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THE
BOOK OF THE ROSE
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SHOWER BOUQUET, EXHIBITED BY Mrs. ORPEN. Frontispiece.
swale
BOOK OF THE ROSE
BY
REV. A. FOSTER-MELLIAR, M.A.
RECTOR OF SPROUGHTON, SUFFOLK
WITH TWENTY-NINE ILLUSTRATIONS
LIseARy
~ YORE
‘ANIGAL
i \2MRBL
Pondon
MACMILLAN AND CO.
AND NEW YORK
1894
The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved
RicHARD CLAY AND Sons, LIMITED,
LONDON AND BUNGAY.
LBP] ARY
MEW YORE
E> ey ANICAL
A BD BE,
PREFACE
Ir seems right to make some sort of apology, as most
of my predecessors have done, for putting forth another
Rose-book when there are already so many; but per-
haps it is not really required, as the columns devoted
to the subject every week in horticultural literature
show that there is ever something fresh to be said on
the different matters connected with the Rose.
My idea was, in the first place, to give, from an
amateur, full details of practical culture for amateurs
from the beginning to the end: and I ought to be able
to do this satisfactorily even if I have not succeeded, as,
under unfavourable conditions of soil and situation,
I have done with my own hands every portion of the
work, from raising and establishing the stocks to carry-
ing off a champion challenge cup at the Crystal Palace.
Secondly, to give such descriptions of the best known
= Roses as should tell of their faults and bad _ habits
“—,
D
MAY .
as well as of their good qualities and_perfections,
since I have good reason to believe a record of this
sort will be welcomed. And thirdly, if possible, to
make a readable as well as useful book: under no
vl PREFACE
circumstances did I aspire to tread worthily in the
footsteps of Dean Hole : yet (for to me too the world—
even the Rose world—“ teems with quiet fun”) I did
hope to make it fairly light and amusing; but details
and practical matter have proved so overwhelming as
to get a mastery of the whole.
I have much kind assistance to acknowledge from
various sources. From my old friend, Mr. Benjamin R.
Cant, Rose-grower, Colchester, and his two sons, I have
had very much cordial help in many ways. Mr. Frank
Cant, of Braiswick Nursery, Colchester, has freely
given me useful information on the subject of Roses
under Glass (Chapter X). Mr. W. D. Prior, of
Myland Nurseries, in the same metropolis of Roses,
has aided me in the preparation of photographs: and
in the same neighbourhood, Mr. and Mrs. Orpen, of
West Bergholt, have been good enough to give me
opportunities of representing their skill in Rose decora-
tion. I have also received help from Mr. A. Dickson,
jun., of the Royal Nurseries, Newtownards, Ireland, in
information kindly furnished as to the raising of Roses
from seed. Mr. Charles Turner, of Slough, has kindly
lent me a photograph of one of his giant Pot Roses.
I am indebted to Dr. Hogg, the proprietor of Zhe
Journal of Horticulture, for leave to republish certain
matters which I have written in that paper under the
nom de plume of “W. R. Raillem,” especially Chapter
XIL., which has been thoroughly revised; and to Mr.
J. Wright of that office, I am very much beholden for
kind counsel and advice. For revised reproductions of
PREFACE vil
papers of mine, which have appeared in the Journal of
the Royal Horticultural Society and in The Rosarian’s
Year-Book, I have to thank the Rev. W. Wilks, Sec.
B.H.S., and the Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain, Hon. Sec. of
the National Rose Society.
My best thanks are due to my neighbour the Rev.
J. H. Hocking, Rector of Copdock, for considerable
trouble in the identification of Insects, and to Mr.
E. B. Lindsell, of Bearton, Hitchin, for advice and
encouragement. Messrs. A. Hill Gray, J. Bateman,
Ismay Fisher, and the Rev. F. R. Burnside have also
kindly helped me with photographs, or in other ways.
Mr. William Paul’s large work The Rose Garden has
naturally been consulted, and proved of much value,
especially in Chapter II, and a further comparison of
ideas and methods has been made with the contents of
most other Rose-books ; but my own experience, which 1s
considerable, has been throughout my principal reliance,
and where my practice is at variance with the general
use, reasons have been given for the procedure recom-
mended.
SPROUGHTON RECTORY,
September, 1894.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION
SITUATION AND SOIL.
PLANTING :
MANURES
PRUNING ,
STOCKS
WITH LAYING
CHAPTER I
PAGE
1
CHAPTER II
6
CHAPTER III
28
CHAPTER IV
OUT OF THE BEDS AND PROTECTION 43
CHAPTER V
64
CHAPTER VI
84
CHAPTER VII
101
x CONTENTS
CHAPTER VIII
PROPAGATION .
CHAPTER IX
PESTS .
CHAPTER X
ROSES UNDER GLASS .
CHAPTER XI
EXHIBITING
CHAPTER XII
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS
CHAPTER XIII
SELECTIONS .
CHAPTER XIV
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS
PAGE
119
211
309
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
A SHOWER BOUQUET. .... . . . Mrontispece
MR. B. CANT’S ROSE FIELD 12
RGeSHERHS-AS A ROSH HEDGE. 2...» «(88 2060 = Sie 20
ROSE SPRAY—POLYANTHAS ... . ee sl 25
MR. A. H. GRAY’S ROSE GARDEN. .. . a deat Nanet pt Bd 45
AP WREPING ROSE—AYRSHIRE . . . . «= .) «6 «.: ay te 93
MABUGHAL, NIEL IN GREENHOUSE . . - 65 4 «© «1. ss ss 96
PP SEOCKS ss. a tees, eee AM) ere ry es
CATERPILLAR HIDDEN ON SHOOT... . ss =. 5 «>: Ye ES
MERSTOAPPRARANCH, OF MILDEW . . «2 4 » ws 8) 2 2 = « 160
SPAMDARD ROSE (U.BRUNNER)INPOT ........ .. Li6
DWAEF BOSE (P. PERRAS) IN POT .-.. . mit ne eae : 181
A WINNING TWENTY-FOUR—CUP STAND. ........ .. 208
ME GERVEN CREED) Maki. cls bh Ok ee AO ee ee
Xil LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
DUKE OF WELLINGTON .
ECLAIR .
GUSTAVE PIGANEAU .
JEAN SOUPERT
MARGUERITE BOUDET
MARIE VERDIER
MRS. JOHN LAING
PRINCE ARTHUR
ULRICH BRUNNER ,
CLEOPATRA
MADAME CUSIN
MADAME DE WATTEVILLE
MARECHAL NIEL
THE BRIDE
THREE BUTTONHOLES
TO FACE PAGE
229
231
THE BOOK OF THE ROSE
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
IT is a common saying that the love of flowers is
universal; and it is not surprising, seeing that the
tendency of the age is to subdivide occupations and
interests and make men specialists in smaller branches
of subjects, that certain flowers have been selected for
cultivation by persons who have given all their leisure,
or even the whole of their time, to the study of them.
As the Rose has been entitled the queen of flowers
without serious dispute for nearly twenty-five centuries,
special subjects of such a queen may naturally be
looked for; and they may be found among such as
style themselves Rosarians, who endeavour to cultivate
the Rose in such a manner as to get the finest and
most beautiful blooms.
One would naturally suppose that those who study
and pursue this subject might be credited with a
special knowledge of it at least, if not with some
authority; but, oddly enough, a certain number of
writers on general horticulture are never weary of
recounting the errors and absurdities of Rose-growers
B
2 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
and, above all, Rose exhibitors. It is not so that I
know of with other flowers; the foremost prize-takers
in chrysanthemums or auriculas, for instance, are at
least supposed to know as much about the things
necessary for the welfare of those plants as other
people; and in common life we do not find general
physicians proclaiming the ignorance and absurdity of
oculists, aurists and dentists in their several depart-
ments; yet the specialists of the Rose are frequently
told by authorities in horticulture that their maxims |
and modes are erroneous and faulty.
In Mr. Robinson’s most beautiful book, The English
Flower Garden, a fine example of this may be seen, the
vials of his wrath being fully poured out upon the
stupidities of Rose-books, and the general mistakes of
Rosarians. We are a most harmless folk with no desire
for recrimination, and I would only venture to point
out that our aims and points of view are different. He
looks upon the Rose asa decorative plant for the garden :
I look upon the plant, in most cases, only as a means
whereby I may obtain glorious Roses.
Moreover, though some enthusiasts may think it
heretical, I do not consider the Rose preeminent as
a decorative plant; several simpler flowers, much less
beautiful in themselves, have, to my mind, greater
value for general effect in the garden; and even the
cut blooms are, I imagine, more difficult to arrange in
water, for artistic decoration, than lighter, simpler and
less noble flowers. A good Rose should stand in a vase
by itself as a queen should; then let any other flower
or combination of flowers rival her if they can. So,
with all the best Roses I should not wish for or expect
any general display at a distance, but come close and
be content if I can find but one perfect bloom.
I INTRODUCTION 3
For elegance in trailing blossoming beauty some of
the best and most vigorous of the climbing Roses would
indeed hold a high place among decorative plants; but
for masses of grand colour as viewed from a distance, no
Rose effect can equal that of the rhododendrons ; and for
unwearied continuance many ordinary bedding plants
make a richer and more permanent display. No; the
value of the Rose isin the glory of its individual flowers ;
and in these pages, at least, the idea is not the Rose
for the garden, but the garden for the Rose.
I write for enthusiasts, for those who make a regular
hobby of their Roses, and think of them as fondly and
almost as fully in January as in June. There are not
a few such, even among amateurs, in all ranks, and
some of them, much handicapped perhaps by soil,
situation or circumstances, still retain their ardour
though not meeting with much success.
The man of business, who rises at daybreak to attend
to his Roses before his day’s work in the town; who is
quite prepared if necessary to go out with a good
lantern on a November night to seize a favourable
condition of soil for planting at once some newly-
arrived standards or dwarfs; and who later in the
winter will turn out in the snow after dark to give
some little extra protection that may be required for
his beds: this is the sort of man for me, and for the
Rose as well.
I remember a certain occasion when a small shooting
party met for partridge-driving on a rather dismal
bleak day in January. Two of the “guns,” who lived
some distance apart and did not meet very often, were
continually drawing together and chattering away with
the greatest enthusiasm ; cutting little bits out of the
hedge and comparing notes with so much interest that
B2
4 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
though both very fond of the sport, on more than one
occasion the partridges flew by unheeded whilst they
had strayed from their places. Said the host later on
to one of his friends, “What on earth do you think
A and B, who are generally so keen, had got of such
importance to talk about together? It was all about
Roses !”
It has been my pleasure, for some months, to receive
very nearly every day by post as much and sometimes
more than a penny stamp would frank, of letters from
a gentleman whom I have seldom seen and with whom
I have hardly exchanged half-a-dozen sentences by
word of mouth. This too during the spring and winter
time, and all about Roses !
It is pretty well known that another gentleman, with
a passionate love for Tea Roses, left his home in Scot-
land because he could not grow them there, and went
searching for a place in Great Britain which should be
suitable for their culture; and, having found such a
spot, at very great expense laid out and prepared his
grounds to form, as they undoubtedly do, the finest
amateur Tea Rose garden in the country.
I may perhaps be excused for thinking that Rose-
growing as a special pursuit and a hobby is particularly
adapted for country parsons. No one can deny that 1t
is as harmless a pursuit as any that can be found, and,
without the least neglecting his sacred calling if his
cure be a small one, he can find many half-hours of
daylight leisure among his Roses, where his parishioners
will soon learn to come and look him up at once if he
should be wanted. It will afford him varied interest,
exercise, and work in the open air all the year round.
