Small Gardens




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lasting six weeks or so in bloom, and some even less, if the season is hot; that is one great reason why they are being superseded by Teas, at least in the suburbs of London and the South of England.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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