BRIEF HINTS ON BUDDING ROSES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 816, 9 November 1929, Page 30

BRIEF HINTS ON BUDDING ROSES

The flrat esential things necessary for budding are a good, sharp knife and a strong pair of secateurs so that there is no danger of bruising the plants bandied.

Now before you can commence to bud a rose you must have something to attach your buds to. For this purpose cuttings are taken of strong growing varieties such as the oldfashioned briar or some of the Dickson type. These should be about Sin long and inserted firmly in the ground to a depth of sin, removing all the eyes from the portion of the stem buried under the soil. Cuttings may be taken any time from new till the end of April. The cuttings then begin to root and form what is technically called the stock of the plant. It is of great importance to know when the stock is in a fit condition for budding. This may be seen by making a cut in the bark with the budding knife. If the bark comes away clearly and lifts easily, operations may be commenced. A good plan is to give the plants a good saturating of water, say ten days before budding to set the sap flowing freely. The next matter of importance is the selection of the buds. These should be removed as near the flowering point as possible, selecting nice, plump buds.' Slice away about sin of the bark from the stem, as thin as possible from a part containing leaf and bud as shown. The foliage part may be cut off, leaving about Jin of leaf stem in which to handle the bud. Next examine the base of the bud: if any pith is noticed attached to the bark, the rime should be removed with the point, of the knife. The next operation is to make a T shaped cut in the stock, about an inch in length, but only deep enough to ever the bark as shown. Next, with >he bone handle of the knife, carefully lift the bark from the top and gently push the bud downwards, the bud showing about the centre of the out as shown. The bud should then be firmly tied in with raflla strands, winding round and round like a bandage, care being taken tor leave the eye uncovered as shown. After three or four weeks, if successful, the bud will begin to grow and when about 3in long, loosen the raffia bandage from the bottom. When the growth of the bud has reached 6in in length, all green foliage may be cut away from the briar stock leaving your own production to absorb all the sap and so flburish strongly. To prolong the flowering period of ranunculus the blooms should be picked immediately they open. The blooms will last over a week if the water is changed regularly.