means of escape from 
those secret commissions hitherto paid to 
gardeners. The Horticultural Trades 
Association is advertising emphatically 
that such payments are still being paid 
in defiance of the Act, as stated in some 
quarters. 
- G. W. - 
Prize Competitions. 
GENERAL CONDITIONS.-Competitors must 
write on one side of the paper only. Regular 
paid contributors to THE GARDENING 
WORLD or other gardening journals are de¬ 
barred from entering, but occasional con¬ 
tributors may compete. The name and ad¬ 
dress of the competitor must appear on each 
article sent for competition. The Editor’s 
decision is final, and he reserves the right 
to reproduce, in any wayji any article or photo¬ 
graph sent for competition. The conditions 
applying to each competition should be care¬ 
fully read. 
WEEKLY 
PRIZES. 
A PRIZE OFTEN SHILLINGS will be given 
for the best paragraph or short article on any 
gardening subject, such as hints of practical 
interest to gardeners, notes on the propaga¬ 
tion or cultivation of flowers, fruits or vege¬ 
tables, eradication of pests, etc. The para¬ 
graph or article must not exceed a column, but 
value rather than length will be considered in 
making *;he award. Mark envelopes “ Com¬ 
petition,” and post not later than the Monday 
folk wing date of issue. Entries received later 
thru Tuesday (first post) will te left over until 
tl ;e following week. 
Two prizes of 2s. 6d. will be awarded each 
week for the two best letters, not exceeding 
150 words, on any interesting gardening sub¬ 
ject. 
RESULTS OF 
LAST WEEK’S 
COMPETITIONS. 
Some of the best papers in this competition 
are too long, and we desire readers to keep 
within a column. 
The prize in the Readers’ Competition was 
awarded to '‘Albert E. Yates” for his article 
on “ Fern Cases,” page 180. 
In the Prize Letter Competition a prize was 
awarded to “ C. C ” for his article on “ Cuphea 
strigillosa ” ; and another to ‘‘ F. A. ” for his 
article on “ Starting tuberous Begonias,” 
page 182. 
Watering 
In Summer 
and 
Winter. 
The fact that “circumstances alter 
cases ” is especially applicable to all gar¬ 
dening matters, .and the following hints 
on watering may prove useful to ama¬ 
teurs. as much injury is done to plants 
both by over-watering and under-uater- 
ing. 
It is well To remember that families of 
plants have their individual peculiarities 
in very much the same way as human 
beings, so that while copious water makes 
some plants thrive, it will cause others to 
decay, and here it is that some know¬ 
ledge of the native habitat of the plants 
becomes most useful. One quickly com¬ 
prehends that natives of a dry region, 
such as the Cacti, will flourish with very 
little water, while Iris, on the other hand, 
being semi-aquatic, require a generous 
supply. Flower-lovers, however, will 
soon learn by observation bow much water 
is necessary to their plants, and will know 
by' the appearance of the soil when it is 
required. A general rule is that if the 
surface feels dusty to the finger-tips it is 
over-dry; if it sticks toi one’s fingers it is 
too wet; but if there is a feeling of mois¬ 
ture without any of the soil adhering, it 
is just right. 
It will he found that plants when in 
flower generally require more water than 
at other times, and by far the best time to 
give it is e-ither early in the morning or 
late in the afternoon, but never when the 
sun is most powerful, as at middle-day. 
In using a hose or watering pot care 
must be taken to let the water fall gently 
and not dashed against the roots of the 
plants, although it is advisable to refresh 
the foliage by an occasional watering, 
which serves to cleanse it from dirt and 
insects. 
Another important rule to remember 
when watering is that the ground must be 
thoroughly soaked; give enough to pene¬ 
trate to the lowest root, for there is no¬ 
thing so harmful to plants as a mere 
sprinkling. To conserve the moisture in 
the soil, pulverise the surface to a depth 
of two inches after watering, as in this 
way plants get the full benefit of the 
earth’s chemical properties, and their 
vitality is increased. 
Watering Plants in Winter. —Some 
judgment is required for this during the 
cold and damp weather when the trans¬ 
piration of the leaves is much reduced ; as 
they are now in a dormant state they will 
not suffer from being rather dry at the 
roots, and will withstand frost better than 
in a moist soil. If they do become frozen 
they should be left until a thaw sets in, 
and then such as need water should be 
supplied freely early in the day. Delicate 
plants are frequently injured in winter 
through being watered with cold water; 
it should always be about the same tem¬ 
perature as that of the house in which 
the plants are growing, and it is safer to 
be two or three degrees warmer than 
otherwise. , 
M. Selman. 