In tilling the soil, the special work which God gave to
man, he will find many a valuable lesson, which he will
I INTRODUCTION 5
be able to tell, with authority and with much interest,
to that majority of his unlearned parishioners who are
themselves tillers of the soil. If there is no room in
the parsonage garden, it is seldom indeed that some
little piece of glebe cannot be taken in to be the pride
of his heart and the focus of his midsummer hopes:
And now that we are all so poor, and likely to be poorer
still, there will be the more encouragement for him to
do the Rose work with his own hands, and to summon
the aid of his single useful man only at actual show
time, for the carting of. manure, or for pressure in
planting.
He will thus become a real amateur, a true son of
Adam, and genuine brother of the back-ache, with
many thorns in his fingers and rough and hardened
hands ; but his Roses will be truly his own, he will have
won them, and under the Creator will actually have
made them himself. And not only will they seem to
him brighter and purer and sweeter than any other
Roses, but he will probably find, in comparison and
competition, that they are better than those of his
brother amateurs who do not personally attend to their
plants; and it will be a great thought for him that
other far richer men may have grand and _ glorious
gardens, but that he in his humble little plot with his
own hands raises some of the finest Roses in England.
CHAPTER!
HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION
THE Rose is well known as the emblem of England,
and when we consider how often it has unhappily been
in conflict with the Lilies of France, it may seem
strange to find a large though decreasing proportion of
our Roses endowed with French names.
Still, though so many of our favourites were raised
the other side of the Channel, England is the true home
of the Hybrid Perpetual Rose; and that, not only
because it is more cultivated here with the minute
attention which is paid to a “florist’s flower,” but
also because the English climate is better suited to
its perfect development.
Continuous sunshine is not the best weather for the
blooming of H.P.s; they like two or three hot days,
and then a dull, dry, cooler one. Some will not open
in rainy weather, others do not mind it ; but almost all
this large class, so many of which were raised in sunny
France, will display far more beautiful blooms on a dull
and cooler day following after heat; and it may be, I
think, safely said that the finest H.P. Roses in the
world are grown in England.
The Rose is native to all countries in the world with
CHAP. II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 7
the exception, perhaps, of Australia, a large portion of
South America, and the actual tropics.
It is very extensively cultivated in Persia and
Bulgaria for the manufacture of attar or otto of Roses
and Rose-water, which are distilled from the petals.
In Persia a variety of the Musk Rose (Rosa moschata)
is used for this purpose, but it has not the real odour
of musk, which is said to be found only in Salet, a Per-
petual Moss Rose. In Bulgaria, the country which is
the largest producer of the otto, a variety of the
Damask Rose (R. damascena) is used: and experts
allege that the Damask and Provence (R. centifolia)
Roses are the best representatives of the true mimit-
able odour of Rose. The modes of distillation in these
Eastern countries are very primitive and imperfect,
and moreover in Bulgaria there has been considerable
adulteration of the valuable otto with geraniol or oil
of pelargonium. Much the best otto of Roses now
in the market is manufactured by modern skilled
appliances in Germany, near Leipzig, where the Bul-
garian variety of Damask Rose is used, and in France,
near Grasse, where a strain of the Provence Rose is
cultivated for the purpose. Rose-water and otto of
Roses are also made in India, Turkey, and other
places.
Few readers of a Rose-book will care for much
research into the history of the Rose. Mr. William
Paul has with much care gone deeply into that subject
in his large volume Zhe Rose Garden, and I will only
touch a few points, and refer inquirers on this subject
to his fuller work.
Homer’s allusions to the Rose in the Ilad and the
Odyssey are, I suppose, the earliest mentions we have.
Every one will be aware of Bible references, though it
8 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
should be mentioned that the Rose of Jericho is generally
understood to be a cruciferous plant, and all seem agreed
that whatever the Rose of Sharon was it was certainly
not a Rose; nevertheless Dr. Hooker enumerates seven
species of Roses which he observed in Syria. A passage
in the Apocrypha (Wisdom II., 8) is interesting as
mentioning the custom of crowning with Rosebuds at
feasts and banquets, which we know to have prevailed
in classic times.
By far the most important ancient quotation is from
Sappho the Greek poetess, who was born about 600 B.c.
A translation of a fragment of one of her poems is given
in Mr. William Paul’s book :—
““ Would Jove appoint some flower to reign
In matchless beauty on the plain,
The Rose (mankind will all agree),
The Rose the Queen of Flowers should be.”
That the title of “The Queen of Flowers” 1s no
modern assumption for the Rose, but has hardly been
seriously questioned for nearly twenty-five centuries, 1s
a little item of knowledge which every Rosarian should
store by him as a weapon _ defence in time of need.
The immense sums spent by Cleopatra, Nero, and
other luxurious persons in the time of the Romans, not
only on Roses but on “ Rose leaves” (petals) for strewing
on the floor and the seats, is well known. And there
are actually some points of culture that we may learn
from the Romans. Horace speaks of growing Roses in
beds, and Pliny of digging deeply for their cultivation,
both of which items—growing them by themselves
apart from other plants, and moving the soil to the
depth of two feet—have still to be insisted on in this
year of grace 1894.
During the long strange sleep of civilisation which
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 9
in the Middle Ages followed the Fall of Rome, the
culture of the Rose was probably somewhat neglected ;
but gradually, no doubt, as the pursuits of peace began
to prevail, gardening, and with it the love of the queen
of flowers, revived.
The National Rose Society gives 1596 as the date
at which it is known that the Centifolia (Provence or
Cabbage) Rose, the common Moss, and the Austrian
Yellow and Austrian Copper were grown. But Rose
progress was very slow till about 1815, when in spite
of the troublous times, Mons. Vibert, the earliest of
the great French raisers, founded his nursery. The
way had been prepared for him by the patronage of
the Empress Josephine, who made Roses fashionable,
and caused search to be made for all existing varieties
for her garden at Malmaison. Mons. Laffay soon
followed Mons. Vibert, and after them we have a grand
array of famous French Rosarians, Jacques, Hardy, the
Guillots, Lacharme, Gonod, Pernet, Ducher, Margottin,
the Verdiers, Levet, Liabaud, Nabonnand and others,
to whom we are still indebted for the majority of our
best Roses.
Mons. Desportes in 1829 issued a catalogue con-
taining the names of 2000 varieties, but the majority
of these were no doubt worthless or not distinct, and
by 1860 there were still but few Roses which we should
now consider good, though we had Général Jacqueminot
and Senateur Vaisse among H.P.s, and among Teas,
Devoniensis, Madame Bravy, Rubens, and Souvenir
d’Elise, the last still unequalled as the finest of all show
Roses.
But taste, experience, and discrimination on the one
hand, and demand on the other, were now beginning to
tell, and in the next five years (1860-65) the following
10 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
wonderful additions from France were made of Roses
which are still indispensable :—Alfred Colomb, Camille
Bernardin, Charles Lefebvre, Dr. Andry, Duchesse de
Morny, Duke of Wellington, Fisher Holmes, Marguerite
de St. Amand, Marie Baumann, Marie Rady, Maurice
Bernardin, Pierre Notting, Prince Camille de Rohan,
and Xavier Olibo; and in Teas, La Boule d’Or and that
wonder among roses Maréchal Niel.
About this time English raisers first began to come
to the front with Roses still recognised as good, and
Mr. W. Paul’s Beauty of Waltham may be considered
as one of the first of these, the origin of Devoniensis
being a little doubtful. Messrs. Paul and Son of Ches-.
hunt, with Mr. Rivers of Sawbridgeworth, Mr. Cranston
of Hereford, Mr. Turner of Slough, and Messrs.
Keynes, Williams and Co. of Salisbury followed, till
Mr. Bennett of Shepperton commenced by hybridising
to raise what he called “ pedigree Roses,” and delighted
the Rose world with Her Majesty and Mrs. John Laing.
Messrs. A. Dickson and Son of Newtownards, Ireland,
also took to hybridising with great and marked success,
and this mode of obtaining new varieties from seed, by
careful interchange of pollen, instead of trusting to
chance cross-fertilisation, as had hitherto been done, 1s
now probably being pursued by several raisers in the
British Isles. More new varieties from our own country,
and less from France, now pass their examinations and
enter the ranks every year, but a very large proportion
of our best Roses still bear, and will for many years, their
French names.
The worst of it is that some of these names must be
said in full if there is to be no confusion. For instance,
there are two Madame Eugene Verdiers, H.P. and Tea,
as well as Mademoiselle Eugenie Verdier, H.P., besides
11 HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 11
Madame Victor Verdier and Victor Verdier, H.P.s.
There are also two Madame Hippolyte Jamains, H.P.
and Tea, besides Hippolyte Jamain, H.P. In addition
to the well-known La France, there is also a Rose called
La France de ’89, a name which really shows some
poverty of invention on the part of the raiser.
- A-yremonstrance might not be well received; for the
Rev. H. H. D’Ombrain, Hon. Sec. of the National Rose
Society, tells an amusing story of the French raiser of
Duke of Wellington H.P. complaining that English
growers would: not call his Rose aright, for it should
be Duc de Wellington. This seems to me really
comic, if meant seriously.
Still,as I have said, though so many of our best Roses
owe their parentage to France, they are nowhere better
cultivated than in the British Isles, there being a con-
siderable export trade to America, the Colonies, Spain,
and elsewhere; and nowhere are there such famous
growers, both professional and amateur, who have made
the Rose their special, and in some cases their sole,
study. In mentioning the names of famous British
growers, it is interesting to compare the list, given by
Dean Hole in his charming book, of winners at the first
National Rose Show in 1858 with those who are well
known now in 1894. Of nurserymen, “ Messrs Paul of
Cheshunt, Cranston of Hereford, Cant of Colchester, and
Turner of Slough” are still well-known names; but in
the dozen or so of amateurs mentioned, “ Fellowes ”
is the only name with which I am familiar as still
growing and exhibiting well. Norfolk has not wanted
a good florist or two of the name of Fellowes for many
years.
In the very first rank at the present day among
professional exhibitors are :—at Colchester the separate
12 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
establishments of Messrs. B. R. Cant and Frank Cant;
who devote themselves solely to Roses ; in Hertfordshire,
Messrs. Paul and Son of Cheshunt (Messrs. Wm. Paul
and Son of Waltham not now exhibiting cut blooms
in competition); and in Yorkshire, Messrs. Harkness
and Sons of Bedale. No other nurserymen in the last
twelve years have won either of the N.R.S. champion
‘trophies, but a foremost place must be admitted to Mr.
Prince in Oxfordshire, whose specialty of Teas on the
seedling briar has often won him the premier prize in
that section, and to Messrs. A. Dickson and Son of
Newtownards in Ireland, who show very strongly con-
sidering their distance and the difficulty of transit,
and who have won the gold medal for new Roses
of their own raising much oftener than any other
British firm.
There are many others of high standing, a large
proportion of whom probably sell as good plants as
those I have mentioned. And if they have not come
to the actual front yet as exhibitors, it may be that
distance or climate, or a disinclination to incur the
whole expense and trouble of competing in the first
rank, have prevented their names being chronicled
hitherto as the winners of the premier prizes.
Among amateurs, notable exhibitors have dropped
out of the ranks in the last decade in Messrs. W. J.
Grant, T. B. Hall, and E. R. Whitwell, while the senior
knight of all, Mr. R. N. G. Baker, only exhibits occasion-
ally; but we have still a large and increasing army of
Rose-lovers, who like to tilt in honour of the queen at
the Rose tournaments, and of these the best known are
Mr. E. B. Lindsell of Hitchin, and Rev. J. H. Pember-
ton of Essex, for H.P.s, and Mr. A. H. Gray of Bath,
and Rev. F. R. Burnside of Herefordshire, for Teas,
‘IOJSOYITOD 9B SpTeyesory sty Jo ouo UT ‘TIda,) UOS SIy YIM “QuRDO “YW UTURfUOg APY
‘ZL d aovf Of, ‘NUGUVD ASOY S/IVNOISSAIONG V
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 15
though in each division there are others treading
closely on their heels, and occasionally victorious.
