1-^0 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER 
February  8,  1900. 
“The  Rosaeian’s  Year  Book.” 
Very  many  years  have  come  and  gone  since  “  The  Rosarian’s 
Year  Book”  first  saw  the  light,  but  it,  nevertheless,  under  the  skilled 
and  loving  guidance  of  the  Rtv.  H.  Honywood  D’Ombrain,  main¬ 
tains  its  popularity  and  its  practical  utility.  Each  year  brings  its 
new  edition  and  each  issue  contains  something  different  from  its 
predecessors,  and  consequently  the  interest  continues  unabated.  It 
is  a  labour  of  love  for  the  great  florist,  as  is  everything  in  connec¬ 
tion  with  the  flower  he  knows  so  well,  and  at  whose  shrine  he 
has  worshipped  for  such  an  exceptionally  prolonged  series  of  years. 
The  “Year  Book  for  1900”  has  for  a  frontispiece  a  speaking 
portrait  of  that  excellent  amateur  rosarian,  Mr.  Henry  Vessey 
IMachin,  of  Gateford  Hill,  whose  photograph  has  appeared  in  the 
Journal  of  Horticulture  on  more  than  one  occasion  in  connection 
with  “big  wins.”  The  sketch  of  Mr.  Machin’s  life  is  from  the 
graceful  pen  of  Mr.  Chas.  J.  Grahame,  who  speaks  highly  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  this  the  largest  of  amateur  Rose  growers.  The  Rev. 
J.  H.  Pemberton,  whose  renown  as  an  exhibitor  is  second  to  none, 
has  some  “  Recollections  of  Some  New  Roses  of  1899,”  while  Mr 
George  Paul,  V.M.H.,  deals  in  the  style  of  a  master  with  “  Garden 
Roses:  Planting  and  Pruning.”  The  Editor  takes  as  his  text 
“The  Rose  and  the  National  Rose  Society  in  1899,”  and  gives  a 
most  interesting  article.  “Amateur  Rose  Culture,”  by  Mr.  R.  E. 
West,  is  excellent  and  worthy  of  this  successful  grower.  He  is 
always  practical  and  yet  continuously  readable,  and  his  advice  can  be 
explicitly  relied  upon,  especially  that  about  maggots,  which  says  : — 
Maggots  fat,  maggots  lean. 
Maggots  large,  maggots  green. 
Maggots  long,  maggots  short. 
Catch  ’em  soon,  or  Roses  nought. 
Mr.  Cecil  E.  Cant  dilates  upon  “Standard  Roses,”  with  which  he 
is  fully  qualified  to  deal.  As  in  his  opening  sentence  he  objects 
to  some  of  the  references  to  this  form  of  Rose  culture  that  appear 
in  the  gardening  Press  we  have  reproduced  his  contribution  in  the 
hope  that  it  may  prove  serviceable  to  our  readers.  As  is  customary, 
the  conclusion  of  the  book  is  left  to  Mr.  E.  Mawley,  and  his  topic 
is  “  The  Weather  of  the  Past  Rose  Year,”  and  this,  though  last,  is 
not  the  least  valuable  of  the  contributions. 
Standard  Roses. 
One  frequently  reads  in  the  gardening  papers  articles  on  standard 
Roses,  but  the  summary  of  them  generally  amounts  to  how  not  to  grow 
them,  or  ends  in  advice  not  to  give  them  a  trial,  but  the  real  origin  of 
their  want  of  success  in  some  gardens  has  more  to  do  with  the 
selection  of  unsuitable  varieties  than  anything  else.  How  often  one 
comes  upon  a  stem  with  no  head  to  speak  of,  and  yet  is  supposed  to 
do  duty  for  a  standard.  On  looking  at  the  label  one  finds  Horace 
Vernet,  or  Boildieu  in  a  lingering  death.  Such  varieties  and  notorious 
bad  growers  should  never  be  grown,  and  are  entirely  the  cause  of 
the  outcry  against  standards ;  but  if  a  careful  selection  of  suitable 
varieties  is  made,  standards  are  very  useful  in  various  ways — viz.,  to 
form  a  background  of  two  or  three  rows  of  dwarfs,  as  a  centre  to 
round  or  oval  beds,,  also  for  planting  out  in  conservatories ;  then  again, 
they  are  best  in  small  enclosed  gardens,  as  the  height  of  stem  brings 
the  head  free  of  other  growths  and  to  a  brighter  atmosphere ;  as  an 
aid  to  success  at  the  exhibitions  the  standard  Teas  and  Hybrid  Teas 
are  indispensable,  and  the  standard  as  a  weeping  plant  can  be  used 
with  great  effect. 
