A dictionary of modern gardening - University Library

RO S 519 RO S
is not too low. If the plants meet with
one frosty night or two in the beginning
of October, so much the better ; for
they will push more vigorously after
the heat is applied. The first year
none of the crops will come in so early
as afterwards; and I advise all the
young suckers to be forced in succession
the first year, not waiting till ihey
have had one year's growth in the open
air. Moreover, if the suckers are
strong, they will produce more blossoms
than might be expected. The
second crop of plants introduced on the
first of November will blossom from the
middle of January to mid-February ;
the
third crop, introduced December 1st,
from mid-February to the middle of
March ; those of the fourth crop, introduced
on the first of January, from the
middle of March to the middle of April
those of the fifth crop, introduced on
the first of February, from the middle
of April to the middle of May ; those of
the sixth and last crop, introduced on
the first of March, from the middle of
May till the middle of June, when
several varieties in the open ground begin
to blossom.
'•' As soon as the plants begin to push
their buds, whether any apliides ap-
pear upon the young shoots or not, fill
the frame with tobacco-smoke ; and do
not fail to repeat this every third week
till the flowers appear; smoking, for
the last time, just before any red tints
appear on the earliest buds. No unpleasant
smell of the tobacco will remain
upon the plants after a day or
two. The young shoots must also be
carefully examined when half an inch
long, and any grubs feeding upon them
destroyed.
" After the blossoms are gathered
the plants must not be removed to a
back shed, but kept in the frame, or
brought back into it, if they have been
taken into the apartments of the owner,
permitting them to grow as they do in
summer, in the open air, for at least
two or three months. They must then
be placed in a shady situation, and kept
rather dry than moist, to throw them
into a state of rest.
" After the mouth of May, Mr. Salisbury
prefers inverting them, especially
the earlier crops, between two planks
raised upon tressels, high enough to
prevent tiie branches from touching the
earth, as in the amiexed sketch, having
;
—
for twenty-five years experienced the
utility of this treatment, and suspecting
that it strengthens the future blossoms
by retaining sap in the branches, which
would otherwise descend to the root or
form suckers.
Fig. 150.
" While the plants are growing they
must be constantly supplied with moisture
— water and guano, or pigeons'
dung infused in it a few days before, in
the proportion of one ounce of the
former, and of the latter one ounce to
a gallon of water. Where pigeons'
dung cannot be had, two ounces of
sheep or deer's dung may be substituted
to each gallon of water.
" It now only remains to add, that it
is most important in forcing roses to
mark all the plants, so that those introduced
into tlie frame in October, the
first year, may be introduced on the
same day, the second and every succeeding
year. To secure this, paint
No. 1, 2, 3, &c., upon the pots themselves.
No. 1 to go in first, and so on.
" Every year, about a fortnight before
the plants are forced, they must be
shifted into larger pots, exactly one
inch wider in diameter, and not more,
turning them out without breaking the
ball or disturbing any of the fibres, and
filling the pots with the same compost
of hazel loam, charred turf, and vegetable
earth. By this method the same
plants may be forced for ten years,
without the inconvenience of using a
very large pot, as the last season they
will not want to be removed, or may
be shifted into the same pot again.
"With respect to pruning, I have
never been in the habit of leaving more
than two buds on each branch, and, as
the plants increase in size and number
of branches, often only one bud upon
the weaker branches. It is much better
to have from ten to twenty strong
blossoms than a larger number of weak
ones, and the foliaL'o is likewise more
healthy." Gard. Mag.
Pot-Culture has been more fully dis-