CLASSIFICATION.—In botany, the number of actual
species of Roses is very great, even the wild Dog-Rose
of our hedges being divided into many sub-species, as
may be seen from the great variety in foliage and habit
in the early growths of briar stocks in nurserymen’s
quarters. Of the cultivated classes, probably nine out
of ten Rose-lovers will only care to know about the two
great divisions as they are commonly understood : viz.
Hybrid Perpetuals, including Hybrid Teas and Per-
petual Bourbons, and Teas and Noisettes, with perhaps
a few climbers. Comparatively few will be interested in
the Austrian, Bourbon, Polyantha, Moss, and Provence
races ; and a still smaller number will care to investigate
thoroughly the forty-one groups carefully enumerated
by Mr. W. Paul in his systematic work.
Now that hybridising and crossing of groups is so
largely undertaken, it seems plain that many new
divisions and classes are likely to arise, and old lines
of demarcation to be lost. Apart from the true
climbers, and all summer or botanical varieties, Roses
to the novice or spectator at Rose shows are generally
divided into H.P.s and Teas, and the more these two
great divisions are consolidated and made inclusive
instead of being subdivided, the less confusion, to my
mind, is likely to arise from crossing and hybridising.
Cultivated Roses are naturally divided into two
divisions at the outset: Summer (ze., those which only
bloom once in the year), and Perpetual (a¢., those which
have at least something of a second crop). It is obvious
that the latter is the more valuable ; the H.P.s if taken
to include the Hybrid Teas and all Bourbons which are
perpetual, and the Teas, with the Noisettes which are
14 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
mostly crossed with them, form the bulk of the per-
petual Roses, and have therefore increased immensely
in culture, popularity and number of varieties, while
the sorts which bloom only in the summer have
naturally been neglected, though perpetual forms have
now been raised among the Ayrshire, Polyantha,
Scotch, and Moss classes. The H.P.s and Teas, using
the terms in their widest and most inclusive sense,
would thus embrace all the best Roses, that is, those
which give the finest and most perfect blooms; and
a large number of Rose-growers will be content with
them.
The live-stock-keeper’s adage, that it costs no more
to keep a good animal than a bad one, may, with some
reservations, be applied to Roses; and the H.P.s and
Teas, in the wide sense that I have mentioned, certainly
furnish the finest flowers. Still, for old associations
some may cultivate the Provence (Cabbage) or York
and Lancaster ; for beauty of yellow and copper shades,
the Austrian ; for exhibition of a pot Rose in a mass
of bloom, the Hybrid Bourbon or Hybrid China; for
fancy in the bud stage only, the Moss; for beauty of
foliage and fruit, the Rugosa; for toys, the Pompons
‘or Fairies; for certain forms of bouquet decoration,
the Polyanthas; for sweet foliage, the Sweet-briars ;
and for rapid climbing, the Boursault, Evergreen,
Ayrshire, or Banksians.
SUMMER ROSES
The Provence Rose (Rosa centifolia)—The type here
is the old “Cabbage” Rose, so called merely because
it is full, with its petals folded like a cabbage. It 1s
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 15
best grown as a bush, and requires close pruning. The
original is pink, but there are other varieties of this
class, white and striped.
A sub-variety of the Provence is the Pompon Rose.
These are simply Roses in miniature, which should not
be confounded with the Polyanthas, many of which
are quite as small, or with the Lawrenciane or Fairy
Roses, which being Chinas are perpetual.
The Moss Kose is a more important sub-variety of the
Provence, the Crested Rose forming a sort of link
between them. This group, so well known for the
moss-like covering of the calyx, has been so popular
that great efforts have been made to increase the
number of varieties and improve the quality of the
flowers. Mr. Cranston, writing in 1855, says that even
then several hundred varieties of the Moss Rose had
been raised, but though different colours, from white to
crimson, have been gained, and one or two perpetual sorts
have been issued, very little success in the way of actual
improvement has been achieved, the common or old
Moss Rose, to which the N.R.S. catalogue gives the
date of 1596, being still the best in the popular bud state.
There are now so many beautiful buttonhole Teas
very much superior in beauty of colour, that it seems
likely that Moss Roses, which are only valuable in the
bud, not of long and pointed form, and apparently
incapable of improvement, will suffer somewhat from
their rivalry ; but many, no doubt, will still be found to
cherish them from sentiment or old associations.
The Moss Roses do not do well as standards, and
some of them are not very strong growers. They will
grow on manetti, but are generally considered to do
best on their own roots, and should be pruned hard,
and highly cultivated. Some miniature Moss Roses
16 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
have been issued, with prettily shaped rosette-lke
flowers, one of the best of which is Little Gem (W. Paul
and Son, 1880).
The Double Yellow Rose (R. sulphurea) is considered
by some to be a form of the Provence. Fifty or sixty
years ago, this was the best yellow Rose, if it could
be got to bloom ; but its “ manners and customs” were
so very bad, and the blooms so generally malformed
or refusing to open at all, that it was pretty nearly
given up as hopeless, even before Cloth of Gold appeared
on the scene.
The Damask Rose (R. damascena) and The French
Rose (R. gallica) are placed under one heading in
the N.R.S. Catalogue, and indeed it seems rather
doubtful to which of these two sections some of the old
Roses belonged. These are the old pink, red, and
striped Roses of our gardens, both groups having been
introduced into this country at least three hundred
years. The three old-fashioned striped Roses, each of
which has been called York and Lancaster, are Rosa
Mundi (French), which is red striped with white, and
occasionally self red; Village Maid (French), which is
white striped with red; and the true York and Lan-
caster, which is either (sometimes all on one bush)
red, white, red striped with white, or white striped
with red, a truly handy bush for a Vicar of Bray in the
Wars of the Roses.
The Damask and French Roses are not very strong
growers, producing short-jomted wood and large, showy,
open flowers. They succeed as standards, but were
generally grown in the bush form. Fairly close
pruning is required, with care as to the shape, that
the blooms be regularly placed upon the plant.
The flowers of the French Rose are but slightly
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION Ly
scented when freshly gathered, but the perfume
develops in the dried petals. The reverse is the case
with the Damask Rose, which is principally used in
the manufacture of the otto, for the scent in this case
is nearly destroyed by drying
Lhe White Rose (R. alba)—An old-fashioned class
of Roses, generally grown as bushes, and still to be
found by side-walks and in corners in old gardens.
The majority of them are not pure white, but have a
pale pink flush, very pretty in the bud, and open
flat. They will grow as standards, and require rather
close pruning. Félicité Parmentier (1828) and Maiden’s
Blush (1797) are the best known varieties.
The Hybrid China Roses are hybrids between the
French or Provence, crossed slightly with the China
race, and showing very little of the cross; as the
Chinese are true perpetuals, and these remain as sum-
mer Roses. They are very strong growers, almost all
being vigorous enough for pillars or climbing, and
some sufficiently pendulous to form tall half-weeping
standards. The vigorous growers should not be too
closely pruned. Blairii No. 2 a fine climber, Chénédolé
and Fulgens of brilliant colour, and Miss Ingram a
well-shaped old Rose of more moderate growth, are now
the best known. Madame Plantier, a very profuse
bloomer, often placed in this group, seems to have in
it some cross of the Noisette race.
Lhe Hybrid Bourbons, placed under the same heading
in the N.RS. Catalogue, form a somewhat similar
group, being hybrids from the French or Provence
with the Bourbon race, but not having the autumnal
qualities of the Bourbons. Most of them are strong
enough in growth for climbing purposes, and should
not be pruned too closely when thus used. But in no
C
18 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
case is the whole art of pruning more called for than
in fine old standards or pot Roses of this group, where
the production of a well-shaped head, thickly and
regularly covered with large blooms all out at once,
is sometimes a triumph of skill and training. Charles
Lawson is especially noticeable for its capabilities in
this way, when carefully trained as a pot Rose.
Coupe d’Hébé, of a fresh pink with a cupped shape,
is a name I can never forget, as 1t was the first rose—a
standard—I ever had of my own, about forty years ago.
Paul Ricaut is the best known crimson in this class.
The Austrian Briar (R. lutea)—These are simply
wild Roses native in some parts of Europe, nearly
single, and lovely in colour. The Copper,as it is called,
is the form best known; it is quite single, the petals
being a most beautiful shade of coppery red, with
orange yellow inclined to buff on the under sides.
The others, Single Yellow, Persian Yellow, and Harri-
son are also noted for thew colour, being hardly
surpassed in this point by any known Roses. The two
last named are double though by no means full, and
Harrisonii is the best grower, with a somewhat pendu-
lous habit. They like a dry soil, will not succeed in
suburban or smoky atmosphere, and all do best on
their own roots, the suckers being encouraged, and
taken off when rooted if required to form fresh plants.
It is best not to prune them at all, beyond cutting out
dead wood; the shoots might be thinned, but there is
no advantage in this with single Roses, where quantity
of bloom is the thing desired; and they should not be
shortened, as flower-bearing shoots often issue from the
buds near the tips.
The Scotch Rose (R. spinosissima)—The “very
thorny” Rose is a briar native in the north of Great
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 19
Britain, which has become semi-double and has at-
tained almost every shade from white to deep crimson
by long cultivation and selection of the easily raised
seedlings. The plant is unmistakable, for no other
Rose is so thickly covered with small very sharp thorns.
They are not strong in growth, and are best on
their own roots, propagated by suckers, lke the
Austrians. Scotch Roses are generally used to form a
dwarf hedge, which has a pretty effect when the little
round fragrant flowers are out, but these are very soon
over. One perpetual form, however, has been raised—
the Stanwell, a fair grower, very sweet, flowering freely
from May to November. ‘These Roses, as becomes
natives of North Britain, are thoroughly hardy, and
will flourish in the poorest soil where no other Rose will
grow. No pruning, beyond cutting out dead wood, is
required.
The Sweet Briar (R. rubiginosa).—This is a native
briar, growing freely wild in some parts of England,
and generally where the soil is light and rather poor.
The Eglantine, as it is otherwise called, is noted for the
sweet scent of the foliage, which pervades the air for a
considerable distance after a shower, in spring or early
summer. There have been some cultivated varieties
more or less double and deeper or paler in colour than
the type, and Lord Penzance has been hybridising
them with the laudable view of raising a group of good
Roses with sweet foliage; but though he has been
most successful in colour improvement, I believe that
nothing more than semi-double varieties have yet
been attained.
The Ayrshire Rose (R. arvensis). This too, as its
name implies, is a native species, found also throughout
Europe. They have been well called running Roses, for
c 2
20 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
the growth is extremely long, rapid, and slender.
Being very hardy and ready to grow anywhere, they
are better adapted for trailing over unsightly places
and ugly fences than for actual walls, which are best
reserved for more valuable and tender sorts. This and
the next group also form the best weeping Roses, bud-
ded on a tall standard, as the shoots are very phable,
and trail gracefully downwards in a natural manner.
Several of the Ayrshires have probably been slightly
hybridised, a mark of the true sorts being that the
flowers are not borne in clusters. Dundee Rambler,
Ruga, and Splendens or Myrrh-scented are among the
best known. The flowers are small, semi-double, and
mostly white or pink. The plants are quite hardy, very
rampant in growth, and most effective when allowed
to ramble at will, unpruned and untrained. Madame
Viviand Morel is a perpetual form.
