April  30,  1896. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
401 
it  must  be  remembered  that  when  the  Rose  exhibition  season  is  on 
the  beBt  blooms  of  that  grand  Rose  are  things  of  the  past,  a  dream  of 
memory. 
I  woald  back  up  all  that  Mr.  Williamson  says  in  favour  of  Marie  Van 
Hoatte.  Take  it  for  all  in  all  I  am  almost  disposed  to  say  it  is  the  most 
valuable  of  all  the  Teas,  robust,  free  growing,  good  foliage,  free  floweriDg, 
and  exquisite  in  form,  colour,  and  all  requisites. — Y.  B.  A.  Z. 
ROSE  GROWING. 
( Continued  from  page  374.) 
Pot  Poses. — In  respect  of  Tea  Roses,  I  am  rather  in  favour  of 
buying  them  in  pots  in  the  spring  and  turning  them  out  about  June, 
or  when  the  cold  days  of  May  are  over.  The  same  may  be  done  with 
H.P.’s,  and  a  new  Rose  bed  thus  formed  even  in  the  height  of  the 
summer.  But  then  constant  and  plentiful  watering  will  be  required, 
otherwise  fatal  consequences  may  very  probably  ensue,  and  many  other 
plants  will  then  be  clamouring  for  water  also.  A  good  gardener  will 
know  how  to  adapt  himself  to  varying  circumstances. 
“The  mouse,  that  only  boasts  of  one  poor  hole, 
Can  never  be  a  mouse  of  any  soul.” 
Pruning. — And  now  we  will  suppose  that  winter  has  been  got 
through,  and  pruning  time  has  arrived.  It  is  an  anxious  time  for 
exhibitors,  searching  out  what  the  ravages  of  the  season  have  been,  and 
others  can  hardly  view  half  their  Roses  gone  with  equanimity.  But  we 
will  suppose  that  the  frosts  have  been  moderate,  and  are  at  last  nearly 
over,  and  that  the  time  has  come  for  taking  stock  in  the  rosery.  Only 
pruning  will  disclose  what  the  state  of  things  really  is,  and  it  is  some¬ 
times  terribly  necessary  to  keep  on  cutting  down  lower  and  lower.  It  is 
fatal  to  leave  any  branch  with  discoloured  pith.  I  am  an  advocate 
under  such  circumstances  for  very  hard  pruning.  I  suppose  there  is 
nothing  shocks  the  inexperienced  more  than  this. 
Some  of  my  friends  in  Surrey  never  could  or  would  believe  that 
standards  pruned  into  something  like  the  round  tops  of  walking  sticks, 
and  bushes  sliced  off  absolutely  level  with  the  ground,  would  ever  be 
likely  to  revive  again,  much  less  to  yield  good  exhibition  blooms,  which 
I  was  able  practically  to  show  them  is  the  case  ;  whereas  if  long  frost¬ 
bitten  branches  are  left  on  anywhere,  how  deplorable  the  sight  is  when 
they  attempt  to  bloom. 
My  rule  has  always  been,  weather  permitting,  to  prune  H.P.’s  in  the 
last  week  in  February,  and  Teas  somewhere  about  the  last  week  in 
March.  This  may  be  considered  early  pruning,  but  where  buds  have 
not  started  a  frost  or  two  does  not  signify,  and  late  pruning  risks 
bleeding,  that  dripping  of  the  sap  from  the  wounded  place,  which  is  very 
weakening.  But  in  this,  as  in  most  else,  it  will  be  found  that  a  pincb 
of  practice  is  worth  considerably  more  than  even  a  pound  of  theory. 
Briars. — Perhaps  the  race  of  Briars,  notably  the  Persian  and 
Austrian,  are  the  most  difficult  of  all  to  deal  with  in  respect  of  this 
matter.  They  bloom  entirely  on  the  new  wood.  If  you  do  not  prune 
them  pretty  hard,  they  make  no  new  wood  ;  if  you  do,  they  give  no 
blooms.  It  is  something  like 
“  The  rule  of  the  road,  ’tis  a  paradox  quite, 
Whether  riding  or  driving  along ; 
If  you  go  to  the  left  you  will  go  to  the  right, 
If  you  go  to  the  right  you  go  wrong  ! 
“  And  so  it’s  the  best,  someone  has  suggested, 
To  keep  straight  along !  ” 
In  the  case  of  Brisrs,  Mr.  Rivers  suggests  that  “it’s  the  best”  to 
have  two  sets  of  plants,  and  prune  on  alternate  years  ;  but  perhaps  that 
is  rather  a  nurseryman’s  way  of  looking  at  it. 
Pigging  Down — A  fashion  of  late  has  come  in  of  pegging  down. 
