PRUNING, TRAINING, AND BEDDING.
In pruning roses at the time of transplanting, the principal object
to be attained is relief to the plant by taking away all the wood and
branches which the diminished root may not be able to support. The
mode of pruning depends very much upon the condition of the plant. If
it is very bushy, all the weaker branches should be cut away, leaving
not more than three or four of the strongest shoots, and shortening
even those down to a few eyes. If it is desired that the plant should
continue dwarf and bushy, the new wood should be cut down to the
lower two eyes, and every half-grown or slender shoot cut out. These
two eyes will each throw out a branch; then cut these branches down
to the two eyes, and again cut back the shoots they produce until a
symmetrical habit is formed, with close, thick foliage. There should
not be sufficient wood allowed to remain to make the bush crowded; and
if there should be danger of this, some of the branches, instead of
being cut down to two eyes, should be removed altogether.
Climbing roses, when planted, should be cut down almost to the ground,
and also carefully thinned out. Only a few of the strongest branches
should be preserved, and the new wood of these cut down to two eyes
each.
The preceding remarks are applicable to roses at the time of planting;
they should also be pruned every year,--the hardy varieties in the
autumn or winter, and the more tender in the spring. For all roses
that are not liable to have part of their wood killed by the cold, the
autumn is decidedly the best time for pruning; the root, having then
but little top to support, is left at liberty to store up nutriment
for a strong growth the following season. The principal objects in
pruning are the removal of the old wood, because it is generally
only the young wood that produces large and fine flowers; the
shortening and thinning out of the young wood, that the root, having
much less wood to support, may devote all its nutriment to the size
and beauty of the flower; and the formation of a symmetrical shape.
If an abundant bloom is desired, without regard to the size of the
flower, only the weak shoots should be cut out, and the strong wood
should be shortened very little; each bud will then produce a flower.
By this mode, the flowers will be small, and the growth of new wood
very short, but there will be an abundant and very showy bloom. If,
however, the flowers are desired as large and as perfect as possible,
all the weak wood should be cut out entirely, and all the strong wood
formed the last season should be cut down to two eyes. The knife
should always be applied directly above a bud, and sloping upward
from it. The preceding observations apply principally to rose bushes,
or dwarf roses; with pillar, climbing, and tree roses, the practice
should be somewhat different. The former two need comparatively little
pruning; they require careful thinning out, but should seldom be
shortened. The very young side shoots can sometimes be shortened in,
to prevent the foliage from becoming too thick and crowded.
Pillars for roses can be made of trellis work, of iron rods in
different forms, or of wood, but they should enclose a space of
at least a foot in diameter. The cheapest plan, and one that will
last many years, is to make posts of about 1½ or 2 inches square,
out of locust or pitch-pine plank, and connect them with common
hoop-iron. They should be the length of a plank--between twelve and
thirteen feet--and should be set three feet in the ground, that
they may effectually resist the action of the wind. The Rose having
been cut down to the ground, is planted inside of the pillar, and
will make strong growths the first season. As the leading shoots
appear, they should be trained spirally around the outside of the
pillar, and sufficiently near each other to enable them to fill up
the intermediate space with their foliage. These leading shoots will
then form the permanent wood, and the young side shoots, pruned in
from year to year, will produce the flowers, and at the flowering
season cover the whole pillar with a mass of rich and showy bloom.
Figure 5 gives the appearance of a pillar of this kind. If the tops
of the leading shoots die down at all, they should be shortened down
to the first strong eye, because, if a weak bud is left at the top,
its growth will be slender for a long time. The growth of different
varieties of roses is very varied; some make delicate shoots, and
require little room, while others, like the Queen of the Prairies, are
exceedingly robust, and may require a larger pillar than the size we
have mentioned. Figure 6 shows the method of constructing a pyramid by
the use of a central post and iron rods.
[Illustration: Fig. 5.--PILLAR ROSE.]
[Illustration: Fig. 6.--ROSE PYRAMID.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7.--A ROSE ARBOR.]