Now,  to  deal  with  the  last  first.  Standards  on  stems  5  to  7  feet 
high,  to  be  planted  singly  in  various  parts  of  the  garden,  or  to  form  a 
centre  in  a  large  bed,  make  very  handsome  and  attractive  objects. 
They  must  be  firmly  staked,  and  the  long,  trailing  shoots  should  be 
arched  over  and  tied  to  the  stem,  umbrella  fashion,  to  grow  as 
weepers.  After  one  season  the  shoots  will  retain  their  positions,  send 
out  lots  of  laterals,  and  thus  form  a  handsome  tree,  blooming  freely 
throughout  the  summer.  The  best  sorts  for  treating  in  this  way  are 
Aimee  Vibert,  white;  Celine  Forestier,  yellow;  Claire  Jacquier, 
yellow;  Crimson  Rambler ;  Felicite  Perpetue,  white ;  Fulgens,  crim¬ 
son;  Longworth  Rambler,  red;  Madame  Alfred  Carriere,  cream; 
Paul’s  Carmine  Pillar  ;  Paul’s  Single  White;  Reine  Olga  de  Wurtem- 
burg,  red  ;  Rdve  d’Or,  yellow.J 
One  often  hears  at  the  great  Rose  Shows,  “  How  is  it  So-and-so 
gets  his  Teas  so  large  and  full,  such  colour  and  so  clean?”  The 
answer  nearly  always  is,  “  They  are  grown  on  standards  and  half¬ 
standards,  thus  keeping  the  blooms  off  the  ground,  away  from  many 
enemies,  and  clear  of  the  splashes  from  heavy  rains.”  Then,  again,  these 
exhibitors  of  extra  fine  flowers  will  tell  you  more  goodl  blooms  result 
from  one  standard  Tea  than  from  four  times  the  number  of  dwarfs, 
and  they  are  quite  right,  as  my  experience  goes.  The  standard  Tea  has 
suffered  in  the  past  from  very  sharp  frosts,  but  a  hardier,  race  seems 
to  be  with  us  now,  and  to  winter  safely,  with'  slight  protection  during 
very  severe  weather.  ^“So- i 
The  following  varieties  of  Teas  and  Hybrid  Teas  make  excellent 
standards  for  either  show  or  garden  decoration : — 
Hybrid  Teas. — Antoine  Rivoire,  Caroline  'I’estout,  Clara  Watson, 
Kaiserin  Augusta  Victoria,  La  France,  Madame  Cadeau  Ramey,  Mrs. 
W.  J.  Grant,  Viscountess  Folkestone. 
Teas. — Anna  Olivier,  Bridesmaid,  Catherine  Mermet,  Cleopatra, 
Comtesse  de  Nadaillac,  Ernest  Metz,  Ethel  Brownlow,  Hon.  Edith 
Gifford,  Innocente  Pirola,  Jean  Ducher,  Madame  Cusin,  Madame  de 
Watteville,  Madame  Hoste,  Madame  Lambard,  Maman  Cochet,  Marie 
Van  Houtte,  Medea,  Muriel  Grahame,  Rubens,  Souvenir  d’Elise 
Vardon,  Souvenir  de  S.  A.  Prince,  Souvenir  d’un  Ami,  The  Bride, 
White  Maman  Cochet. 
The  standard  Hybrid  Perpetuals  and  one  or  two  of  the  climbing 
varieties  are  not  recommended  as  aids  to  prizes,  but  ate  very  useful  in 
beds  and  borders,  and  as  there  must  be  some  good  rich  colours 
amongst  the  pale  Teas  to  set  them  off,  the  following  sorts  can  safely 
be  relied  on  to  give  satisfactory  results : — Alfred  Colomb,  Auguste 
Rigotard,  Boule  de  Neige,  Baroness  Rothschild,  Bouquet  d’Or,  Clio, 
Dr.  Andry,  Duke  of  Edinburgh,  Dupuy  Jamain,  Gloire  de  Dijon, 
General  Jacqueminot,  Homer,  John  Hopper,  Jules  Margottin,  Madame 
Berard,  Madame  Clemence  Joigneaux,  Madame  Gabriel  Luizet, 
Madame  Victor  Verdier,  Magna  Charta,  Margaret  Dickson,  Meiveille 
de  Lyon,  Mrs.  John  Laing,  Madame  Isaac  Pereire,  Monsieur  Boncenne, 
Mrs.  Paul,  Paul  Neron,  Thomas  Mills,  Tom  Wood,  Ulrich  Brunner, 
William  Allan  Richardson. 
