314 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AXD  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  14,  190-^ 
Work  among  the  Roses. 
Much  gardening?  has  l)een  done  during  the  past  weeks,  for 
the  dry,  hracinj^  air  by  day  and  crisp  nij^ht  frosts  have  (tone 
inucli  to  dry  tlie  soil  and  render  tillage  operations  pleasant  and 
enjoyable.  If  such  favourable  climatic  conditions  continue — 
and  everyone  must  fervently  hope  they  will — work  which  has 
throughout  the  winter  fallen  in  arrear  will  soon  be. brought  up 
to  time. 
Among  other  matters,  Hoses  will  just  now  be  claiming  a 
large  share  of  attention.  The  growth  on  the  .shoots  is  not  so 
forward  as  it  was  at  this  date  last  year  (March  21),  and  the 
next  fortnight  should  be  a  suitable  time  to  prune  Hybrid  Per- 
petuals  and  other  hardy  kinds.  I  doubt  not  that  many  plants 
in  sheltered  positions  or  warm  districts  were  pruned  some  time 
ago,  and  Avhere  very  early  Roses  are  specially  desired  it  is  per¬ 
haps  worth  taking  some  I'isks  to  secure  them;  but  the 
treacherous  weather  of  last  year  should  have  taught  us  that  it 
is  better  to  bo  a  little  late  rather  tlian  too  early  in  pruning 
standards  and  bushes  in  open  ejuarters.  The  early  pruneis 
suffered  badly  last  year;  the  late  pinners  as  a  rule  .secured  good 
results. 
Mdien  dealing  with  standards  and  bushes,  hard  pruning 
should  as  a  rule  be  practised,  but  there  are  exceptions  whicli 
have  to  be  considered  ;  for,  instance,  those  two  fine  varieties.  La 
France  and  Baroness  Rothschild,  each  produced  plenty  of 
vigorous  young  wood,  and  with  but  little  pruning  beyond  cutting 
away  old  shoots  and  slightly  shortening  young  ones,  grand 
flowers  may  be  obtained  if  disbudding  is  practised  ;  on  the  other 
hand,  equally  good  flowers  may  be  obtained  by  hard  pruning 
these  two  varieties  if  they  are  loot-pruned  or  lifted  entirely  and 
replanted  whenever  they  show  a  tendency  to  grow  too  strongly. 
When  bushes  are  grown  in  beds  it  is  generally  desirable  to  keep 
them  dwarf,  and  they  mu.st  then  necessarily  be  cut  hard  back 
unless  the  shoots  are  2iegged.  ^ 
A  plan  that  I  find  answers  admirably  is  to  cut  weak-growing 
varieties  to  within  two  buds  of  their  base,  moderate  growers  to 
three,  and  very  strong  ones  to  four  or  six.  After  shoots  have 
been  cut  hard  back  for  a  few  years,  some  of  them  Avill  inevitably 
show  signs  of  weakne.ss,  and,  if  retained,  will  only  seiid  out  weak 
growths.  Such  should  be  cut  awa.y  entirely,  and  there  are 
usually  strong  shoots  springing  up  fiom  other  parts  of  the  bush 
to  take  their  place.  The.se  only  need  shortening  sufficientl.y  to 
bring  them  to  about  the  same  height  as  the  older  shoots,  for  if 
they  are  cut  back  ver.y  hard,  they  AAill  generally  send  out  extra 
strong  growths  at  the  expen.se  of  the  other  jiarts  of  the  buslu 
Standards  shoidd  be  pi'uned  on  similar  lines,  Avith  the  excejw 
tion  that  a  constant  outlook  should  ))e  kept  foi'  shoots  springing 
from  neai’  the  base  of  the  main  branches,  and  Avhei’e  they  do 
occur  their  extension  should  be  encouraged  by  ]-emoving  some 
of  the  older  avoocI  to  make  room  for  them.  In  this  Avay  the 
main  branches  are  kept  from  becomiiAg  bare  at  the  base,  and 
the  dimensions  of  the  head  are  also  confined  Avithin  dne  bounds. 
