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The General Arrangement Of The Garden
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Roses For Amateurs
Enemies Of The Garden
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Roses For Amateurs

Teas--Hybrid perpetuals--Some good climbing varieties--Treatment and

soil--Rose hedges--Pillar roses.

The reason for the heading given to this chapter is that growing roses for

show will not be mentioned, as it is quite a separate branch of the art

and would require a book to itself to do it full justice. =Blooms of a

fair size, but in abundance= during five months of the year, that is what

most amateurs need, for, after all, the amount of disbudding that has to

be done when growing roses for show quite goes to one's heart! We want

fine, well-coloured, healthy flowers, and to attain that end a =good soil

is absolutely necessary=. This is especially the case with =Hybrid

Perpetuals=, but Teas will often do in a light soil, if manure is given

them, and plenty of water in the dry season. The H.P.'s, as gardeners call

them, =must have loam and clay= to do them properly; where the soil is not

improved by adding these ingredients, it is advisable to rely chiefly on

Tea Roses.

=THE ADVANTAGES OF TEAS.= For many reasons Tea Roses are the best for

small gardens, as they like the shelter found there. They =flower more

continuously= and in much greater profusion, are not so troubled with

green fly, and are far =more decorative= in habit of growth and colour of

leafage than most of the other species. In their particular shades of

colour they cannot be equalled, though for cherry reds and dark maroons we

have to look to the Hybrid Perpetual, at least, if we want flowers of fine

form, and also for that =lovely fresh pink= of the Captain Christy type

(though this is now termed a Hybrid Tea by rosarians). The name Perpetual

is apt to give =a false idea= to those who are not experienced. Most of

these roses are not at all continuous, many only lasting six weeks or so

in bloom, and some even less, if the season is hot; that is one great

reason why they are being superseded by Teas, at least in the suburbs of

London and the South of England. In the Midlands and North the =hardiness

of the H.P.'s= is greatly in their favour.

=Teas will stand the closeness= of a garden surrounded by houses and trees

much better than the Perpetuals, which are very apt to become mildewed in

such positions. Of course, many remedies are given for this, but often

they are =worse than the disease=; flowers of sulphur, for instance, to

take the best-known remedy, disfigures the whole plant terribly.

=Teas= are much the =best for planting in beds= which are very

conspicuous, for, as I said previously, they are always ornamental. Where

standards are placed down each side of the lawn, it is rather a good plan

to place all the =Hybrid Perpetuals on one side and the Teas on the

other=, giving the greater amount of sun to the latter.

=GOOD CLIMBERS FOR WARM WALLS.= When covering a very hot wall, too, it is

best, in the South of England, to stick to the tender roses, as the others

become almost burnt up. I will name here five of the =best climbing Tea

roses= for a south or west wall. William Allan Richardson the beautiful

orange variety so much admired; Bouquet d'or, a daughter of Gloire de

Dijon, but prettier in the bud than the old variety; Madame Berard, fawny

yellow, very floriferous; L'Ideal, and Gustave Regis. =L'Ideal is a most

beautiful rose=, its colouring almost defying description--a peculiar

yellow, streaked with red and gold, like a Turner sunset. Gustave Regis,

though often classed as a bush rose, easily covers a low wall, and is one

of the best kinds there are, as it is covered with bloom the whole of the

season. The buds make =lovely button-holes=, and are creamy yellow, long,

and pointed. They are just like water-lilies when fully open, and on a

warm sunny day exhale a perfectly delicious fragrance, unlike any other

rose with which I am acquainted.

Another good climbing =tea-rose= is Duchesse d'Auerstadt. Though

introduced as long ago as 1887, this variety is =not often heard of=,

perhaps on account of its shy blooming qualities. This however need deter

no one from growing it, as its =lovely foliage= makes it quite a picture

at all times: bronze, crimson, rich metallic green, its shoots and leaves

are a pleasure to look at. Its flowers, too, when they come how splendid

they are! =great golden goblets= full to overflowing with the firm, rich

petals and with a scent to match; they are indeed worth waiting for!