Climbing roses require very much the same treatment as pillar roses,
and are frequently trained over arches, or in festoons from one pillar
to another. In these the weak branches should also be thinned out,
and the strong ones be allowed to remain, without being shortened,
as in these an abundant bloom is wanted, rather than large flowers.
An arbor, made by training roses from one pillar to another, is
represented in figure 7. In training climbing roses over any flat
surface, as a trellis, wall, or side of a house, the principal point
is so to place the leading shoots that all the intermediate space may
be filled up with foliage. They can either be trained in fan-shape,
with side shoots growing out from a main stem, or one leading shoot
can be encouraged and trained in parallel horizontal lines to the
top, care being taken to preserve sufficient intermediate space for
the foliage. Where no shoots are wanted, the buds can be rubbed off
before they push out. No weak shoots should be allowed to grow from
the bottom, but all the strong ones should be allowed to grow as much
as they may. When the intermediate space is filled with young wood
and foliage, all the thin, small shoots should be cut out every year,
and the strongest buds only allowed to remain, which, forming strong
branches, will set closely to the wall and preserve a neat appearance.
The production of roses out of season, by forcing, was, as we have
shown, well known to the ancient Romans, and from them has been handed
down to the present time. But the retarding of roses by means of a
regular process of pruning owes its origin to a comparatively modern
date. This process is mentioned both by Lord Bacon and Sir Robert
Boyle. The latter says: "It is delivered by the _Lord Verulam_, and
other naturalists, that if a rose bush be carefully cut as soon as it
is done bearing in the summer, it will again bear roses in the autumn.
Of this, many have made unsuccessful trials, and thereupon report
the affirmation to be false; yet I am very apt to think that my lord
was encouraged by experience to write as he did. For, having been
particularly solicitous about the experiment, I find by the relation,
both of my own and other experienced gardeners, that this way of
procuring autumnal roses will, in most rose bushes, commonly fail,
but succeed in some that are good bearers; and, accordingly, having
this summer made trial of it, I find that of a row of bushes cut in
June, by far the greater number promise no autumnal roses; but one
that hath manifested itself to be of a vigorous and prolific nature
is, at this present, indifferently well stored with those of the
damask kind. There may, also, be a mistake in the species of roses;
for experienced gardeners inform me that the Musk Rose will, if it be
a lusty plant, bear flowers in autumn without cutting; and, therefore,
that may unjustly be ascribed to art, which is the bare production
of nature." Thus, in quaint and ancient style, discourses the wise
and pious philosopher on our favorite flower, and also mentions the
fact, that a _red_ rose becomes _white_ on being exposed to the fumes
of sulphur. This, however, had been observed before Sir Robert's
time. Notwithstanding his doubts, it is now a well-established fact,
that the blooming of roses may be retarded by cutting them back to
two eyes after they have fairly commenced growing, and the flower
buds are discoverable. A constant succession can be obtained where
there is a number of plants, by cutting each one back a shorter or
longer distance, or at various periods of its growth. In these cases,
however, it very often will not bloom until autumn, because the second
effort to produce flowers is much greater than the first, and is not
attended with success until late in the season.
However desirable may be this retarding process, it cannot be relied
on as a general practice, because the very unusual exertion made to
produce the flowers a second time, weakens the plant, and materially
affects its prosperity the subsequent year.
There is, indeed, but one kind of summer pruning that is advantageous,
which is the thinning out of the flower-buds as soon as they appear,
in order that the plant may be burdened with no more than it can fully
perfect, and the cutting off all the seed vessels after the flower
has expanded and the petals have fallen. Until this last is done, a
second bloom cannot readily be obtained from the Bengal Rose and its
sub-classes, the Tea and Noisette, which otherwise grow and bloom
constantly throughout the season.