This  is  excellent  where  disbudding  is  not  resorted  to,  and  exhibition 
blooms  are  not  required.  Thus  a  bed  of  strongly  grown  H.  P.’s  or  Dijon 
Teas  will  have  their  strongest  branches  bent  over  and  pegged  down  for 
their  full  length,  all  the  rest  of  the  branches  being  pruned  very  close. 
In  this  way  every  shoot  on  each  long  branch  should  give  a  bloom,  and 
the  long  array  of  upright  trusses  is  often  very  effective.  There  is  a  fine 
single  Crimson  Rambler  in  a  Reading  garden  trained  in  the  shape  of  a 
crown  royal,  and  treated  after  this  fashion.  Our  Reading  Rose  poet 
here  supplies  us  with  an  aphorism. 
“  He  who  prunes  his  Roses  on  a  fence, 
Will  only  get  cuttings  for  recompence; 
He,  who  prunes  with  hurried  haste, 
Must  not  expect  his  blooms  well  placed.” 
The  Use  of  the  Knife, — In  one  instance  I  object  almost  entirely  to 
any  use  ot  the  knife,  and  that  is  in  the  case  of  climbing  Roses.  These 
should  never  be  cut  back.  Dare  I  say  it  ?  I  think  gardeners,  like  some 
doctors,  are  too  fond  of  the  knife.  “  Spare  the  knife,  or  you  spoil  the 
plant  ”  is  my  rule  with  most  creepers.  Speaking  generally,  of  course, 
vigorous  growth  should  be  pruned  moderately,  or  it  may  result  in  nothing 
but  new  wood,  whilst  moderate  growth  will  bear  cutting  harder  ;  but 
the  long  shoots  of  creepers,  I  maintain,  though  I  am  aware  some  excellent 
gardeners  think  otherwise,  are  best  let  alone  altogether.  Cut  away  all 
weak  and  twiggy  wood,  if  you  will,  but  never  stop  back  a  long  shoot  ; 
if  it  be  too  long  for  its  place,  why,  then,  bend  it  over,  and  this  will  very 
likely  give  you  a  bloom  at  each  bud. 
I  have  sometimes  been  almost  broken  hearted  on  being  shown  some 
grand  old  Gloire  de  Dijon  or  Devonieusis,  which  might  have  covered  a 
house,  now  sprawling  along  a  side  wall,  hacked  almost  out  of  recognition. 
“  Good  man  spare  that  plant  ”  should  be  the  label  attached  to  all 
climbing  Roses. 
Under  Glass. — Never  cut  back  climbiDg  Roses — except  under  glass. 
There  I  am  out  of  my  depth.  I  lay  down  no  law.  1  believe  Maidcbal 
Niel  may  be  made  to  bloom  all  along  a  20-feet  shoot  in  a  house,  then 
cut  back  to  three  or  four  eyes,  then  made  to  produce  two  or  three  equally 
long  shoots,  and  bloom  on  these  the  next  season,  and  so  with  climbing 
Nipbetos  and  others ;  but  I  have  never  myself  had  the  courage  to  try. 
I  have  never  quite  mastered  Rose  culture  under  glass.  I  think  I  will 
imitate  the  old  Scottish  minister  :  “  My  brethren,”  he  said,  “  this  is  a 
knotty  point,  we  will  look  it  ia  the  face — and  paBs  on.” 
Propagating.  —  I  will  speak  first  about  raising  from  seeds.  This 
might  be  done  much  more  than  it  is,  and  with  good  hope  of  new 
varieties,  if  only  ripe  heps  were  collected  in  autumn,  sown  where  the 
ground  need  not  be  disturbed  for  some  three  or  four  years,  and  watched 
over  with  intelligent  solicitude.  Of  course  this  is  trusting  to  chance 
propagation,  but  that  is  what  the  earlier  Rose  growers  did,  and  with 
great  success.  This  is  sternly  discountenanced  by  our  Reading  Rose 
poet — 
“He  who  sows  by  chance,  and  not  by  pedigree, 
Must  not  expect  the  blue  Rose  that  the  world  would  see.” 
The  process  of  hybridising  does  not  appear  to  be  difficult ;  I  suppose 
it  is  effected  by  carrying  the  pollen  much  as  the  bee  does.  The  absolute 
theory  appears  to  be  this  :  The  anther,  the  male  organ,  produces  the 
pollen  powder.  This,  being  mixed  with  honey,  attracts  the  bees.  These 
pass  from  the  anthers  with  pollen  on  them  to  the  stigma,  the  female 
organ.  If  this  is  in  a  receptive  condition  when  the  bee  arrives,  fertilisa¬ 
tion  takes  place,  and  a  hep  is  formed.  Where  a  flower  has  both  anther 
and  6tigma,  self-fertilisation  is  the  more  frequent  occurrence,  which, 
of  course,  can  give  us  nothing  new.  But  sometimes  the  bee,  or  even  the 
wind,  anticipates,  and  then  there  is  hope.  Where  fertilisation  is  done 
by  hand  and  under  glass  the  chances  of  success  are  very  considerably 
increased,  and  a  good  deal  of  this  has  latterly  been  done  in  England. 
