182 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
March  I,  1900. 
finally  polling  lliosc  routed  in  April ;  5-incli  pots  will  be  ihe  t>ize  lor 
the  majority  of  the  plants,  hut  a  few  may  have  larger  pots.  Probably, 
however,  the  smaller  pots  may  eventually  contain  the  better  plants, 
and,  as  a  rule,  when  in  a  medium  size  they  are  more  useful  for 
decoration. 
After  June  artificial  heat  is  not  required,  but  moist  frame  treat¬ 
ment  ought  to  be  given  them.  This  is  secured  by  standing  the  plants 
on  a  bed  of  ashes  kept  damp.  Keep  the  lights  on  the  frame,  admitting 
a  little  air,  and  syringe  lightly  on  bright  afternoons;  also  shade 
from  strong  sunshine.  At  the  end  of  September  transfer  to  a 
greenhouse  shelf  near  the  glass,  continuing  to  water  carefully.  As  the 
natural  temperature  declines  the  plants  will  require  artificial  heat  to 
maintain  them  in  a  healthy  condition.  Give  them  a  temperature 
onwards  through  the  winter  of  55°  to  60°  at  night. 
About  December  the  flowering  period  commences,  and  for  the  next 
four  months  it  is  seldom  that  any  of  the  plants  are  devoid  of  bloom 
unless  they  have  been  cut  severely.  In  one  way  even  the  latter  is 
an  advantage,  as  the  loss  of  the  bloom  causes  the  production  of 
cuttings,  which  can  be  utilised  for  the  next  season’s  stock.  Afford  a 
light  position  for  the  winter  months ;  the  plants  are  better  stood  on 
a  moisture-holding  base  than  on  dry  open  shelves,  but  the  structure 
should  be  efficiently  heated.  The  watering  must  be  carefully  carried 
out,  and  this  is  best  done  by  regular  attention  in  examining  the  soil, 
always  affording  sufficient  water  of  the  same  temperature  as  that  of 
the  house. — E. 
STOPPING  VINES, 
The  planting  of  Vines  and  the  formation  of  Vine  borders  have  been 
so  often  dealt  with  iu  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  that  I  thought  a 
few  notes  on  stopping  Vines  might  be  more  generally  advantaiieous 
and  useful,  espec  ally  to  those  who  have  not  had  sufficient  practical 
experience  to  thoroughly  comprehend  the  correct  methods  of  procedure. 
There  are,  I  am  aware,  many  systems  of  regulating  the  growth  of  the 
Vine,  and  perhaps  most  of  them  adopted  by  some  of  our  best  Grape 
growers  vary  slightly,  but  the  broader  principles  are  the  same.  Let 
us  suppose  the  Vines  were  purchased  in  pots,  cut  down  to  within 
18  inches  of  the  soil,  plat  ted  in  February,  and  started  into  growth 
about  the  beginning  of  March,  very  slowly — in  fact,  it  wmuld  be 
inadvisable  to  hurry  them  the  first  year,  though  due  attention  must 
be  given  to  damping,  watering,  and  airing.  As  soon  as  the  buds 
commence  to  form  shoots  gradually  disbud  all  except  two,  one  near 
the  top  and  the  other  close  to  the  base ;  the  former  should  be  carefully 
supported  if  necessary,  and  the  basal  shoot  ought  to  be  stopped  when 
it  has  made  half  a  dozen  leaves.  The  latter  assists  to  thicken  the  old 
portion  of  the  rod,  though  many  successful  growers  whom  I  know 
retain  the  leader  only. 
As  the  young  rod  makes  progress  side  shoots  will  be  made  which 
must  be  stopped — i.e ,  pinched  with  the  thumb  and  finger  at  the 
first  leaf.  The  young  leader  will  also  require  stopping  at  5  feet, 
but  it  must  be  allowed  to  form  another  leader,  which  should  be 
taken  up  straight  as  before;  the  side  shoots  from  this  will  not 
require  stopping  as  above  recommended,  but  should  be  allowed  to 
run  almost  wild.  The  first  5  feet  of  the  new  rod  which  was 
stopped  will  thicken  considerably,  and  the  basal  buds  will  plump  up 
in  grand  style,  showing  how  the  plant  appreciates  the  treatment  to 
which  it  has  been  subjected.  In  December  the  Vines  should  be 
pruned,  the  leader  to  within  about  4  feet  from  the  new  rod,  and  the 
side  shoots  back  to  the  basal  bud.  If  Grapes  are  urgently  wanted 
allow  two  medium- sized  bunches  to  each  rod,  otherwise  do  not  crop 
until  the  following  year,  as  more  roots  will  then  be  made. 