The Evergreen Rose (KR. sempervirens).—This group
is very much like the last, but is not a native of Great
Britain; nor is it, strictly speaking, evergreen, but
some foliage is generally retained through most of the
winter. The flowers are produced in very large clusters,
mostly of white or light-pink colours. The plants are
thoroughly hardy, as strong in growth as the Ayrshire,
and useful for pillars, arches, weeping Roses, or cover-
ing waste places, the long shoots being left unpruned.
Banksizeflora, Feélicité Perpetue, and Rampant are
perhaps the best known among them.
The Boursaulé Rose (R. alpina)—This is another
group of strong-climbing summer Roses, with very
characteristic smooth wood, not quite so pendulous in
habit as the two last named. This species is a native
of the Alps, thoroughly hardy, growing and blooming
anywhere in large clusters of reddish flowers. The
‘Sulpey worIyT ur uo ‘searysidy Alpedwoung
02 “d aovf oF ‘apaay{ asoy Vv
11 HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 21
best-known varieties are Amadis or Crimson, and
Gracilis.
The Banksian Lose (R. Banksize)—This is a very
distinct species, said to have been introduced from
China early in the century, and named after Lady
Banks. The plants grow very strongly, but are not
hardy, and are lable to be killed outright in severe
frost, even on a south wall. There are only two
varieties worth growing—the Yellow, with very small,
but full, scentless flowers, produced in great abundance
in clusters, and the White, with rather larger flowers,
most deliciously and characteristically scented, the
odour being compared to that of violets, but fewer of
them. The plants, which are nearly evergreen in mild
winters, should be very little pruned (see page 88);
perhaps the best way is to shorten a little in the
summer those shoots that have bloomed, cutting out
all gross and sappy wood that is not wanted.
The Polyantha Rose (R. multiflora)—The varieties
of this class, which bloom only once, are single. These
are—Polyantha simplex, a great grower, now being
tested as a stock for Tea Roses, and apparently with
good result both as a seedling and a cutting; and
P. grandiflora, similar but with much larger single
flowers. To the multiflora class belongs also another
Rose used as a stock for strong-growing Teas, De la
Grifferaie, only noted for its growth and consequent
root-power.
There are several other species of Roses which bloom
only once, a list of the most interesting being given in
the N.B.S. Catalogue. They are single in flower, and
really only of value to the botanist or collector.
22 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
AUTUMNAL FLOWERING OR PERPETUAL ROSES.
The Hybrid Perpetual Rose—This wonderful group
seems to have originated from several sources; indeed,
it may no doubt be said with truth that certain strains
of almost all other cultivated Roses have now been
incorporated, by accident or design, into some of the
members of this wide and varied class. It seems to
me vain to try and trace the parentage of the most
celebrated varieties. The pedigrees of most of them
were absolutely unknown even to the raisers, since
systematic hybridismg and careful choice of seed-
parents was not practised by the French Rosarians
who issued our most noted sorts. Seeds were sown
in immense quantities, and the cross fertilisation
effected by insects or other agencies was relied on to
produce the variations which ensued.
As always happens, however, according to the doctrine
of evolutionists, certain marked types resulted which
were not only distinct, but had also the power of im-
pressing their characteristics upon their descendants,
forming thus new groups. Victor Verdier, La France,
and Baroness Rothschild are instances of these
new departures, accounts of which may be found in
Chapter XII.
Hybrid Teas are at present an unsatisfactory class.
It is very difficult even now to draw a decided line
as to where there is sufficient strain from the Teas to
warrant the division ; and it seems more than probable
that the task will become almost impossible when
the Hybrid Teas are crossed back again into the
H.P.s or Teas, as they have been already in two or
three instances, For this reason I have throughout
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 23
included the so-called H.T.s among the large group of
Hybrid Perpetuals, for they are both Perpetual and
Hybrid.
The Bourbon Rose was introduced from the Isle of
Bourbon about the year 1825. This group is noted for
its sweet scent, and also for its very good autumnal
qualities, the true Bourbons generally giving better
blooms in the second crop. It has been quite a large
elass. Mr. William Paul enumerates forty-six varieties
in The Rose Garden, but none of them is likely to
remain or be much cultivated now, except the one
celebrated sort Souvenir de la Malmaison. It seems
to me highly probably that a much larger proportion
of our H.P.s have some of the influence of this grand
autumnal strain in their constitutions than is generally
imagined ; and as the two modern Bourbons, Madame
Isaac Pereire and Mrs. Paul, are evidently hybrids, it
appears advisable that all perpetual forms of this group
also should be merged in the large class of H.P.s.
The China Rose (R. indica).—This group, truest of
Perpetuals, was introduced into this country from China
about the year 1789. The Common Pink, otherwise
known as the Monthly Rose, always in flower, and the
Crimson were imported separately about the same
time ; and all other varieties have resulted from these
types. They are not very strong growers, do best
on their own roots in a warm soil, and the flowers, weak
and feeble with little or no scent, have little to recom-
mend them beyond the one good quality in which they
are unsurpassed—constant freedom of bloom, earliest,
latest, and throughout the season.
Many varieties were issued in past years, but, besides
the two types, Mrs. Bosanquet, of a waxy ivory tint,
was generally considered the only one worth growing
24 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CILAP.
Laurette Messimy (Guillot, 1887), however, showed an
improvement, a pretty buttonhole Rose, pink shaded
with yellow, very free-blooming, but not a_ strong
grower.
The Lawrenceana, or Fairy Rose, also introduced from
China about 1810, is simply a China Rose in miniature.
These little toys are often sold in pots in the markets,
and should not be confounded with the miniature
pompons, which bloom only once ; for the Fairy Roses are
true Chinas, and if kept in health are ever in bloom.
They are best perhaps in pots, but are sometimes
successfully grown in rich warm soils as edgings.
The Tea Rose (R. indica odorata)—This most cele-
brated group, the true aristocracy of the Rose world,
was also introduced from China about the year 1810.
The first one was pink, and in 1824 the Yellow Tea
Rose was imported.
There can be no doubt that both of these originated
from the Chinese Rose, and for many years the group
was known as the Tea Scented China. They are like
the China group in habit, but differ from it in being
tender to frost, and having the peculiar fragrance said
to be like that of a newly opened tea-chest. It seems
strange and suggestive that Roses with this scent should
have originated in China, but scent experts deny that
the odour of Tea is to be found in Tea Roses. The
“manners and customs” of this lovely class will be
found in Chap. XII.
The Noisette Rose origimated in America, and was
named after Mons. P. Noisette, who brought it to
France, from which it reached this country about 1820.
It is supposed to have been an accidental cross between
the Musk and the China groups: there is no doubt it
had something in common with Tea Roses originally,
RosE Spray, EXHIBITED BY Mrs. ORPEN. To face p. 25.
II HISTORY AND CLASSIFICATION 25
and the likeness was soon considerably increased by
further hybridisation with the Tea Scented China.
; F " cu Ge » De « :
Geto 2: fmirimipisten: emer iae g ates) wep liege, 8
HyprRiID NOISETTE ROSE, MARECHAL NIEL. To face p. 297.
XII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 297
as a Noisette, and, like all the Roses of that class, the
best blooms come on the long strong secondary shoots
of the previous year, which should be left nearly of full
length ; but it is evidently hybridised with the Tea race,
as what is generally called the Tea scent is strongly
present. To a large extent it stands by itself, as do several]
of the most celebrated Roses, Cloth of Gold probably
resembling it most nearly. Though often grown on its
own roots in pots, for it strikes freely as a cutting, it
does much better if budded either high or low on the
briar. It is decidedly tender, being liable in the open
to be injured or killed outright by severe frosts ; but on
a wall, particularly if there be anything in the nature of
a coping above, it will stand ordinary winters in most
localities. It is easily forced, and much grown for the
market, the best method of pruning and training under
glass to get a fine crop of these splendid blooms in early
spring having been described on page 95. Mildew in
this mode of culture is the principal trouble, and the
ventilators should be kept entirely shut when the wind is
cold. The variety has another piece of bad manners,
which is most troublesome under glass because there is
more growth there, viz. a lability to canker, especially at
the point of juncture between stock and scion. As this
probably arises from the inability of the briar stem to
swell sufficiently for the growth of the Rose, a useful
preventive measure is to make one or two longitudinal
cuts through the bark, passmg through the point of
union, and extending some distance above and below it.
This will not cure established canker, but may help in
a great measure to prevent and modify it. In a really
bad case it 1s best not to attempt a cure. Good strong
young plants are cheap and soon come into bearing ; but,
when putting in a new plant where a large Rose has
298 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP,
stood, remember to take out a good deal of the old soil,
and replace with rich fresh stuffin which Roses have not
been grown. I know of no seedling or sports of Maréchal
Niel, though weak blooms on a hot wall will sometimes
show red on the outer petals.
Marie van Houtte (Ducher, 1871)—The strongest
and best in growth of any of the pure Teas, with fine,
nearly evergreen, foliage. A cooler time after hot
weather, which is most favourable for all Roses, will
show Marie van Houtte at its best, and it is but little
injured by rain. In manners and customs and all round
good qualities it must take first prize among the Teas:
at all times a beautiful bloom, in perfection most lovely,
excellent in petal, fulness, shape, lasting qualities and
size, and delightful in colour, very free in bloom and a
first-class autumnal. It does perfectly well as a dwarf,
is not particular as to soil, and is undoubtedly the one
Tea Rose no one should be without.
Medea (W. Paul and Son, 1891)—A new Rose, the
cut blooms looking lke full specimens of Madame
Hoste: a good grower and free in flowering, but not
likely to open well in wet weather.
Mrs. James Wilson (A. Dickson and Sons, 1889).—
Of good growth when established, and fair foliage. The
habit 1s peculiar, in that the centre or crown bud of a
shoot is quite overwhelmed and starved out by the growth
of the side flower buds unless these be thinned out at
once ; and even when this is done, the bud does not
grow proportionately to the thickness of the shoot, and
the blooms are rather undersized and disappointing.
The petals are good and the shape nicely pointed : it is
late in blooming, and not many flowers come to perfection
on one plant. A pretty colour, sometimes a little like
that of Marie van Houtte.
XII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 299
Monsieur Furtado (Laffay, 1866)—This Rose still
appears in the N.R.S. catalogue ; but the growth is very
weak, the flowers small and short-petalled, and though
the colour is a good yellow it 1s certainly a Rose to be
avoided.
Niphétos (Bougere, 1844)—This Rose is a good in-
stance of what is termed “free” growth, we. neither
long nor stout, but branching and generally growing
somewhere. The foliage is good and not much liable to
mildew, but the blooms will not stand rain. This old
Rose has attained a very great reputation for its
free-flowering qualities and its purity of colour. I do
not know how many thousand feet run of glasshouses
have been maintaimed for the purpose of growing
the rose which Mons. Bougere, the raiser, appropriately
named Niphétos (“snowy”), but I apprehend the figures
would very much have astonished him could he have
known them when he issued it, and he would perhaps
have wished to attach his own name to it instead of to
the much less valuable production (Bougeére) of twelve
years before. White flowers are always in special de-
mand, not only because they are lovely in themselves,
do not lose their colour, and go well with everything,
but also because they are considered the most appro-
priate on the three great occasions of birth, marriage, and
death. It so happens that Nipheétos, the purest of all white
Roses, has a long bud especially suitable for bouquets
and wreaths, and 1s also free-flowering and bears forcing
well. It is no wonder therefore that it is, and has been,
cultivated for market purposes to an astonishing extent.