For  conservatories,  either  for  planting  out  or  planting  in  beds  outside 
and  bringing  the  heads  under  glass  as  with  Vines,  the  standard  is 
indispensable.  Many  climbers  and  other  varieties  grown  in  con¬ 
servatories  must  necessarily  be  planted  under  staging ;  the  stem 
gets  over  the  difficulty  by  bringing  the  head  above  the  stage  and 
obtaining  the  light  necessary  for  its  success.  Such  sorts  as  Mardchal 
Niel  and  Cfimbing  Nipbetos  do  splendidly  in  this  way,  last  for  many 
years,  and  give  good  crops  of  fine  flowers,  where  dwarfs  in  similar 
positions  would  lack  the  light  and  never  be  a  success. 
There  is  no  desire  in  these  remarks  tO'  praise  the  standard  beyond 
its  merits,  but  simply  an  endeavour  to  prove  there  is  worth  in  it,  and 
that  it  is  a  good  companion  for  the  dwarf  in  many  ways,  and  given 
suitable  positions  it  will  greatly  aid  in  garden  decoration. — C.  E.  Cant 
(in  “  The  Rosarian’s  Year  Book 
Pruning  Mar^chal  Niel. 
“  H.  S.”  (page  92),  accustomed  with  success  to  prune  his  own 
specimens  of  this  Rose  under  glass  by  cutting  away  almost  all  the 
wood  of  the  year  immediately  after  flowering,  is  yet  doubtful  whether 
it  is  the  better  method,  because  of  a  comparison  between  this  and  a 
lighter  style  of  pruning  that  he  has  seen  in  another  man’s  house. 
I  do  not  think  he  gives  us  quite  enough  data  to  judge  of  the 
matter  properly.  For  pruning  such  plants  after  the  first  year’s 
growth  and  subsequent  flowering,  everything  depends  upon  how  much 
space  each  plant  is  intended  ultimately  to  cover,  and  what  progress 
it  has  made  towards  it.  The  house  in  question  would  probably  be 
of  the  ordinary  height  ;  but  how  many  rods — that  is,  what  width  of 
roof — was  each  plant  expected  to  supply  and  cover  ?  It  seems  plain, 
from  the  statement  of  the  case,  that  none  of  them  covered  anything 
like  the  allotted  space  (as  might  be  expected)  the  first  year,  for  the 
best  of  them,  slightly  pruned,  only  got  to  the  top  of  the  house  the 
second  year. 
These  Roses  had  only  been  planted  one  year,  and  not  having  made 
luxuriant  growth  had  probably  not  very  strong  root  power.  To  cut 
away  almost  all  the  growth,  and  with  it  all  the  foliage  in  the  midst 
of  the  growing  season,  is  a  severe  check  to  any  plant,  and  I  advise 
that  even  with  the  strongest  and  best  established  it  be  done  as 
gradually  as  possible  as  the  blooms  are  gathered ;  and  as  these  plants 
were  not  very  strong,  and  had  not  each  (apparently)  covered  more 
than  half  the  space  intended,  it  w’as  clearly  better  that  year  to  give 
them  the  benefit  of  their  leaves,  and  avoid  any  check  till  the  allotted 
spac'i  was  covered. 
It  is,  after  all,  only  a  question  of  room  below  and  above.  When 
once  the  available  space  for  the  plant  is  covered,  what  are  you  to  do 
with  the  strong  young  rods  formed  in  summer  and  autfimn  ?  and  if 
such  are  not  fornied  you  will  get  no  fine  blooms.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  more  available  space  to  be  covered,  and  a  corresponding 
amount  of  room  and  food  for  the  roots  below,  then  go  in  for  “  exten¬ 
sion,”  and  do  not  prune  so  hard  till  the  space  is  covered. 
I  agree  that  short  standards  are  generally  best  for  this  work.  My 
own  plant,  which  ^ives  me  from  300  to  400  blooms  every  spring,  was 
planted  fourteen  years  ago,  and  has  not  said  anything  about  dying  yet. 
— W.  R.  Raillem. 