In  bygone  days,  I  suppose  by  far  the  greater  part  of  our  famous  French 
Roses  were  happy  chances,  so  also  that  excellent  Cheshunt  strain, 
notably  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh.  Cheshunt  Hybrid  was  a  new  departure, 
and  began  the  Hybrid  Tea  class.  Bennett  declared  that  all  his  were 
pedigree  Roses,  and  very  excellent  ones  he  gave  us,  although  some  at 
first  were  failures,  but  Mrs.  J.  Laing  and  Her  Majesty,  and  T.  Princess  of 
Wales  can  hold  their  own  against  anything.  In  Ireland  the  Dicksons 
of  Newtownards  of  late  have  quite  come  to  the  front.  Their  Jeannie  and 
Margaret  Dickson  are  amongst  our  best  H.P.’s,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Grant  is  a 
high-class  H.T.,  and  Ethel  Brownlow  a  good  exhibition  Tea. 
Also  Lord  Penzance  has  been  active  and  successful.  His  experi¬ 
ments  amongst  the  Sweet  Briar  have  given  us  some  very  charming 
varieties,  amongst  which,  not  their  least  virtue  being  their  sensible 
Walter  Scott  names.  Rose  Bradwardine  is  a  lovely  rose,  and  Meg 
Merrilies  a  very  good  crimson.  Unhappily  it  is  not  possible  to  put  back 
the  clock  ;  as  Scott  says  somewhere, 
“  That  which  moulders  hemp  and  steel, 
Mortal  arm  and  nerve  must  feel.” 
“  In  my  eightieth  year,”  writes  Lord  Penzance,  “  the  needful  energy 
begins  to  fail.  I  have  continued  my  labours  every  season  up  to  the 
present  (1895).”  He  has  even  been  attempting,  he  tell  us  (“  Rosarian 
Year  Book,”  1896),  the  two  great  Rose  problems.  Why  not  a  yellow  H.  P.  ? 
Why  not  a  blue  Rose  ?  “  As  the  possible  parents  of  a  yellow  Rose,”  he 
continues,  “  nothing  presented  itself  so  naturally  as  the  yellow  Briar. 
I  collected  a  quantity  of  the  pollen  of  these  Roses  and  operated  on  the 
pollen  of  several  H.P.’s,  notably  General  Jacqueminot  and  Jean  Cherpin. 
I  obtained  abundance  of  heps  and  indue  time  plenty  of  seed,  abundance 
also  of  plants,  but  so  far  no  results.  One  plant,  indeed,  about  three  or 
four  years  ago,  did  give  signs  of  the  Briar  parentage,  and  the  flower 
presented  a  very  pretty  mixture  of  crimson  and  yellow,  but  it  was  very 
shapeless  and  turned  out  almost  impossible  to  propagate.  In  the  blue 
Rose  I  collected  the  pollen  of  a  Hungarian  Rose,  ‘  Erinnerung  au  Brod.’ 
I  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  plants  from  the  pollen  of  this  Rose  with 
several  of  the  H.P.’s,  but  none  has  yet  bloomed  (1895),  and  I  cannot 
trace  in  growth  or  foliage  any  distinct  evidence  that  the  qualities  of 
pollen  parent  are  represented  in  the  progeny.” 
We  have  also  in  our  midst  one  of  the  greatest  authorities  on 
hybridisation  and  the  successful  operator  perhaps  in  the  world,  and 
may  look  for  great  things  should  he  ever  find  time  to  take  up  Roses  in 
earnest.  Lord  Penzance,  it  is  true,  tells  us  he  has  a  vast  number  of 
seedlings  only  fit  to  be  thrown  away,  but  that  is,  of  course,  the  experi¬ 
ence  of  all  operators.  It  is  only  in  rare  instances  that  they  say,  “I 
will  have  that  one  kept.”  There  is  more  choice  amongst  kittens, 
though  even  that  is  limited. 
Another  principle  is  one  that  has  been  carried  even  further.  The 
other  day  a  boy  of  ten,  the  son  of  a  friend  of  mine,  who  had  been 
brought  home  from  school  to  see  his  twin  sisters  christened,  when  the 
service  was  over  and  the  babies  were  being  brought  into  the  room  to  be 
admired,  regarded  the  first  with  much  interest  ;  but  when  another 
nurse  arrived  with  the  other  he  turned  very  red,  and  inquired  rather 
anxiously,  “Will  they  kill  that  one?”  and  was  much  relieved  by 
being  informed  it  had  been  decided  to  keep  both  ! — Alan  Cheales. 
(To  be  continued.) 