It is also capable of bemg exhibited as a Rose of great
merit, with very fine petals and of the largest size; but
in this respect it seems to have deteriorated or been
superseded, as it is certainly not so often shown now as
300 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
formerly. The blooms come well, but occasionally they
are divided, and the expanded shape is very loose.
They must be cut young for show (when there 1s often
a greenish lemon tinge in the strong young buds which
is very becoming) as the shape is not lasting, and when
the outside petals come down they fall completely,
giving the idea of a total collapse. It is free blooming
throughout the season, but the autumnal buds do not
come large and require fine weather. It does not doas
a dwarf, for the blooms come smaller, and the wood being
neither stiff nor upright the petals get much injured by
wind and rain unless the flowers are well held up above
the ground. It is best for exhibition as a maiden
standard, and does well, if fully fed, on a low wall.
A climbing sport (Keynes, Williams, and Co., 1889)
gives promise of being very valuable for the production
of cut flowers of this ever useful sort ; but it does not
seem yet to be thoroughly established, sometimes
reverting to the old type and refusing to “run.” Still,
it has undoubtedly proved a success in many places, the
long rods blooming from every bud after the fashion of
Maréchal Niel, though it is as yet too early to say
whether the new form will supersede the old one in the
forcing of this popular Rose.
Ophirte (Goubault, 1841).—A true Noisette, one of the
very few that can be so called.
|
Et
|
Tra-RosE, THE BRIDE. To face p. 307.
XII MANNERS AND CUSTOMS 307
by frost. The blooms require a good deal of heat and
to be protected from rain; they are very fine when you
get them good, of perfect pointed shape, with very sweet
scent, and are capable of reaching a full average size. It
is quite good enough to show in any company when
grown at its best, but we never see it, and this, the
finest shaped of all the Noisettes with the exception
of Maréchal Niel, does not appear in the N.RS.
catalogue at all. It is certainly difficult to grow
well, and has probably been more often spoken of than
seen during its existence of more than half a century.
Lhe Bride (May, 1885).—A pure white sport from
Catherine Mermet, of great value. It speedily took
a high rank, and gained a great reputation, quite equal
to that of the type, and is generally acknowledged as
being one of the best half-dozen. It is similar in every
respect except colour to C. Mermet, especially in the
incomparable form which is common to both. A shight
greenish-lemon tinge sometimes pervades the inner
petals, and gives an additional charm. The light colour
renders it a little more liable to injury from thrips or
rain.
Waban (Wood and Co., 1891)—Another sport from
Catherine Mermet, also from America. Not yet suffi-
ciently tested, but at present it does not often come
good. The Bride being so successful, we expect much
from the two other American sports from the same Rose,
Waban and Bridesmaid, but the one under notice has
not hitherto been often seen to advantage.
William Allen Richardson (Ducher, 1878)—A
Noisette of good strong growth, but not quite so vigorous »
a climber as some others of the section. This is a
Rose that very soon gained a great reputation purely
by its colour, which is a real orange, a shade till then
xX 2
308 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP. XII
unknown in Roses, and even now only to be found in
the centre of two or three others. It is quite small,
and only suitable for button-holes and decorative use
being more valued and generally grown for the former
purpose perhaps than any other Rose. In shape it
generally comes well, but it has a disappointing habit,
which must often have caused annoyance. The
blooms often come practically white, with no trace
of orange, except perhaps at the very base of
the petals ; but about the time that the nurseryman who
supplied it has received an indignant letter of complaint,
the buyer on passing by the plant sees a bud coming
of the true colour. For a while they will all come of
deep orange, or orange tipped with white, and then
some come perhaps nearly white again. Often the
weakest shoots produce the highest coloured flowers, but
this does not seem to be a general rule. This lovely and
favourite Rose should be grown in quanitity, in the open,
against walls, and under glass. It is free-blooming,
pretty good as an autumnal, and does well as a dwarf,
but should be well treated in rich soil, and requires
protection from frost.
CHAPTER XIII
SELECTIONS
THIS must always be the most unsatisfactory part of
a Rose-book, both to the author and the reader. In
the first place, the compiler of a selection feels, or
ought to, that he has at least one or two favourites
which he places in a higher position than most of his
brother Rosarians do, and that there are perhaps as
many popular sorts that he does not succeed with. His
own situation, soil, or climate has probably more to do
with this, in most cases, than actual personal pre-
dilections.
Next, a certain number of new Roses, issued within
the last three years, have to be dealt with; and, their
quality and characters being not yet established, it is
difficult to know what to do with them. Great mis-
takes, either way, may be made in attempting to rank
them too soon, but on the other hand it seems im-
possible to ignore notable issues. I have therefore
only included varieties sent out later than 1891 where
there seems to be a character already established.
And also no one who makes a selection of Roses can
shut his eyes to the fact that such a list, especially if
given in order of merit, must be of very ephemeral
value. New Roses, working their way to the front, not
310 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
only take the places of established favourites, but
sometimes entirely supersede them and cause them to
drop out altogether. Thus, Madame Lacharme, at one
time the best white H.P., was made absolutely useless
by the coming of Merveille de Lyon, and will probably
soon drop out of the catalogues altogether.
Roses Suitable for Exhibition —In these lists it should
be noticed that weakness of growth or constitution, or
in fact any bad manners, are not taken into account.
Chapter XII. should be consulted on such matters, for
in the two following selections the merits of the per-
fect bloom when once attained are alone taken into
consideration.
Forty-cight H.P.s—I have endeavoured to range these
according to order of merit as show Roses, in lots of
twelve, thus showing also at the same time the best
twelve, twenty-four, and thirty-six. I have included
La France, Captain Christy, and Lady Mary Fitz
william, which the N.R.S. at present reckon as H.Ts.,
and Mrs. Paul, Hybrid Bourbon. The list is not entirely
according to my own fancy, but considerably influenced
by the opinions of others.
. Horace Vernet 13. Etienne Levet
1
— 2. Mrs. John Laing 14. Duchess of Bedford
3. A. K. Williams 15. Pride of Waltham
4. Her Majesty 16. Francois Michelon
5. Charles Lefebvre 17. Eugénie Verdier -
6. Alfred Colomb : (Marie Finger)
~ 7. MadameGabriel Luizet - 18. Duke of Wellington
8. Marie Baumann 19. Dupuy Jamain
9. Gustave Piganeau 20. Merveille de Lyon -
10. Susanne M. Rodocan- 21. Prince Arthur
achi .22. Duke of Edinburgh
~11. La France 23. Louis van Houtte
12, Ulrich Brunner 24, Earl of Dufferin
XIII SELECTIONS oLt
25. Duchesse de Morny —37. Jeannie Dickson
26. Marie Verdier 38. Marie Rady
. 27. Le Havre 39. Fisher Holmes
28. Reynolds Hole 40. Madame Victor Ver-
29. Xavier Olibo dier
30. Countess of Oxford 41. Beauty of Waltham
~31. Baroness Rothschild 42, Senateur Vaisse
32. Victor Hugo 43. Mrs, Paul
33. Camille Bernardin 44, Captain Christy
34. Général Jacqueminot 45. Marquise de Castel-
35. Lady Mary Fitzwil- lane
liam. 46. Maurice Bernardin
36. Comte de Raimbaud 47. Madame Eugene Ver-
dier
48, Heinrich Schultheis
Twenty-four Teas and Norsettes, by sixes, in order of
merit.
1. Souvenir d’Elise Var- 13. Ernest Metz
don 14. Madame Hoste
2. Catherine Mermet 15. Madame Cusin
3. Comtesse de Nadaillac 16. Souvenir dun Ami
4. The Bride 17. Niphetos
5. Maréchal Niel 18. Francisca Kruger
6. Marie van Houtte
19. Souvenir de §. A.
7. Innocente Pirola Prince
8. Madame de Watte- 20. Princess of Wales
ville 91. La Boule d’Or
9. Cleopatra 22. Madame Hippolyte
10. Anna Olivier Jamain
11. Hon. Edith Gifford 23. Jean Ducher
12. Ethel Brownlow 24. Caroline Kuster
Twelve Hybrid Teas—The subjoined seem to me to be
the best of this class at present for exhibition, but I
312 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
must repeat that I think the classification of the N.R.S.
on this point is a mistake,
l. La France
2. Lady Mary = Fitz-
william
Viscountess
stone
Caroline Testout
La Fraicheur
Captain Christy
ws)
oo OU
Folke-
7. Grace Darling
8. Kaiserin Augusta Vic-
toria
9. Augustine Guinoisseau
10. Lady Henry Gros-
venor
11. Gloire Lyonnaise
12. Duchess of Albany
Germaine Caillot, a fine show Rose, worthy of a place
among the above, seems to me like a Hybrid Tea, but
it is not classified as such yet by the N.RS.
For Middle Rows.—Where the H.P.s and Teas are
grown, as recommended, in long beds with three rows
in each, it is advisable, whether standards or dwarfs be
used, to know which will be tall enough in growth to
be suitable for the middle row. For such a purpose
I recommend of exhibition H.P.s the following thirty
of those in the N.R.S. catalogue :-—
Thirty H.P.s tall enough in growth for a middle row.
Abel Carriére
Alfred Colomb
Annie Wood
Camille Bernardin
Charles Darwin
Charles Lefebvre
Countess of Rosebery
Dr. Andry
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Teck
Dupuy Jamain
Ella Gordon
Francois Michelon
General Jacqueminot
Heinrich Schultheis
Her Majesty
John Stuart Mill
La France
Madame Gabriel Luizet
Madame Isaac Periere
Madame Victor Verdier
Margaret Dickson
Marie Rady
Mrs. John Laing
XIII . SELECTIONS 313
Mrs. Paul Thomas Mills
Prince Arthur Ulrich Brunner
Reynolds Hole Violette Bowyer
And of exhibition Teas and Noisettes, omitting those
of Dijon growth, the following twelve :—
Anna Olivier Madame Lambard
Caroline Kuster Madame Margottin
Jean Ducher Marie van Houtte
Jules Finger Perle des Jardins
Madame HippolyteJamain Souvenir de 8. A. Prince
Madame Hoste Souvenir dun Ami
Climbing Roses—These may be required for walls,
pillars, arches, rough fences, or even an untidy old tree-
trunk which it may be desired to hide. There is some
difficulty in making a selection for a wall not facing
north, because of course all Roses of sufficiently strong
growth will do in such a position, while the few that
really require a wall are by no means always the best.
Thus the Macartneys and Musk Roses will only do on a
warm wall, but who, if he had room but for one would
have either of them, or even a Banksian, where he could
grow a Maréchal Niel? I have tried therefore in the
following selection to place climbers for walls in order of
merit, that the small grower may have some guide, as
well as he who requires a “large order.”
Twelve Roses for a wall.
- 1. Maréchal Niel 7. Lamarque
io, dveve @ Or 8. Kaiserin Friedrich
3. Turner’s Crimson 9, Madame Berard
Rambler 10. William Allen Rich-
4. Gloire de Dijon ardson.
—5. Reine Marie Henri- 11. Waltham Climber (1
ette. or 3)
6. Bouquet d’Or 12. Cheshunt Hybrid
o14 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
All the above are very vigorous growers, autumn
blooming, with large full flowers. All other climbers,
with the exception perhaps of the climbing sports of
Niphetos and Perle des Jardins which I have not seen on
outside walls, and climbing Devoniensis whose manners
are not satisfactory, are deficient either in growth,
autumnal qualities, size, or fulness of flowers. - In the
above list there is much diversity of merit, and Turner’s
Crimson Rambler, which alone has small flowers though
the truss is very large, is not proved, but seems likely to
take such a high place. It seems impossible to omit
Willam Allen Richardson from such a list, but it has
less vigour than the others mentioned.