If  the  young  Vines  are  planted  4  feet  apart  the  shoots  should 
be  stopped  from  two  to  six  leaves  past  the  bunch,  but  in  this 
resijeci;  the  grower  must  be  guided  by  the  vigour.  If  a  shoot  has 
the  appearance  of  grossness  stop  it  at  two  leaves  beyond  the  bunch 
and  pinch  the  lateral  growth  at  the  end  ot  such  shoot  to  one  leaf 
also,  but  aim  at  allowing  each  Vine  the  full  space  allotted  to  it; 
but  never  tolerate  crowding.  The  young  shoots  which  form  on  the 
side  or  current  year’s  growth  from  the  spur  must  always  be  stofiped 
at  the  first  leaf  when  quite  young,  and  the  Vines  should  be 
examined  weekly,  for  if  the  growths  are  allowed  to  get  too  large  a 
severe  check  may  be  given  to  the  Vines.  When  spurs  are  formed 
after  the  first  year’s  growth  they  generally  have  one  or  two  shoots  too 
many  on  them  ;  retain  one  only,  removing  the  others  promptly. 
There  are  occasions  when  an  extension  of  lateral  growth  is 
decidedly  advantageous  to  all  Vines,  whether  weak  or  otherwise. 
For  example,  a  house  of  Muscat  of  Alexandria  under  my  charge  had 
been  addicted  to  shanking,  so  last  year  I  allowed  these  Vines  to  make 
as  much  lateral  growth  as  possible.  At  what  would  be  the  beginning 
of  the  colouring  stage  had  the  variety  been  a  black  one,  and  when 
all  fear  of  shanking  had  gone,  the  lateral  growth  (some  of  which  was 
3  yards  long),  was  very  gradually  removed.  The  result  of  this  treat¬ 
ment  was  quite  a  success,  and  I  am  looking  hopefully  for  equally  as 
good  Jesuits  this  }e.tr,  provided  the  luutine  operations  of  watering, 
airing,  and  damping  are  properly  attended  to.  This  fine  Grape  is 
much  benefited  by  shading  with  a  treble  thickness  of  fish  netting  if 
the  panes  of  glass  are  of  a  largo  size.  But  as  soils  and  aspects  vary 
so  much  in  different  localities,  it  is  necessary  to  watch  carefully 
throughout  the  whole  period  of  the  Vine’s  growth  to  overcome  the 
nearly  insuperable  difficulties  many  gardeners  have  to  experience  when 
taking  charge  of  fresh  vineries  which  have  been  indifferently  managed 
in  the  past, — A.  J. 
The  Colour  of  Marechal  Niel. 
In  answer  to  “Practice,”  it  is  light,  and  especially  sunlight,  that 
influences  the  colour  of  this  Bose.  Shading  always  increase <  the 
yellow,  and  lessens  the  red  in  Roses.  I  have  seen  blooms  of  this  Rose 
in  a  sunny  season  on  a  south  wall,  not  only  as  pale  as  the  so-called 
white  variety,  but  even  distinctly  flushed  and  stained  with  red.  It  is 
natural,  therefore,  “  to  find  great  variations  of  colour  in  blooms  upon 
the  same  plant,  and  at  the  same  time,”  for  those  which  happen  to  be 
the  most  shaded  by  the  foliage  or  anything  else  are  sure  to  be  of  a 
deeper  yellow  colour. — W.  R.  Raillem. 
Climbing  Roses. 