Anxiously is each bud watched, for they take so long to come to perfection

that the anxiety is not ill-founded. I have known a bud take four weeks to

come out, but then it had to stand a lot of bad weather, and came through

it safely after all. All these rose-trees may be had from Benjamin R. Cant

& Sons, Colchester, at 1s. 6d. each. This firm always sends out good

plants, with plenty of vitality in them, and as these old-established

rose-nurseries are by no means in a sheltered spot, you may be sure of

each tree being hardily grown and thoroughly ripened, great points in

their future well-being.

=CLIMBERS FOR COOL WALLS.= East, or better still E.S.E., is a good aspect

for Hybrid Perpetual and Bourbon roses on walls. I have frequently noticed

that they have a great dislike to the very hottest of the sun's rays, and

that is the reason I have advised those places to be reserved for Teas.

Some good climbing varieties for cool aspects are:--Mrs. John Laing, a

satiny pink of lovely form and sweet scent. Jules Margottin, cherry-red,

globular in shape, sweet-scented and very floriferous. Prince Camille de

Rohan, =one= of =the best dark roses= to be had, as they are generally so

difficult to grow--it is blackish-maroon in colour, and flowers

abundantly. Boule-de-neige, a Bourbon, with white flowers in great

abundance. Madame Isaac Pereire another Bourbon; it is a quick grower and

=most abundant flowerer=, the flowers are bright rose crimson.

Souvenir-de-la-Malmaison, one of the best Bourbons we have; does

particularly well on cold walls, even on those facing north. Its flowers

are very large, somewhat flat in form, and blush-white; it =blooms

abundantly in autumn=, and is rarely subject to blight.

=CLIMBERS REQUIRE VERY LITTLE PRUNING.= It is a case chiefly of cutting

out all dead wood, and snipping the decayed ends of those that are left.

=When planting rose-trees= of any description, choose mild and if possible

calm weather, for it is better to keep the trees out of the ground a few

days rather than plant them in frosty weather. =The soil should be

friable=, so that it crumbles fairly well, and when the plant is in

position it is advisable =to cover the roots with potting-soil= for two or

three inches. Spread the roots out like a fan, and be sure not to plant

the tree too deep. =Look carefully for the mark= showing the union =of

graft and stock=, and be careful not to cover this with more than two

inches of soil. Tread down the soil well to make it firm, and thus induce

the rose-trees to make fresh roots. In =planting out climbers=, carefully

tack all loose shoots to the wall or fence behind it, else the wind may do

much harm. When all is finished give a good mulching of strawy manure,

which should be dug in when March comes; and if there is a likelihood of

frost, protect the branches with bracken or any light covering.

=BUSH ROSES OF THE H.P. TYPE.= I will now give a few of the best Hybrid

Perpetuals of the bush type; many of the varieties I shall name, however,

=make very good standards= though they are more expensive. The "dwarfs,"

as rosarians call them, only cost from 9d. to 1s. each at Messrs. Cant's,

except in the case of =novelties=; and where these are concerned, it is

well to wait a year or two, as they rapidly go down to the normal price.

Duke of Teck, bright carmine scarlet, of good form, and occasionally

blooms in the autumn. Dupuy Jamain, =one of the best H.P.'s ever

introduced=, the flowers are almost cherry-red in colour, sweet-scented,

and come out in succession =the whole of the summer=: it is a quick

grower, and does well in a somewhat shady position. Heinrich Schultheis

flowers of a true rose-pink touched with silver, very prettily shaped and

exceedingly fragrant. Unfortunately, this variety is =subject to attacks

of mildew=, though this does not seem to affect the beauty of the flowers

but spoils the leaves.

Baroness Rothschild, a faultless rose as regards form and colour, which is

a beautiful pale pink, but utterly =devoid of scent=, a serious fault in

my opinion. Comtesse de Bearn, large, dark, and very floriferous. Madame

Gabriel Luizet, light silvery pink, quick growing, and free blooming.