Pillar Roses are seldom satisfactory ; they are generally
half-starved, being often passed over as capable of look-
ing after themselves when the food supplies are being
carried round. Any of the hardy stiff sorts of climbers
will do for this purpose, the Gloire de Dijon race, Réve
d'Or, Reine Marie Henriette, Bouquet d’Or, Waltham
Climbers, Cheshunt Hybrid, Gloire de Margottin, and
such of the climbing sports of H.P.s as are really extra
vigorous in growth. The Hybrid Bourbons, Charles
Lawson, Coupe d’Hébé, and others of that class will also
serve the purpose of pillar Roses, but I recommend no
summer Rose where a perpetual will succeed. Half-
chmbers, like William Allen Richardson, L’Idéal,
Céline Forestier, and others of a like strength of
growth, have not sufficient vigour for pillar Roses, save
under exceptionally good treatment.
For arches also one often sees varieties used which are
not of sufficiently vigorous growth. The Gloire de Dijon
race are rather too stiff for this purpose. Turner’s
Crimson Rambler may probably be found very effective
or this and many other uses; Réve d’Or and Reine
XIII SELECTIONS o15
Marie Henriette may perhaps succeed, if care and
trouble in training and feeding can be given to them;
but if the arch is high and wide, recourse must be had
to some of the many running summer Roses, the best of
which will be found noted under their respective classes
in Chapter II.
The same sorts, Ayrshire and Evergreen, Boursault
and Multiflora, with the climbing single forms of Poly-
antha, are the best for hiding rough places. Bennett's
Seedling, Dundee Rambler, Félicité Perpetue, Queen of
the Belgians, Ruga, and Splendens are among the best
known. After giving the leading shoots the night
direction for two or three years, no more care will be
required ; the whole space will become a mass of fohage,
most thickly covered with bloom for a while at mid-
summer. Atmy old home the whole of the roof of a large
and lofty summer-house was completely hidden outside a
foot or so deep with the growth of some of these Ayrshires,
which were planted against and trained up the front
pillars. These sorts, with naturally trailing shoots, are
also the most suitable for weeping Roses.
For cottage gardens, or any places where some show of
Roses is required without much attention being paid to
them, choice should be made from the hardiest and most
free-flowering of those mentioned in Chapter XII. I
subjoin, however, a list of
Twelve H.P.s for cottage gardens.
Abel Grand La France
Alfred Colomb Madame Isaac Pereire
Dupuy Jamain Mrs. John Laing
Edouard Morren Paul Neyron
John Hopper Thomas Mills
Jules Margottin Ulrich Brunner
316 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
When once established, Roses on the seedling briar
stock are best where they are likely to be neglected, but
most of those in the above list will do fairly on their
own roots.
Only strong growing and thoroughly hardy Teas and
Noisettes can be recommended for this purpose, such
as Gloire de Dijon, Homére, Réve d’Or, and Safrano or
Madame Charles.
Of these, Gloire de Dijon and Réve d’Or would also
do as cottage climbers, but the trailing habit of the
Ayrshires makes them more suitable than stiff-wooded
Roses for situations where they are likely to be left
unpruned and untrained.
For the pegging-down system of training, Roses
should be free-flowering and strong, yet fairly pliable in
growth ; but some of the stiffer ones can be bent down
if it be done gradually as they grow.
Twelve H.P.s for pegging down.
Camille Bernardin La France
Duke of Edinburgh Mrs. John Laing
Duke of Teck Prince Arthur
Général Jacqueminot Prince Camille de Rohan
Gloire de Margottin Thomas Mills
John Stuart Mill Violette Bowyer
Moss Roses are sometimes trained in this way. Among
Teas, the hardiest and most pliable of the Dijon race
are suitable, some of the most vigorous among the
button-hole varieties such as William Allen Richardson
and L'Idéal, and perhaps Marie van Houtte, Caroline
Kuster, and Madame Lambard. In choosing sorts with
phable shoots for this mode of culture, it should be
remembered that a stiff flower stem is desirable, for
] j
va 6 FT ee SG
TY0 G,'h
ee 7 . Ps it
i Le ee . &
"I1g aovf os ‘NadUO “UW Aq pozqryxe ‘staadaog m@MIOF-NoLLAg
XIIt SELECTIONS 317
pendent blooms do not display their beauty and are
sadly liable to be splashed by heavy showers.
For button-hole Roses, as for exhibition kinds, beauty
of form should not be neglected, as it sometimes 1s, for
mere colour, though a combination of both is most
desirable. A round fat bud is much less elegant than
a long, slender and pointed one. In this respect the
Teas have a decided advantage, but if a bright red or
really dark bud is desired, the H.P.s must be called
upon. The following would be useful as
Six bright or dark H.P.s for button-holes
Duke of Edinburgh Gloire de Margottin
Fisher Holmes Prince Camille de Rohan
Général Jacqueminot Victor Hugo
Twenty-four Teas and Norsettes for button-holes.
Amazone Madame Chédane Gui-
Anna Olivier noisseau
Catherine Mermet Madame de Watteville
Cleopatra Madame Falcot
De Grill Madame Hoste
Francisca Kruger Maréchal Niel
Homere Marie van Houtte
Innocente Pirola Niphetos
Isabella Sprunt Rubens
L’Idéal Safrano
Luciole The Bride
Ma Capucine William Allen Richardson
Madame Charles
All the above are lovely in the bud, for wearing
either singly or together. A choicer selection can
be made by referring to their characteristics in
Chapter XII.
318 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP,
Of Moss Roses, the best for wear are the common
Moss, which is pink, and Blanche Moreau, which is
white. These are summer blooming only, the per-
petual forms of the Moss Rose being shghtly inferior.
For very delicate, miniature, and artistic button-
holes the Polyanthas are unrivalled.
Suz Polyanthas.
Anne Marie de Mon- Ma Pacquerette
travel Mignonette
Cécile Brunner Perle dOr
Gloire des Polyantha
In giving a selection of Roses suitable for pot culture
and forcing (see Chap. X.), it should be noticed that
“good under glass,” or “a good pot Rose,” as a cata-
logue description may sometimes mean simply that the
variety will not do out of doors, and it must not
necessarily be inferred that it is better for that purpose
than others which also do well in the open alr.
Twenty-four H.Ps and H.T.s for pots and foreing.
Alfred Colomb
Baroness Rothschild
Beauty of Waltham
Caroline Testout
Charles Lefebvre
Dr. Andry
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Teck
Dupuy Jamain
Fisher Holmes
Général Jacqueminot
Gustave Piganeau
Kaiserin Augusta Victoria
La France
Lady Mary Fitzwilliam
Madame Gabriel Luizet
Merveille de Lyon
Mrs. John Laing
Pride of Waltham
Prince Camille de Rohan
S. M. Rodocanachi
Ulrich Brunner
Viscountess Folkestone
Victor Hugo
The Teas and Noisettes are so specially suited for
XIII SELECTIONS 319
pot culture and forcing, that I have named an equal
number of them.
Twenty-four Teas and Noisettes for the same purpose.
Anna Olivier Maréchal Niel
Caroline Kuster Marie van Houtte
Catherine Mermet Medea
Cleopatra Niphetos
Comtesse de Nadaillac Perle des Jardins
Ernest Metz Rubens
Ethel Brownlow Souvenir @un Ami
Edith Gifford Souvenir d’Elise Vardon
Tnnocente Pirola Souvenir de Gabrielle
Madame Falcot Drevet
Madame Hoste Souvenir de 8. A. Prince
Madame Lambard The Bride
Madame de Watteville
In making a selection of varieties suitable for culture
in a suburban or town garden, there is considerable
difficulty without knowing the actual circumstances of
the situation. It may vary from that of a small
country town, or distant and pure suburb of London,
in which case if other matters be favourable the best
Roses may be grown, to that of areal town garden in a
thoroughly smoky atmosphere, where none can be
cultivated to perfection. I have consulted some good
suburban growers, buf their lists do not at all agree,
the probability being that where good Roses can be
cultivated at all, most of the best sorts will answer.
It seems, however, to be generally admitted that the
Austrian briars are as impatient of impure air as any
Roses.
320 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP, XII
Lwenty-four H.P.s switable for a suburban garden.
Alfred Colomb
A. K. Williams
Baroness Rothschild
Charles Lefebvre
Duke of Edinburgh
Duke of Wellington
Dupuy Jamain
Dr. Andry
Etienne Levet
Eugénie Verdier
Général Jacqueminot
Gustave Piganeau
Her Majesty
La France
Madame Gabriel Luizet
Marie Baumann
Marie Verdier
Mrs. John Laing
Mrs. Paul
Pride of Waltham
Prince Arthur
S. M. Rodocanachi
Ulrich Brunner
Victor Hugo
If any of the delicate Teas can be grown, the list in
order of merit should be consulted; and if not, the
hardier sorts, as recommended for cottage gardens
should be tried as a commencement.
CHAPTER XIV
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS.
In the following list of Rosarian work for each month
I have not repeated the details of each operation, but
merely noted the times when they are to be performed.
This is often important, as delay and loss of opportunity
will frequently leave a mark on the work throughout
the year. A novice should study some such calendar
as this, see how much work he has to get through in a
given time, and make his arrangements accordingly.
It will be seen that a large collection will supply
sufficient work to keep a man “ out of mischief” pretty
nearly all the year round.
October.—By general consent this is considered the
first month of the Rosarian’s year. Nurserymen’s
catalogues for the coming season are now to be had,
and they are eagerly scanned by ardent amateurs.
Orders should be given as soon as possible, and it is
better still to visit the nurseries in the early autumn
and choose and order the finest specimens. It is rather
hard on those who go by the catalogues, but first come
first served is a good old rule of trade, and it is night
that those who take trouble about a thing should reap
some benefit from it. If new beds are to be made, or
planting on an extensive scale is to be undertaken,
»
322 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
preparations should have commenced even in September,
in procuring fresh soil and digging the beds out to the
depth of two feet. It should be pushed on at any rate
early in October. Pot Roses for growing under glass
should now be repotted, and fresh ones purchased if
necessary. Many of the free-blooming Teas, now covered
with buds, will open them indoors at a time when
they will be much appreciated. But beware of too
much heat when the amount of daylight is small. This
is the month for taking cuttings out of doors: those of
the Roses themselves do better if the leaves have not
fallen, and these, if used at all, had better be taken
first. Manetti and briar cuttings will do as well without
the leaves. All extra long shoots of Roses should now
be shortened sufficiently to diminish the wind leverage
on the roots; these pieces may be used as cuttings.
Towards the end of the month a commencement in
planting may be made with those Roses which have
simply to be moved from one part of the garden to the
other. Such may be planted before their leaves have
fallen, much care being taken that their roots are exposed
as little as possible; they should be watered and
syringed immediately after planting, and will probably
do better thus than if moved later. About the middle
of the month fresh cuttings may be taken of briar and
manetti, and later the rooted cutting and seedling stocks
may be planted out, but standard stocks will not be
ready yet. About the middle of the month the wild
growth may be removed from those budded stocks where
the buds look weak.
November—This is a busy and important month, as
it is the time for planting, and the work should be
pushed on whenever the soil is fairly dry, for November
days are short, and no planting should be done when the
XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 323
ground is sticky. Unpack the purchased Roses carefully,
and lay them tenderly in the ground when they cannot
be planted at once. Be careful in each detail of planting,
for much depends upon it. Stocks of all sorts should
now be planted also if possible, but there will not be
much time yet for getting standards from the hedges.
Where seed is saved it should now be gathered. All
wild growth is now to be cut away from budded stocks,
leaving one or two buds on those laterals of the
standards which have been successfully operated on.