Strong  groAving  climbing  Roses  of  the  Crimson  Rambler  tyjAc 
should  have  the  old  Avood  cut  entirely  aAvay  each  year,  and  the 
young  AA’ood  trained  in  from  bin  to  9in  apart.  Under  this  s.ystem 
the  panicles  of  floAvers  ijroduced  are  often  15in  in  length,  and  it 
uncommon  occurrence  to  get  strong  shoots  from  12ft  to 
loft  in  length  in  one  season.  Plants  so  treated,  Avhen  in  floAver, 
present  a  bold  and  much  more  shoAvy  appearance  than  those  in 
AA'lnch  a  great  deal  of  old  Avood  is  left,  AA’hich  gives  a  croAvded 
appeara,nce.  Gloire  de  Dijon  and  iMadame  Berard  also  succeed 
splendidly  under  a  similar  system  of  iiruning. 
Other  type.s  of  climbei  s,  Avhich  are  not  quite  so  vigorous,  give 
good  results  if  the  main  blanches  are  “  spurred  ”  for  tAvo  or 
tliiee  feet,  then  cut  away  entirely  to  make  room  for  strong 
.young  .sboots,  yvliich,  in  the  case  of  plants  liberall.y  treated,  Avill 
le  fieely  produced.  The  gi'eat  thing  to  avoid  is  having  the 
space  entirely  covered  Avith  old  aaoocI,  and  no  young  material 
coming  on  to  take  its  place,  for  under  such  circumstances  the 
ultimate  reside  is  stunted  and  unsatisfactory  groAAth. 
third  Aveek  in  Apiil  is  early  enough  to  iirune 
<1aa  art  Teas,  climbers  on  AA'alls  a  Aveek  or  tAvo  earlier.  ^Vhen 
dealing  "  ith  the  dAvarfs,  first  cut  aAva.y  all  weak  shoots  entirelv, 
as  they  Avill  never  give  good  floAvers,  then  shorten  the  shoots 
letained  to  from  tAvo  to  six  buds  of  their  base.  Some  cultivators 
leimmmend  Teas  to  be  much  more  lightly  xiruned  than  H.P.’s, 
iut  I  have  always  found  that  if  gooil  floAvers  are  required  haid 
piuning  should  be  resorted  to.  Those  aaIio  Avant  to  establish 
laige  bushes  quickly  must  necessarily  Rai'e  more  Avood  after  the 
first  year  of  severe  shortening ;  jilenty  of  floAvers  of  moderate  size 
are  then  generally  produced. 
IMoss  Roses  differ  a  great  deal  in  regard  to  their  vigour  of 
groAvth.  Those  Avhich  groAv  Ai  eakly  should  be  hard  pruned  ;  the 
strong  growing  ones  onl.v  need  to  have  the  shoots  thinned  and 
slightly  shortened,  they  AA'ill  then  yield  hosts  of  fine  shaiiely 
buds,  AA'hich  are  far  more  attractive  in  ajipearance  Avhen  of 
moderate  size  than  Aiheii  forced  by  hard  pruning  into  excep¬ 
tional  A’igour. 
After  Roses  of  various  types  have  been  pruned  and  the  beds 
cleaned,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  dress  the  surface  of  the  soil 
AA’ith  some  chemical  manure.  I  find  the  folIoAA'ing  mixture 
excellent  for  the  purpose:  Equal  jiarts  suiAerphosiihate  and 
kainit,  applied  at  the  rate  of  6oz  per  square  yard,  and  hoed  or 
lightly  forked  in.  Such  a  dre.ssing  secures  the  production  of 
short-jointed,  firm  Avood  instead  of  .stiong  sappy  groAA’th,  Avhich 
has  been  too  common  during  the  last  tAVO  years,  Avhen  dung  only 
has  been  used. — H.  D. 
Tropical  Plants. 
{Continued  from  page  181.) 
Composts. — The  soil  in  Avhich,  Avith  bnt  feAv  exceptions, 
tropical  (or  .stoAm)  iilants  delight  is  an  equal  mixture  of  loam  and 
peat.  Both  of  these  constituents  should  be  of  a  fibry,  tenacious 
cliaracter,  for  a  Hims.v,  crumbling  comjDound  Avill  in  most  ca.ses 
scon  resolve  itself  into  a  sour  pasty  ma.ss,  inimical  to  healthy 
loot  action.  Chopping  the  sods  of  both  peat  and  loam  a  few 
times  across  Avith  a  hatchet  facilitates  the  breaking  up  by  hand 
into  lumjAS  the  size  of  an  egg,  larger  or  smaller  according  to  the 
pots  about  to  be  used,  and  all  dusty  material  should  be  dis¬ 
carded.  This  soil  should  be  in  that  happy  condition  of  neither 
Avet  nor  dry,  and  then  forms  the  backbone  of  our  potting 
material.  A  lOin  potful  of  small  charcoal  and  a  Gin  potful  of 
Clay’s  feMliser,  AAith  a  liberal  addition  of  coarse  sand  (Ave  use 
sea  sand  for  preference,  containing  a  large  percentage  of  small 
shell.v  matter)  to  the  barroAA’load,  is  an  ideal  compost  for  ihe 
bulk  of  the  plants  under  notice.  P’or  Caladiums,  Alocasias, 
Anthuriums,  and  NejAenthes,  some  AA'ell-picked  sphagnum  lightly 
choiiped  may  be  added  Avith  distinct  advantage. 