Ulrich Brunner, always given an excellent character in the catalogues, and

indeed it is a good rose, cherry-red in colour, sweet-scented, and of fine

form: it =rarely ails=, mildew and rust passing it by altogether. It is

exceedingly vigorous, and makes therefore a good pillar-rose. Pride of

Waltham, a =rose little heard-of= yet most lovely; its blossoms are of the

brightest pink, sweetly scented, and beautifully cupped. Charles Lefevre,

beautiful crimson with dark shading; also very good at Kew (and

continuous). Abel Carriere, another dark maroon of fine form, and Queen of

the bedders, producing carmine flowers so freely that it must be

disbudded; it is subject to mildew.

So many roses formerly classed as Hybrid Perpetuals are now called Hybrid

Teas. The dear old La France is one that has undergone this change; it is

=a rose no-one should be without=, and should be grown both as a standard

and a bush; its silvery pink flowers have a most exquisite scent and

perfect shape (that is, when nearly wide open; it is not a good

button-hole variety). Another Hybrid Tea rose that has come to the fore

lately is Bardou Job, a =splendid bedding variety=, with flaming roses

almost single in form, but produced in prodigal profusion; it pays for

feeding. Queen Mab is a somewhat similar rose but has apricot flowers,

tinted pink and orange, borne in the same generous manner. It is a china

rose; neither of these kinds attain a great height, nevertheless beds

entirely composed of them are exceedingly effective and may be seen some

distance off; they require very little pruning.

=PILLAR ROSES.= Having mentioned pillar-roses, I will add a few more names

especially calculated to do well in such positions; perhaps =one of the

best= is Paul's Carmine Pillar, with its sheets; of lovely flowers

covering the stems the whole way up, with plenty of healthy foliage to set

them off. When better known, I should imagine it would be a rival even to

Turner's Crimson Rambler, magnificent as that is when grown to perfection.

At Kew recently a bed of the Carmine Pillar was quite =one of the sights

of the garden=. A close investigation of the bed in which they were

planted revealed the fact that every alternate rose-tree was a Gloire de

Dijon, but each one was a sorry failure, and instead of scaling the

heights, crouched low at the foot of its iron stake, as though unwilling

to compete with the other blushing occupants. The "glories" were not very

youthful either, that one could see by their thick hard stems; plenty of

time had evidently been given them to do the work, but for some unknown

reason they had shirked it. I have known several cases of this sort with

the much-loved "glory de John," as the gardeners broadly term it. Madame

Plantier is =a good white pillar-rose=, doing well in any situation, and

Cheshunt Hybrid is also most accommodating, and blooms well even in poor

soil, though it well repays good cultivation. Its flowers, cherry-carmine

in colour, are large and full, and the petals are prettily veined and

curl over at the edges. The foliage is rich, and the tree =never seems

attacked by any disease=; it is a Hybrid Tea. Aimee Vibert, a noisette, is

very good as a pillar-rose and extremely hardy: it also does well on

arches; the flowers are small and white, with pink tips to the petals; it

is very free, and flowers continuously.

=ROSE HEDGES.= Hedges of roses are quite as effective as pillars, and make

a very pretty screen for two-thirds of the year. The =ever-green roses are

best= for this purpose, and of these Flora is by far-and-away the nicest

rose. It has sweet flowers, small, full, and of the loveliest pink; they

are borne in clusters, each one looking just ready for a fairy-wedding

bouquet. They have a delightful scent, too, their =only fault being their

short duration=; in one summer they will grow from five to ten feet, and

are so free-flowering as almost to hide the leaves. Dundee Rambler, Ruga,

Mirianthes, and Leopoldine d'Orleans are all equally suitable for hedges.

=DWARF TEAS.= I will now name a list of the best dwarf Tea-roses; to begin

with, Alba Rosea is a dear old rose-tree, moderate in growth, bearing

numbers of flesh-white blossoms, good in form though small in size. These

have a faint, sweet scent, and are very pretty for cutting. One day last

August, I cut a whole branch off with about six open flowers upon it, and

put it in a tall vase just as it was; they arranged themselves, and were

much admired. The tree is decidedly dwarf and moderate in growth, and the

leaves are very dark green, thus making a beautiful foil to the roses.