Roses in pots should be brought into cool shelter before
severe weather. In northern districts 1t may be well to
place the winter protection round the Teas before the
month is out.
December—In most English counties it will suffice
to apply the winter protection during the first fortnight
of this month, but dead leaves should have been col-
lected by the end of the first week in November, and
bracken should have been cut and set ready, in sheaves
not in heaps, as soon as 1t began to change colour. It
is perhaps best to commence the protection as soon as
the Rose planting is finished, even though the setting
out of stocks has to be postponed. They will do nearly
as well if planted at any dry time during the winter,
but a severe early frost coming before the bed-clothes
are on the tender Teas may cause much lamentation.
Now is the time, on dull damp days, to sally forth with
the little stock axe and the Grecian saw in quest of
standard stocks. If no winter mulch is applied to the
Rose beds, the surface should still be kept stirred and
loose. Roses for the earlhest forcing may be pruned and
started at the end of the month, and grafting under
glass may be commenced about Christmas time.
January.—This is the best month for grafting in heat,
Yo2
324 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
though it may be continued in February. In light
frosts, strong liquid manure may be put on the Rose
beds, when it will sink in rapidly and in quantity. After
or during high winds, the Teas may be inspected to see
that the protective materials are secure, and standards
should be looked to,as they may have broken away from
their stakes. Standard stocks may still be got at any
time when the weather is open. Even in severe frost
work may be found in digging trenches to discover and
cut off the invading roots of trees and shrubs Roses
being forced under glass will now be starting and
requiring much care, and winter grafting will be in full
swing.
February.—lf farmyard manure is used in the soil, now
is the time to dig or fork it in, but be sure it is thoroughly
decomposed, or in my opinion it will do more harm than
good. Still, it supplies the vegetable matter of humus,
and if the soil in the beds be raw and light-coloured,
such an addition is desirable if not necessary, but the
upper portion of the beds should originally have been
supplied with humus, in old garden mould or the like.
If no digging is practised, the soil should be well loosened
by the hoe, as some weeds will probably have grown
since October. The artificial manure should then be
applied, choosing a still day when it can be distributed
evenly. If the weather be favourable at the end of the
month any arrears of planting may be finished, and
stocks of all sorts may still be set out; but Roses planted
now may require watering in March and April, if the
weather be dry, till they have got a hold. Cuttings
should be examined, and those that have been lifted by
the frost should be set firm again, either by pushing
them down or consolidating the soil around them.
Roses on sunny walls may be pruned after the middle
XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 325
of the month, and towards the close we may proceed
with the summer and hardy garden sorts. Maréchal
Niel and other climbing Roses indoors will be starting,
and they and all forced Roses should be watched for
mildew and insects, and will require: much care in the
regulation of air and moisture.
March—This 1s the month for pruning all outdoor
Roses except Teas, but the second week will generally be
early enough for H.P.s in northern and midland dis-
tricts. The Teas should not be pruned yet, but the
winter protections should be most carefully removed
towards the end of the month. Do not be persuaded to
take away the shelter earlier, as the weather is by no
means safe yet. It is an error to suppose that the
winter protection forces them into precocious growth, for
it has just the opposite effect. The same blanket that
keeps a man warm will also keep a block of ice cold.
It is true, however, that such shoots as are made under
the protection grow longer than they would outside
simply because they are not stopped by frost, but
these premature growths would have to come off in
any case. Planting may still be done, with care, but
watering will probably be required to follow it. The
roots of all plants moved at this time, whether stocks or
Roses, should be kept in water as long as they are out of
the ground. All budded stocks should now be staked,
and the buds carefully examined, for the grub is some-
times at work before March is out. If it be desired to
retard the blooming of Teas, a thick heavy mulch of
long wet manure laid on now while the ground is still
very cold will keep the roots cool and to a certain extent
have the required effect. Be most careful of the
ventilation of Maréchal Niel under glass, and attack
mildew and aphides when they first appear. With the
326 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP,
increased light, Roses in pots will bear more heat, but
remember that all of them, indoors or out, open their
finest and best coloured flowers in a slightly decreased
temperature.
April—tIn most seasons, in midland districts, the
second week will be soon enough for the pruning of Teas.
There will be no difficulty in finding Rose grubs now,
if the signs mdicating their presence in the shoots
and young leaves are known. Maiden shoots and buds
should be examined the oftenest, as in these cases the
life of a whole plant is at stake. Suckers will begin to
be troublesome on all plants, especially on maiden
standards. Tie up the maiden shoots as soon as possible ;
if left too long, even though not blown out, they will grow
away from the stake, and be troublesome to secure. A
regular system of hoeing should now commence on the
Rose beds, on which no hard crust must be permitted to
form: one of the simpler and smaller forms of push-
hoes will generally be found most convenient. If liquid
manure is available 1t may be apphed, but cautiously,
and not among dwarf maidens. The pushing buds and
shoots of pruned H.P.s may now be well thinned ; the
sooner it is done the better, as rubbing, or even cutting,
out a great fat shoot leaves an ugly wound which bleeds
a good deal for a time. See that the shoots left are
free from pests. Indoors, cut back Maréchal Niel,
climbing Niphetos and the lke, gradually as the blooms
are gathered. The first bloom of the forced Roses will
now be over, and liquid manure—not too strong or too
cold—may be administered to those intended to flower a
second time, by immersing the pots.
May.—This is the month for insect pests of all sorts.
The only plan is to go over the whole collection as often
as possible: I have several times found a large cater-
XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 327
pillar or two in the afternoon on a small plant which I
had carefully examined in the morning. If a rolled
leaf be simply pinched you will probably carefully
squeeze the same leaf again half a dozen times; it must
therefore either be picked off or unrolled, and the latter
plan is best. If several leaf sprays are curled on one
shoot the enemy will be found in the topmost one, which
probably shows the disfigurement least: he is working
upwards towards the bud, and with inherited cunning
leaves hispast abodes most manifest, and artfully conceals
his present one. Be not satisfied with a pinch unless
you feel him “ gosquash.” Never go up and down with-
out a supply of raffia about you; something is sure to
want tying: the maiden plants should be looked over
for this purpose very frequently. Do not be satisfied with
any shoot till it is firmly and closely tied to a support.
Raffia does not keep well in my pockets somehow: there
should be supplies of it ready in places close at hand.
Tea shoots should be thinned; harden your heart if you
want good blooms: early trusses will require disbudding
before the end of the month. Suckers should be pulled
out or rubbed off as soon as they appear; in fact, there
will now be hardly a plant which will not want a little
attention pretty frequently. Liquid manure may be
applied, particularly to those plants which are already
showing flower buds; and hoeing, especially after rain or
liquid applications, must on no account be neglected. A
further light dressing of artificial manure may be desir-
able if there has been much heavy rain since February.
Towards the end of the month Teas on sunny walls will
be in bloom: let them all be cut as wanted, and not
remain to seed on the plants. Indoors the Maréchal
Niel will have been cut completely back, by slow grada-
tions as the blooms are gathered, to the original
328 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
horizontal old wood. Pot-plants which have bloomed
should be hardened off by slow degrees that they may
be put out in June.
June.—Disbudding will be in progress for a time, of
the later sorts. The plague of caterpillars will be wan-
ing, but those that remain will be far more dangerous, as
they will now be found attacking the buds themselves.
The shoots of all flexible varieties should be staked, the
ties being made pretty close to the buds. Watering
may be necessary if the weather is very dry, but it is
probably better to give none at all if a thorough
soaking cannot be managed. Hoe the next day after
rain, watering, or hquid manure. Green fly or mildew
must be met and combated at once. Where thrips have
been prevalent in former years, or at all events in very
dry weather, Teas and light-coloured Roses should be
syringed in the evening until the petals begin to show.
In dry weather Tea buds may be wrapped in paper
where intended for exhibition, and the protectors—
waterproof cones attached to stakes—should be got out,
overhauled, and placed in readiness. Exhibition boxes,
tubes, labels, and wires should also be prepared, and
moss procured, picked over, and laid on the trays in a
shady place in readiness. Constant watchfulness will
be required by an exhibitor, as his best bloom may be
spoilt by a caterpillar, a gust of wind, or even a shower
of rain,in a few hours. Raffia and stakes for tying, and
sulphur for mildew, should always be ready where they
can be got at once. The new shoots of Maréchal Niel
under glass should be thinned and trained up under the
wires. Forward stocks may be budded this month with
buds from Roses on walls or grafted plants. Roses in
pots should have been so hardened off that they can be
planted out if desired by the middle of the month It
XIV CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS 329
is sometimes advisable, to prevent a check, to gently
break the pot in the hole made and pick out the pieces
rather than turn the plant out. Those plants which
are intended for repotting should now be fit and ready
for plunging out of doors in their autumnal quarters
Many Roses will be in bloom by the end of the month
especially the Teas and summer Roses, and the first-
fruits, often the best and finest, will gladden our
eyes
July—In many districts this 1s, in average seasons,
the month of Roses, H.P.s being a little later than the
old-fashioned Roses of the poets. The last week in
June and the first fortnight in July are roughly the
general bounds of “the season” for the metropolitan
latitude. Rose shows will be in full swing, and ex-
hibitors for a time will have enough to do in cutting
their blooms, and rushing about the country night and
day to the various shows. Mildew often gets a chance
now of establishing itself, and hoeing and aphides are
too frequently neglected. It is harvest time, and the
details of culture are naturally neglected for a while.
Still, even before the show-boxes are put away, budding
will have commenced with Tea buds on standard stocks,
as these stocks often suffer from a stagnation of sap in
August, and Tea buds, which cannot always be got in
sufficient quantity, will stand the winter better if they
be budded early.
While the Roses are still at their best, it 1s advisable
that notes be made of the colours and good or bad
qualities of unfamiliar varieties, as even a good memory
may hold a somewhat unreliable picture of certain
flowers if they be not accurately judged in comparison
with others, and the results of observation committed to
writing at once. Now is the time to condemn certain
330 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE CHAP.
sorts for weeding out, and to determine to grow more
of others. Ifit be found that some sort does better in
a certain situation or on a particular stock, especial
notice should be taken of the fact. The foundations
of a good deal of work for the rest of the year may
depend upon a few days’ observation. All ffowers
should be cut as soon as they are faded, if not before,
as only the very earliest would be available for seed.
Mildew is now likely to be very troublesome, and
vigorous efforts should be made to keep it under.
Hoeing should not be neglected, or watering if the
weather is very dry, but no more liquid manure should
be used. Pot Roses should not be neglected, and
though they will require but little water, they must
be watched for aphides and mildew.
August.—This is the month for budding on all stocks.
When buds are plentiful and the sap of the stocks runs
freely, the work should be pushed on as fast as possible,
for the sooner it is done the better will be the chance
for rebudding in three or four weeks’ time the stocks
that have failed. Layering may be done in this month,
and summer cuttings of Roses struck in bottom heat.
Watering and hoeing seem the only remedies for rust,
the autumn stage of the orange fungus. There is
plenty of time for this, and for seeing that aphides do
not get a footing anywhere for the man who does not
bud his own Roses; but he who does this in any
quantity will generally find his hands full, for the mere
settling how many, of what varieties, on which stocks,
in what situation, he shall bud will require plenty of
consideration and arrangement.
September —Budding on briars should be finished
during the first week, but manettis may still be budded
a little later. Roses for forcing should be kept at rest.
XIV CALENDER OF OPERATIONS dol
Maréchal Niel under glass will now probably be growing
very fast, and should be kept tied up, and watched for
mildew. Wall Roses may require nailing or otherwise
fastening up, as they grow rapidly during this month
There will be beautiful Roses in abundance out of doors,
among which, if the weather be dry, Teas will be pre-
eminent; but in spite of this I should strongly advise
the hard-worked Rosarian now to take a holiday, for if
he does not I do not know when he will get one, unless
it be during the snows and frosts of Christmas and
January.