Potting.  —  As  Avith  the  soil,  so  Avith  the  jalants.  Re.specting 
moisture,  they  should  be  neither  Avet  nor  dry,  but  in  that  com¬ 
fortable  condition  that  Avill  not  necessitate  Avater  for  a  couple  of 
days  after  iiotting.  There  is  a  time  for  potting  a  ijarticular 
plant,  AA  Inch  is  the  time,  and  that  may  be  noAv  or  a  month  hence. 
Over]iotting  is  an  evil  to  be  avoided,  even  Avhere  large  specimens 
are  required.  It  is  a  matter  of  surprise  to  many  hoAv  some 
gardeners  contrive  to  rear  fine  health.y  specimens,  particularly 
Palms,  in  small  pots — ijots  .so  small  as  to  aiipear  out  of  all  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  size  of  the  There  is  ahvays  the  temptation 
be.setting  the  young  jilantsman  to  pot  on  and  pot  on  Avhenever 
the  roots  have  touched  their  boundary,  and  the.y  .seem  to  dread 
their  pets  getting  iiotliound.  This  condition  (Avhen  the  roots 
feel  the  pot),  hoAvcA^er,  appears  to  be  distinctly  advantageous 
to  the  Avelllieing  of  many  plants;  there  is  a  something — I  do  net 
knoAA-  AA'hat — but  ^lossibly  a  certain  amount  of  root  aeration  which 
the.v  enjoy  in  contact  AAu'th  the  jDot.  We  may,  hoAA’ever,  sum¬ 
marily  disjjo.se  of  this  pha.se  of  the  question  in  saying  that,  as  a 
rule,  more  plants  are  overpotted  than  undeiqiotted.  Firm  pot¬ 
ting  is  strongly  advised,  and  the. potting  sticks,  of  Avhich  there' 
should  ahvays  be  different  sizes  at  hand  on  the  potting  bench, 
should  be  consistent l.y  used. 
Doctoring.-  In  dealing  Avith  plants  Avhich  from  any  cause  are 
unhealthy,  and  there  are  sufficient  reasons  for  retaining  them, 
although  in  some  ca.ses  throAving  them  out  is  better  than  doc¬ 
toring,  drastic  measures  are  ofte-n  the  best — in  fact,  killing  or 
curing  gives  the  quicke.st  .satisfaction.  AVe  do  not  like  to  keeii 
even  one  sick  or  shabby  plant  in  onr  stoA^e  collection,  and  ,ake 
prompt  measures  to  avoid  it.  "With  specimen  Crotons,  for 
in.stance,  Avhich  are  bared  by  the  loss  of  bottom  leaves,  a  hard 
cutting  back  is  the  best  i-emedy,  all  but  Avithholding  Avater  until 
the  ueAv  buds,  Avhich  are  quickly  formed,  are  starting  into 
active  groAvth.  The  jilants  should  then  be  .shaken  out,  in  bad 
cases  Avashing  the  roots  free  df  all  old  .soil  and  trimming  bacit 
the  “  thongs,”  and  after  a  feAv  hours’  rest  to  dry  them,  pot  into 
a  size  ju.st  able  to  take  the  roots,  and  if  practicable,  give  a  fresh 
and  laiiid  start  into  neAv  life  by  plunging  in  the  hotbed.  After 
a  fcAv  Aveeks  of  this  hospital  treatment  iilants  thus  treated  Avill 
be  convalescent,  ready  foi'  potting  on  and  placing  in  their  per¬ 
manent  quarters. 
M  ATKRiNG.  —  Old  heads  find  a  cei’tain  amount  of  difficulty  in 
training  young  hands  to  the  right  use  of  the  Avaterpot.  In 
broaching  this  matter,  hoAv  vividly  the  sins  of  one’s  youth  crop 
up!  Sins  Avbich,  in  spite  of  juvenile  enthusiasm,  Avere  pm’- 
