ROSE CULTURE

Hutt News, Volume 6, Issue 16, 14 September 1938, Page 10 (Supplement)

ROSE CULTURE

Art of Pruning (.By C. F. PILCHEB) When a bundle of roses is received from a nursery care should be taken in unpacking so that in separating the plants none o,f the shoots or roots be broken or bruised. Any that are found to be injured should be cut off. A shallow trench should be dug for their recoption in any convenient spot, and the roots at once placed at right angles to the line of the trench, keeping as far a 9 possible the different varieties distinct, so that when wanted any plant may be found without disturbing he others. The roots, as well as the lower part of the stems should then be well covered with soil. It is a good plan to pour some water over; the. roots, and also ,to sprinkle some over the. shoots, before filling in the trench. If, owing to delay in transit, or any other cause,, the bark on the shoots present a shrivelled appearance, the entire plant should be placed lengthways in a trench. They should receive a good soaking of water andbe covered completely with soil. After being left for three days the shrivelled appearance will have disappeared, and. they can then be planted. How Roses Should be Planted . A bed three feet wide will hold two rows o,f plants, and one four feet six inches wide three rows, the distance between the plants for dwarf roses should be from 18in. to 2ft. The beds having been made ready, and' the position of the roses in them marked out, the next thing and the most important of all, is to see . that they are properly planted l . A hole should be dug from Ift to 18in. square, and of sufficient depth to allow the junction of the stock and scion to be about an inch below the surface of the bed when the operation is completed; a plant should be taken and held with, the left hand in the centre of the hole, while with the right the roots are spread out horizontally and evenly in it, taking care.that the roots cross each other as little as possible. Some of the finest soil should next be sprinkled over the roots so as just to cover them. Over this light covering, place three inches more soil, which may then be trodden in and the hole filled up. Firm planting is very necessary for the future well-being of xoses. As the work proceeds lightly fork | over the surface of the beds where it may have been trodden down and leave the soil loose at the top. It is a good plan to go over the beds about 10 days after planting and set the heel against the base of the plants to make them firm. Pruning Roses the First Time after PJ anting First cut out the weak, sappy, and dead wood and then shoTten those which remain. In the case of dwarf roses, the shoots that are left should be cut back to within. 6 .inches of the ground. Roses planted during the early winter should be pruned about August following, but those planted in the spring should be pruned at the time of planting:. Always see when pruning that you cut to a neye pQinting outwards. Pruning Established Rose Bushes The rosarian's aim is to have healthy well-formed plants,, and from them to obtain either large perfect blooms or many beautiful ones. To do this he must prune. The art of pruning is the scientific cutting away of those parts of the plant which the study of nature lias shown to be useless for producing the best results and) thus to throw the whole strength of the plant into the most satisfactory shoots. Pruning! consists of two distinct operations:- (1) Thinning out which is the complete removal o.f all dead, weak, misplaced, unripe, or otherwise useless shoots; (2) The shortening of those shoots which are left to such an extent as to give the best chance of obtaining ■what is desired. The most frequent errors made in pruning are: (1) Leaving too many shoots when thinning, out; (2) pruning severely the shoots of varieties which require little, if any,, shortening; (3) pruning lightly the varieties which require severe pruning. In thinning out a shoot, it should be either cut clean away to the base of the plant or to its starting point, on the older shoot from which it springe, as the case may be. When the plant has been pruned the shoots should bo left as nearly as possible equal distance from each other and regularly arranged round it so that it presents a well balanced appearance on all sides. When pruning a shoot it should always bo cut to a dormant leaf bud or eye pointing outwards. Roses require to be somewhat differently pruned according to the purpose for which they are grown; For instance, shoots must be cut back severely if the plant be required fOT the produc-. tion of exhibition roses but for ordin- | ary garden decoration the shoots must ! be left longer. Strong growing -roses -that send up shoots 4 to 5 feet long,. ; are better peggied down than pruned. Out out last year's flowering wood and drive in 2 or 3 stakes as the case may be, and tie the shoots to the stakes at about 33 degrees angle and it will throw bloom at . almost every eye on the shoot.