INDEX
PAGE
ANALYSIS, of soil and Rose
TE pt Re CSE ae pele meme’ |
Pe Ee a cc ee Lol
Aphides. . Eee Ya Poti Zo.
April, work for 326
Arches, Roses for 314
Arrangement, of Rose beds. 46
of blooms for
show . Rash ict 205
Artineial manure. .. .. 7i
August, work for. . . . . 330
Apstman Briars ..... 18
PeyeemmeEvose . 9. . ./. . ID
BAmsoo stakes. ..... 182
Banksian Rose. ..... 2!
Beaesnape of. . ... . 4
preparation of ... 48
Paper oe ya DE
Blooms, shapesof ... . 188
faults of . 214
Boring insects 147, 148
Bourbon Rose ...... 28
Boursault Rose ..... 20
Boxes for exhibition . . . 195
Bracken, for protection . . 58
fenae, Austrian ..2.. . «- 18
BWCEOL gs one 2H?
as a stock . 102
seedling ; , 105 118
standard . . . 103
cutting. . . . 105
PAGE
Budding . 106, 119
Bumbielaye 205.29 cee
Button-hole Roses , 290
selection e aly
CALENDAR of operations. . 321
Caterpillars. __ - =) 23=—#49
Ghalk soul a 2a) tee eee
Chinese: Rosé’ . 20545204) 22s
Christmas, Roses at. . . . 180
Classification 2 4, .uuwear es ke
(Clay: sotle (2 20.2 pa areee ee ee
burt 5027 ease ee ee
Climbing Roses .... . 313
Colours of Roses . . . 212
Cuckoo-spit. 4 Gi eee
Cultivation. JAG Oi eeG
Cutting for exhibition 5) ote emeo
Cuttings of Roses ... . 136
briat: 0 a0 We eee ne
manetti. ~ 2) 2 Py
DamasK Rose .... ..- I6
December, work for . 323
Depth for planting . 52, 54
Dijon Teas, pruning of . . 95
Disbudding of shoots . . . 92
for exhibition 93
of buds . 98, 191
Dog-Rose . 13,
Drainage . 37, 48
334
PAGE
Dressing of blooms for show 203
Dwarf plants, qualifications
St ma eas ot 9c ae
EartTH, burning of .... 37
as protection . . . 59
Earwigs. . ae v=
Elevation, adv antage of. = 80
Maclash Teses, <2. 2 20
growers 10, 12
Evergreen Rose ..... 20
Waeimbipns 25). 46.2 . .. “8d
boxestor’ 3... “195
Faminies of Roses... . 22
Bpiry nOses Vs). as ae,
Faults of Roses yee eee
Fly, green. . . Pie Stes, SEO
February, work for... . 324
Forcing Roses . .-. . . . IU6
Horm an Roses. ....-. /.. P88
Wragranece-< 4... |. 1)" £89
renew tease. 3. 2 ss | AO
STOWErS) 4.6 2 2; 9
AMIE Ay PAP a> os ad
Wriends, insect. ..-: . . 166
Frog hoppers. . by iaZ
Frost, injury from in 1 May MS.
remedial measures for 168
protection against, 58, 167
Fungus, orange ..... 163
GARDEN Roses. ..... 27
Glass, culture under... 171
rate ho Stet de See
Gravel sow |) 4.40, fa Sere
Poss BUOOLS) 5-920. wt 7 > OT
Srecian saw. Vo. 2 09
Hapits of Roses... .. 213
Hoe, use of . . 5.) Seki
Hybrid Bourbon Roses eae
China Roses’. 2 2 -- 47
INDEX
PAGE
Hybrid Perpetual Roses . . 22
selection of 310
Tea, Roses .° . °, sees
selection of 312
Hybridisation : . ... . 139
IcHNEUMON flies . 1438, 156
Increased culture of Roses . 187
Insects SA 142
ivon‘in ‘soil, 3h 6... 4a ee
JANUARY, work for . 323
Japanese Roses ..... 26
Josephine, Empress. . . . 9
Judging’ —)-"-5 AS oe
July, work for . 329
June, work for . 328
LABEIS’. >. ter ce
Larve of moths | Od aa
Layering . . 3s ee
Lawrenciana Roses : 24
Leaves, dead, as protection . 59
Laquid manure’). . 2 = ~ 7a
Lime. . Lp
Lists of Roses : . @ . old
Team |. 3. 2 ee ee
Locality” < ps ss 752. 2 eee
Macartngy Rose .... 26
Manetti stock . . a) es
Manures, natural solid . #, oe
quid... 2°" 23 ae
artificial ~ . .-. U8
March, work for . | ee
Marl»... SR gna a
Maréchal Niel 61, 95
May, work for . 326
Middle rows, selections for. 312
Mildegy 2" 54% t. <2 iat Se ee
Miniature Roses
Moisture, under glass. . . 177
rismg in soil . . 56
INDEX 300
PAGE PAGE
Monthly Rose; ...... 23 Qummn of flowers. ... - 8
Moss, for exhibition . . . 195
eee eo. ae RO
Moths ya) 143 \Ratsers, French. ... .- 9
Mens |. 2...) OF Hngiisn 72.4.) 18
Multiflora Rose ..... 21 Red rust Eaten. Ce:
ieee. | wlCi«‘“t «| 8 ed spider... . Pp
Remedies for mildew 163
orange fungus 165
mows Prench . .... hl late frosts . . 168
Neglected Roses . _ . . 815 Roots of different stocks . 105
Night-soil. ...... . 69 Rosarium, pattern or shape
Beemares 5 ww ww, 80 GES Re vd ed eye gehen
Mietseete Bose . . ... °. 24; 271 “ose progress, oy. 2 4.27 E82
Wovember, work for... . 322 Rose-water’ . ...¥. . - a
Sironme, work for . .. .° 321 © Sanpy soil . >. 2. 2. (2 4!
Odours of Roses . ... . -185 Saw,Grecian ...... 2109
Oitmshioned Roses’. . . 183 Sawiilies,. . 2 20. . 272246
Operations, calendar of . . 321 Scentof Roses. .... . 185
manual, by ex- Scissors s-.2 205 We Gegdeeteeencene
ample : is 35 38,1028) “Scateh: (Rise. -3..i0 = eee
Orange fungus... ... 163 Seed, Rosesfrom..... 139
Mito of Roses 3... ks 7 Seedlings . 140
Selections . 309
September, work for 330
Packine Rose blooms. . . 97 — Setting up for exhibition . 202
Pegged down Roses. . . . 92 Shading blooms .... . 194
selection'ef SIG, “epatiar | 2\) / 5 oo) ae eae
bVis eer renee ee inky AOR
Pillars, Rose . = a ee cee Single Roses . pt One JE RO
Planting . . sje ig a pee, Carles dneoren Ged] ot ae ease
Polyantha Rove... 21,25 \ Sogh 0. eee ary
selection of . 318 Specimen pot. plants. tig oe
Pompon Roses. ...:. 1d Sports, climbing... . . 271
Iecash; 2s 2 3 «i. » 81 cStakes for standards: .° . 3ly 132
On ORES 2.0. 176 Standards . 103
_selection of . . . 318 getting the stocks 108
Preparation of beds... . 48 Stocks... aa
Procuring standard stocks . 108 Suckers, to dkadteate _ 166
Propagation .. gat) SED propagation ye _ 138
Protection against frost. . 58 Canimicrucear een - Te
rain. . 193 SGweetbriar ......=. «219
mrovence Rose. . . .. « V4
perme SP od ogy “ah helen a
for exhibition . . 84,93 Taub Standards . 43, 112
TODS 3) xe dep tala » OL, Lap roots . 105, 118
336
PAGE
Tea Roses. . . fie SS ee
pruning ‘of oe 9
selections of . Sah 313,
317
Thinning shoots’... . 2") 192
buds . . 98, 191
Thorns’. 109
Thrips 154
Town gardens 319
Top-dressings. , ...- 2), 66
Trailing Roses. . awa we
Training Maréchal Niel a OOS
specimen pot plants 181
Tying maiden blooms . 132
INDEX
Tying material for
Types of Roses
VARIETIES, habits of
selections of .
Ventilation
Watts for Roses .
Watering . .
Weeping Roses
Weevils AD
Wind, danger from .
THE END
RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY.
y@6- Carefully observe Christian Name.
FRANK CANT.
WINNER OF THE
CHAMPION TROPHY of the
NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY FOUR
times, viz.: 1888, 1890, 1892, 1894,
CAN SUPPLY
STANDARD & HALF-ST. ROSES,
DWARF OR BUSH ROSES,
Roses in pots of all varieties of
Pr CEPTIONAL OV ALLIES ae
Moderate Prices.
ASK FOR MY ROSE CATALOGUE, THE BEST EVER
PUBLISHED.
CAREFULLY ADDRESS—
BRAISWICK NURSERY,
COLCHESTER.
KENT. THE GARDEN OF ENGLAND.
Waite! =
NAlostowe , KENT:
Who CuLtivATE 800 KINDS
T NA
KINDLY ORDER DIRECT. NO AGENTS.
ROSES. ROSES. ROSES.
Prior’s Colchester Roses
Have won this Season, 1894,
The Woodbridge Challenge Cup,
The St. Osyth Challenge Cup,
{ National Rose Society’s Gold Medal,
1 National Rose Society’s Silver Medal,
And 43 First and Second Prizes at all
the Leading Shows,
D. PRIOR & SON, Rose Growers and Nurserymen,
COLCHESTER, have pleasure in announcing that their Plants are
the best and strongest procurable of all the leading and best
varieties of Teas, Hybrid Teas, and Perpetuals, Standards, Half
Standards, and Dwarfs, which cannot fail to give satisfaction.
Catalogues post free on application.
Rose and Fruit Tree Nurseries,
BUSH HILL PARK, ENFIELD.
Where the Rose may truly be said to be ‘‘at
home,” either in open ground or in pots.
HUGH LOW & CO.
Cordially wvite an vnspection.
Heap Orrice: CLAPTON NURSERY, UPPER CLAPTON, N.E.
CELEBRATED IRISH ROSES,
ALEX. DICKSON & SONS,
ROYAL NURSERIES, NEWTOWNARDS, CO. DOWN.
ESTABLISHED 1836.
Raisers of the famous Pedigree Roses, which have beea awarded Six
Gold Medals, by the National Rose Society, offer strong plants of
MARCHIONESS OF DOWNSHIRE
AND
Mrs. R. G. SHARMAN CRAWFORD.
The two best Roses of recent years.
ALSO
A full collection of all the leading roses in
cultivation.
Strony Plants at Moderate Prices.
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE ON APPLICATION.
BENJAMIN R. CANT,
ROSE GROWER, COLCHESTER,
WINNER OF THE CHAMPION CUP OF THE
NATIONAL ROSE SOCIETY SIX TIMES,
THE JUBILEE CHAMPION CUP TWICE,
THE CHISWICK CHALLENGE CUP THREE TIMES,
And this now becomes my absolute Property.
The most successful Grower and Exhibitor
for the last 46 Years.
B. hk. CANT’S CATALOGUE IS THE BEST
PUBLISHED—SENT POST FREE.
The Very Rev. 8. REYNOLDS HOLE,
Dean of Rochester, President of the National Rose Society,
SayS:—
“No Roses in the World can come up
to those of Benjamin R> Cang :
The Rev. H. HONYWOOD DOMBRAIN,
Hon. Sec. National Rose Society, writes :—
“‘Benjamin R. Cant is still the Champion.”
of.
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