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Horticultural Notes
The last meeting of the Dandenong
Horticultural Society was held re
cently, when the attendance was
excellent, and. President Mr. A.
Grump presided. The floral display
was excellent. Mrs. W. L. .Brumley i
received first award for rose and
similarly for three cut flowers, for
which she was awarded 15 as -the
maximum points. ,
ROSE CULTURE.
Speaking as a rose, grower having;
only amateur status, Mr. P. L. Verey
claimed himself as a- lover of the rose
who had but unlimited space to grow
them together with other types of
flowers, therefore his observations
will be of interest to the average,
gardener. When asked to give a few
points on rose growing,; I stated that
I “trusted to luck” to, a large extent.
I followed in certain degree the gen
eral rules and conditions set out by
experts, but, owing to the limited area
for cultivation, I could not give to
each rose that ideal situation that we
are told is required for the best re
sults.” It is my considered opinion
that the rose can be pampered too
touch. If bush'is planted cor
rectly, and receives a. little attention,
it will give good results.
In planting, I advise preparing the
ground by digging the hole to a depth
of from 18 inches to two feet, working
in a little manure well below 12 inches,
with a heavy clay soil, and filling in
within six inches of the surface, being
sure when planting the bush that
the roots are evenly spread out and
Erected downwards, thus encouraging
a. deeper rooting.of the bush and les
sening the risk of damage to the roots,
hy subsequent cultivation of the sur
face.
bespits all care certain types of
roses fail to respond by healthy nor
toal growth, though that same type
toay give splendid results in other
gardens. If a change of position does
hot effect improvement it is wise to
discard and replace with another
variety, in transplanting roses ex
treme care is not required in lifting,-
since I have found a rather drastic
turning of the roots Is desirable at
s hch a time.
The use of manuring is a debatable
question. I have found that the
bushes giving'best results are those
that have received the least attention
la this respect, whereas the bushes'
that are situated in beds, that have
had extra care and . attention, have
h?t such healthy three
uaVhfg Veten , 'vyirfoVdd ' ’this' sehschi
owing to die-back.
Tlie most important‘treatment the
rose requires is. that of pruning, not
only in June or July, but every time
a bloom is picked. If a bloom dies on
the bush it should be pruned—if a bud
is taken for decoration the stem
should be left with only one- or two
eyes, left, so. that a vigorous shoot
will develop and replace the bloom
that, has bee'n cut; if this practice is
not followed a weak growth of, per
haps four or five shoots, .will result;
and poor blooms, if any, will appear.
If this advice is followed a longer
flowering, period will result, and also
more vigorous growth.
; When winter pruning is undertaken
on first year plants, all the original
nursery wood should be cut away and
the future of the bushes built up for
next two years on the growth re
maining. Then all the three year old
growth should be removed that is not
required in / the building up of a uni
form well balanced bush. In older
plants it is' essential that spindly
growth Should be cut out, and like
wise as much of the old wood as pos
sible, always depending on the younger
growth to form the foundation of the
bush.
. The advice I would give to those
who are planning anew garden, which
is to have a fair proportion of roses,
is, first,' if you desire a quantity of
blooms, together with quality, choose
as many climbers as possible—a lat
tice, covered with climbing roses, is
to be preferred to an ordinary hedge,
if a hedge of any sort is desired.
Roses form an ideal covering- for an
unsightly fence, and will compensate
with a wealth of flowers for cutting.
Secondly, bush roses come next in
order 1 of, preference; they give .a
greater display of blooms than- the
standard,'and may be trained to de
velop in such a manner that they do
not interfere with the growth of
annuals in the same bed. Above all,
I would, advise GROW MORE ROSES.
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