Catherine Mermet is somewhat of the same type, but the flowers are larger

and more deeply flushed with pink; it is =a good green-house rose=. Madame

de Watteville resembles a tulip, having thick firm petals of a

creamy-white colour, distinctly edged with pink. It is a strong grower and

free in flowering. Madame Hoste is a pretty lemon-yellow colour, one of

the easiest to grow in this particular shade; the flowers are of good

form, and if well manured are large and full; it has a sweet scent. Madame

Lambard is =a rose no one can do without=, it is so free-blooming and

continuous; the colour is not constant, sometimes being mostly pink, at

others almost a fawn, but as a rule it is a blend of those two shades.

Marie van Houtte is another =indispensable variety=; the roses are lovely

in form, of a pale lemon-yellow colour, each petal being flushed with pink

at the edges, and the whole having a soft bloom, as it were, over it. This

carmine-marking, however, is not constant; weather and position seem to

have a good deal to do with it. Meteor is one of the darker Teas, being

carmine-crimson shaded with blackish-maroon; the roses are not full though

of good shape, consequently they =look best in bud=. This tree wants

feeding to do well, and is not a vigorous grower. Grace Darling is =a gem=

which everyone should have; the blossoms are large, full, perfect in shape

and exquisite in colour, which is generally a peachy-pink, the reverse of

the petals being a rich cream, and, as these curl over in a charming

manner, the effect is unique and extremely beautiful. The foliage is

abundant, of a ruddy tint, and keeps free from blight; indeed, =this

entirely fascinating rose= has only one fault, it is altogether too

unassuming.

A bright, pink rose of fine form is the Duchess of Albany; it is often

called =a deep coloured La France=, as it is a "sport" from that famous

rose. The Marquis of Salisbury is another dark tea-rose; it is small but

well-shaped though thin, and the blooms are abundant; it is strictly

moderate in growth, being somewhat like the Chinas in habit. A fine rose

=in a warm summer= is Kaiserin Friedrich, as it has large, very full,

flowers, which take a good deal of building up; it appears to dislike cold

and rainy weather.

=Sunrise is a new kind= that is making a considerable stir in the

rose-world; its flowers vary from reddish-carmine to pale fawn, and the

tree has glorious foliage.

=THE TIME TO PLANT.= October and November are the best months to plant

rose-trees, except in very cold parts; February is then a safer time,

especially for the tender sorts. =Their first season they require a great

deal of looking after=; their roots have not got a proper foot-hold in the

earth, and this means constant watering in dry weather. At blooming-time,

an occasional application of guano does a great deal of good, making both

flowers and leaves richer in colour. =Dead blooms, too, must be sedulously

cut off=, as, if left on, the tree is weakened.

=PRUNING.= Do a little pruning in October, though March and April are the

chief months. In the autumn, however, the shoots of rose-trees should be

thinned out, the branches left can then be shortened a fourth of their

length with advantage, as the winter's howling winds are less likely to

harm them. Standards especially require this, as when "carrying much sail"

they are very liable to be up-rooted.

When the spring comes, look the trees carefully over before commencing

operations, remembering that =the sturdier a tree is the less it needs

pruning=. The knife must go the deepest in the case of the poor, weak

ones. Always prune down to an "eye," that is an incipient leaf-bud; if

this is not done the wood rots.

Evergreen roses need scarcely be touched, save to cut out dead branches

and snip off decayed ends.

For Teas and Noisettes also, little actual pruning is necessary. H.P.'s

require the most. As a general rule for roses, if you want quality, not

quantity, prune: hard, but to enable you to "cut and come again," only

prune moderately.

=Dis-budding= is a certain method of improving the blooms if it is done

=in time=. It is little use to do it when the buds once begin to show

colour; start picking off the superfluous ones when they are quite small,

and the difference in size and shape is often amazing.

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