We would impress upon our readers the absolute, the essential,
importance of cultivation--of constantly stirring the soil in which
the Rose is planted; and we scarcely know of more comprehensive
directions in a few words than the reply of an experienced
horticulturist to one who asked the best mode of growing fine fruits
and flowers. The old gentleman replied that the mode could be
described in three words, "cultivate, cultivate, cultivate." After the
same manner, we would impress the importance of these three words
upon all those who love well-grown and beautiful roses. They are,
indeed, _multum in parvo_--the very essence of successful culture.
The soil cannot be plowed, dug, or stirred too much; it should be
dug and hoed, not merely to keep down the weeds, but to ensure the
health and prosperity of the plant. Cultivation is to all plants and
trees manure, sun, and rain. It opens the soil to the nutrition it may
receive from the atmosphere, to the beneficial influence of light, and
to the morning and evening dew. It makes the heavy soil light, and the
light soil heavy; if the earth is saturated with rain, it dries it; if
burned up with drought, it moistens it. Watering is often beneficial,
and is particularly so to roses just before and during the period of
bloom; but in an extremely dry season, if we were obliged to choose
between the watering-pot and the spade, we should most unhesitatingly
give the preference to the latter.
We do not wish, however, to undervalue the benefits of water. If the
plants are well mulched with straw, salt hay, or any other litter,
frequent watering is very beneficial. When not mulched, the watering
should always be followed by the hoe, in order to destroy the baking
of the surface. While the plants are in a growing state, liquid manure
will give a larger and a finer bloom. This liquid manure may be made
with soapsuds, or the refuse from the house. When these are not
easily obtained, half a bushel of cow or horse dung can be placed in
a barrel, which can then be filled with water, well stirred up, and
allowed to settle a day or two before being used.
For those who are willing to incur the expense, a very nice way of
applying pure water is to sink ordinary tile, two inches in diameter,
with collars, about a foot below the surface, around and through the
rose bed. An elbow from this, coming to the surface, can convey the
water into the pipes, through the joints of which it will escape, and
thus irrigate the whole ground, without baking the surface.
BEDDING ROSES.
While Remontant, Moss, and Garden Roses are adapted to the wants of
much the larger number of growers, because they require no protection
in winter, and are strong and robust in their growth and habit, yet
the ever-blooming varieties are becoming daily more popular. While
but few of the Remontants have more than two seasons of distinct and
abundant bloom, the Teas, Chinas, and Noisettes, bloom constantly and
continuously. In grace, and color, and beauty, these last have more
varied charms than the more hardy and abundant Remontants, and the
difficulty of caring for them in the winter, even by those who have
no glass, is compensated by the additional pleasure they give in the
summer. Those who have glass can enjoy them winter and summer alike.
Their superiority in constant blooming, especially, adapts them for
planting in masses or beds scattered about the lawn. These beds can be
each of one color, or they can be assorted, or can be planted in the
ribbon style, rows of white, or red, or yellow alternating. No bedding
flowers, Verbenas, Salvias, or any other plant, will give so constant
pleasure as Roses. They can be purchased, also, nearly as cheaply as
ordinary bedding plants, and are found in several places as low as
$15 per 100, or $100 per 1,000. On being taken out of the pots they
will grow rapidly, and bloom after they are thoroughly established,
and afterward, year after year, they will commence blooming early,
and continue until frost. A bed made in any part of the lawn, and
in any soil, will grow them well, provided it has a dry bottom, and
has some well-decomposed manure dug in it. A light, sandy soil will
grow them in the greatest perfection. They can be planted eighteen
inches to two feet apart, and the new shoots, as soon as they have
attained sufficient length, should be pegged down, so as to cover the
whole ground. The branches thus laid down will give abundant flowers
throughout their whole length, and from each bud a strong-rooted
shoot will be thrown up, and being pruned down close in the autumn,
will be ready to produce a strong and bearing shoot another year. If
they become too close and crowded, the new shoots can be partially
cut away. North of Baltimore, these Roses will need protection in the
winter. This can be done by covering the bed with sand, several inches
deep, or by taking up the plants, cutting them down, heeling them in
in a dry cellar, or potting them for a green-house.