6 
The Old Rose Gardens, COLCHESTER. 
THINNING AND SUCKERING. —While the plants are growing don’t allow too many 
shoots on a branch or to a plant. Select the best formed buds and remove some of the small 
side ones in order to obtain the best and most perfect flowers. Look out for suckers (i.e., wild wood 
which breaks out from the root under the ground), cut them close back to the stock. A small 
spud can be used to clear the soil and enable the knife to cut the sucker off at the joint. They 
will occasionally pull clean off by hand if carefully tried, but this is not always easy or effectual, 
and if any part of the sucker remains it quickly grows again. 
TO DESTROY GREENFLY AND CATERPILLARS. There are many Insecticides 
advertised such as Nicotene Soap, Jeyes’ Horticultural Summer Wash, etc., which will destroy 
green fly, but they must be used in the cool of the evening. 
Caterpillars and maggots can only be destroyed by careful hand picking. These will easily 
be found by the curling qp of the foliage or small perforation of the leaves. 
DISEASES. 
MILDEW. —The best cure for this is to spray the plants with Jeyes’ Horticultural Summer 
Wash immediately it makes its appearance ; and to repeat the spraying at an interval of about 
a week. This should be done in the cool of the evening, after sundown. 
RED FUNGUS OR RUST seldom comes until late in the flowering season, and appears 
impossible to stop. It does not, however, permanently injure the plants, and it is a singular 
fact that the Tea-Scented and Noisette Roses never suffer from this disease ; the high-coloured 
Hybrid Perpetuals seem the most liable to it. As a safeguard against attack next season all 
infected foliage should be gathered up and burned. 
ROSES IN POTS. 
FOR CULTIVATION IN COOL HOUSES AND FOR FORCING.— The best way 
to grow these is to procure plants at least one year established in their pots. Top dress with fresh 
soil and manure in the autumn and keep them plunged outdoors till winter is almost upon them, 
then take under glass, keeping the temperature of tile house as cool as possible, only using heat 
to banish frost. Pruning need not be done for at least a fortnight, and during this period no 
water should be given ; this will thoroughly harden the wood, and what foliage remains will 
drop off, which is natural, and will the better let in light to the centre of the plant. Prune hard 
■back the general run of Teas and Hybrids to three or four eyes from the base, cut out any weak 
or bad wood, leaving centre of the plants open. For Climbers with several shoots cut the weakest 
shoots hard back to induce growth from the base, and leave the long strong shoots about three 
parts of their length ; prune in January for flowering in April (earlier or later as you may wish 
to have them in bloom). 
In bright weather syringe the heads daily with chilled water (avoiding the flowers when in 
colour), this will keep the foliage clean, promote growth, and maintain a moist atmosphere in 
the house. Smoke the house to destroy green fly ; this, however, must not be done on a bright 
day, or when the plants are damp, the evening is generally the best time. The morning after 
fumigating, if bright, give the plants a thorough good syringing to remove the dead fly and clean 
the plants. Maggots can only be destroyed by careful hand picking. 
Be careful in giving air on cold windy days, as a direct draught is likely to cause mildew, a 
most troublesome disease, the best preventive is flour of sulphur, made into a paste with water, 
and painted on the hot water pipes, and if these are hotter than usual, so much the better, as 
the sulphur fumes are also a good preventive for red spider. Dust the mildew affected parts 
of the plant with the flour of sulphur or syringe with a weak solution of Jeyes’ Horticultural Wash. 
Top ventilation is best, and shade should be given during hot weather by light blinds or 
syringing the roof and sides with whiting and skim milk. 
Water the plants when required, using water of same temperature as the house, and occa¬ 
sionally give weak solutions of liquid manure, cow droppings and soot, also bone meal and guano 
are good fertilizers. This “ feeding " of the plants can be slightly increased as they begin to 
show flowers. 
After flowering, the plants should be plunged outdoors, but, for a time, must be frequently 
watered, to keep in healthy condition and to promote growth for next season’s flowering, later 
on they can be gradually hardened off by decreasing the supply of water. 
Some prefer to purchase ground plants and pot them up. The treatment for these would 
be the same, but they should be potted in early autumn and kept outdoors till frost comes, then 
remove to cool frames, bringing into the house when no fire heat is required, and flowering them 
about May or early in June. The next and following season they can be forced for winter flowering 
is required. 
