THE GARDEN.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLI, Issue 134, 8 June 1907, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

ROSE-GROWING

The Sutton (England) Amateur Rose Society has. just,published a useful little pamphlet on rose-growing in that district, from .which the following are extracts:—

Soils.—Whilst it must be admitted that some roses can be grown and will bloom in almost any soil, it. must be borne in mind'that in poor soils the plants will degenerate year by year, they will degenerate, and will require constant renewal; whereas in suitable soils, with ordinary care, they will annually gain strength, with a corresponding increase in the number and perfection of the blooms. The soils about Sutton are for the most part (1) heavy, retentive clay, (2) a thin strar ium of light, sandy soil with a substratum of chalk, and (3) a'; stratum of sand. None of these are suitable. Let us consider how to make them so. With respect to heavy, retentive clay, the first thing is to get rid of its surplus moisture—that is, to drain it. When water stagnates round the roots of a plant they cannot receiv-e air or Avarmth. The top spit should be removed, and the clay under the same carted away to the depth of about three feet from the original surface, the bottom of the bed being gently sloped towards the drain, which should be formed of plain red agricultural pipes ; the drain being also sloped towards an outfall, with which it should be connected. Rough material, such as broken bricks, bushes, burnt earth, etc., should be laid over the sloping surface, and the top spit returned; mixing with it any light material, such as Burgh Heath loam, sand, charred garden refuse, lime, and- burned clay, to render it friable, to which a liberal supply of rotten stabble or farmyard manure must be added, in the proportion of half a barrowioad of manure to two barrowloads of earth. The ground will now be ready for planting. Where the clay is of a lighter character the drains should be cut with a good fall and four feet deep. Next, the ground must be thoroughly trenched, at the same time mixing with it any light material as before. For those who postpone their ."planting till the spring, another, and perhaps equally efficient, way of rendering such clay friable, is to trench deeply, leaving the surfajce as rough as possible, so that the air during the winter months may well penetrate and pulverise it, in which tease the sand and burnt clay need not be added. Now, what is to be done with thin, light soil, on the chalk? The best thing, undoubtedly, is to get rid of it, excavating the chalk till a total depth of from 2£ feet to 3 feet is reached. Cover the bottom of this space to the depth of an inch or two with clay; this can be as heavy as you please— the more retentive the better for the purpose—which in this case is to retain moisture, as the chalk acts as too great a filter ; then fill up with a mixture of rotten horse manure and good turfy loam, such as may be often obtained at an inexpensive rate where foundations are being dug or new roads made. If it should be wished to use the top spit of light soil, which. lin some cases is worth retaining, it

can be worked up with the loam and manure above the clay foundation; it may also be used alone on the surface of the bed or border, to the depth of two inches or three inches, without detriment. As it is sometimes difficult to procure loam, good fibrous clay may be substituted, and should be well mixed with the original soil in about equal proportions; of course, the manure must be added as in the above instance, and it will still be advisable to retain the clay bottom. The same treatment is necessary with a gravelly or sandy soil.

Planting and mulching.-^-June is the best month, but it may be done any time'between June and August, when the ground is in good order and the weather sufficiently open. In planting dwarf budded plants, place the points of junction beneath the soil, as the rose will then make roots and the plants have a double chance. A few crushed bones placed near the roots are beneficial. Plant firmly, and stake at once as a protection against high winds. Tea roses require some protection during severe frost, such as a wisp of straw wastened to a stake or bracken fern. Both standard and dwarf trees are often planted too deep in the soil; this is a great error, and should be carefully avoided. Roses are strong feeders, and will take almost any amount of manure; and it is advisable to keep a good top-dress-ing on the bed or border all the year i round, renewing the same in spring and autumn, when the old top-dress-ing should be lightly forked in. If the mulching is properly done, little or no watering will be required, as the ground will always be kept moist, except in a very dry summer, when a thorough watering once or twice a week will be of advantage.

Pruning and disbudding.—Pruning may be done any time after the beginning of September, according to the season. Cut out all wood over two years old and weakly shoots. "Weakgrowing kinds should be- pruned hard —i.e., down to three or four eyes; stronger-growing sorts may be left longer. Cut to an eye that points outward, so as to keep the middle open. Teas and noisettes require less cutting back, but the idea is fast gaining ground that they should be treated neai'ly the same in this respect as Hybrid Perpetuals. We cannot impress too strongly the importance of cutting back pretty hard, as the success of the whole season depends in a great measure upon i his operation being properly performed. In autumn long shoots should be cut back by a fourth of their length to prevent their being damaged by wind and snow. This will not interfere with spring pruning, which must take place just as if they had not been shortened. To obtain a rose in its best form and beauty it is absolutely necessary to disbud. The meaning of this term is, that when three or four buds appear together at the end of the same shoot all should be taken off but the middle one. This should be done whilst the buds are quite small, and the best im-

plement is something in the shape of a quiirtooth-pick. By this means the whole strength of the shoQt is centred in the one bloom left Insect pests.— v\nat is called the "rub commences its depredations as scfon as the plants begin to shoot. Its presence is generally indicated in the very young growth by the appearance of a few minute black specks, and in the open leaf by a curling up, with a cobweb-like appearance on the under side. These pests must be diligently sought for daily and killed; this may be best done by squeezing the leaf. For aphides there are many so-called cures; but when they once establish themselves in a tree, they are extremely difficult to eradicate, as they multiply so fast. The best plan is to examine daily, and to take them off with the fingers or aphis brush as soon as they appear. Or if this is considered too great an undertaking, any of the following remedies may be applied, by means of a spray distributor or syringe, or by dipping the branches in the mixture, viz., fir-tree oil insecticide, tobacco and quassia chip water, soft soap, the City Soap Works aphis wash.' When saw-fly grub appears it should be, sought for and killed, as in the ca.se of " the grub " which appears earlier in the year. It generally eats into the heart of the flower-buds, and will destroy the bloom unless discovered in time. Liquid manure.—lf our recommendations as to mulching have been attended to, very little of this will be required, as the rain passing through the mulching serves the same purpose. Where mulching is not resorted to liquid manure should be applied twice a week, commencing about the time when the buds begin to swell and continuing tmtil the end of the flowering season. If artificial manures are used they should be well diluted, as roses do better with frequent weak applications than a few strong doses applied at longer intervals.