These  are  usually  most  appreciated  when  in  bloom  early  or  before 
any  in  the  open,  and  by  atten(ling  et  once  to  the  prun  ng,  tying  in  or 
nailing,  this  will  be  all  in  favour  of  early  and  abundant  flowering.  Not 
pruned  at  all  they  soon  become  unsightly,  and  ot  comparatively  little 
value.  All  must  not  be  treated  alike.  Hard  pruning  in  the  case  of  such 
strong  growing  Noisettes  as  Marechal  Niel,  Bouquet  d’Or,W.  A.  Richard¬ 
son,  L’Ideal,  and  Aimee  Vibert,  would  lead  to  the  formation  of  still 
ranker  growth,  and  few  blooms.  Thin  out  the  spray,  cut  away  all 
growth  badly  placed  for  training,  and  only  remove  the  unripened  ends 
prior  to  securing  to  the  walls  and  trellises.  Strong  young  trees  of  Gloire 
de  Dijon  and  Madame  Berard  should  not  be  severely  pruned,  and  may 
well  be  treated  similarly  to  the  Noisettes,  but  older  trees  should  be 
freely  pruned  in  order  to  keep  up  their  vigour.  Other  Teas,  as  a  rule, 
ought  to  be  pruned  moderately  hard,  as  they  cannot  well  be  grown  too 
strongly.  Remove  much  of  the  spray,  and  cut  back  all  shoots  reserved 
to  within  three  or  four  joints  of  their  starting  point  last  spring  other 
than  those  required  for  turnishing  blank  space. — Westerner. 
Pruning  Marechal  Niel. 
My  remarks  on  page  92  have  been  noted  by  more  than  one  of  your 
correspondents,  and  they  appear  to  bear  me  out  in  this — that  until 
the  plants  have  filled  their  allotted  space  with  growth  it  is  unwise  to 
prune  hard.  But  it  seems  to  me  not  so  much  a  question  of  space  to 
be  filled  as  to  which  is  the  better  mode  to  produce  superior  growth, 
so  that  the  blooms  shall  eventually  be  of  fine  quality.  The  example 
I  gave  was,  I  thought,  a  very  good  one  in  favour  of  little  pruning. 
After  the  plants  have  filled  the  trellis  with  growth,  what  then  ? 
Some  pruning  is,  of  course,  necessary,  otherwise  a  dense  thicket  of 
mostly  useless  stems  and  branches  would  follow  in  a  few  years,  and 
although  I  have  hitherto  had  very  good  results  by  adoptina  the  plan 
of  a  clean  sweep  of  all  growths  right  down  to  their  base  after  flowering, 
I  may  have  had  better  by  being  more  sparing  with  the  knif  .  Such 
pruning  must  severely  check  the  plant  above  and  below;  and  for  a 
time,  as  the  new  shoots  start  rather  weakly,  some  nursing  is  required 
to  prevent  an  attack  of  mildew,  which  at  pruning  time  in  the  case  of 
Marechal  Niel  so  readily  comes. 
In  the  future,  then,  my  idea  in  the  case  of  young  plants  is  to 
merely  cut  away  the  unripened  points  of  long  growths,  and 
entirely  remove  very  weakly  ones.  Then  when  the  space  is  filled  thin 
out  about  half  the  branches  each  year  to  provide  a  supply  of  new  rods 
from  the  base,  and  the  side  stems  that  have  produced  blooms  will  be 
spurred  in  the  whole  length  of  the  remainder. 
“S.  S.”  asks  (page  132),  what  became  of  the  old  shoots  on  the 
unprumd  plants  noted.  These  were  not  numerous  after  the  first 
year’s  growth,  nor  had  any  reached  the  top  of  the  house  on  either  side. 
They  were  leit  untouched,  and  the  “long  clean  rods”  of  last  season’s 
growth  did  not  necessarily  spring  from  the  base,  as  it  is  well  known 
that  plants  of  Marechal  Niel  in  growing  have  a  habit  of  pushing  out 
long  flowerless  shoots  in  unlooked-for  places  when  all  is  going  on 
well  with  the  roots  below.  A  hint  in  the  remarks  of  “  W.  R.  Raillem  ” 
(page  120),  that  it  is  well  when  pruning  this  Rose  in  a  growing  state,, 
to  do  it  gradually,  is  one  that  would  certainly  seem  worth  remember¬ 
ing. — H.  S. 
