Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-06-28
TALK ABOUT THE FLOWERS
LORE ABOUT RoSEs.

roses DUO anu OV'"'f 1T.
attention TO the selection OF varIeties
f,om the various classes Of roses, winch
now number ten, the lovers OF roses
can possess them almost every month
IN the wear. And there Is no other
flower which will so fully repay careini
culture as roses. Although they VIII
bloom in the poorest OF garden
soil. still they can never exnio'l
All their beauties unless they are
we'll fed and judiciously pruned. Their
fayorite habitat is heavy, ciayey
loan made very rich with well-decayed
stable compost. Horse-manure Is bet
Ter for them than the product oil the
cow.stable. Yet the latter Is lar bet
ter than none. both as protection IN
the winter. mulch in the summer, ana
a fertilizer for spring, summer, and
autumn growth. Roses are almost as
gross feeders as pansies, and delight 10
have their tastes consulted. They WIN
drink up liquid fertilizers with decided
benefit, even if they are applied every
four or five days when the bushes are
planted in the garden, but potted roses
must have liquid fertilizers in small guam
titles, else they will lose their lives
from too high feeding. Spade in the
manure all about the roots if possible
before the buds appear, but even alter
they are opening it will not prove IN
furious to them, and will make the ny
brid teas, hybrid /perpetuals, and all
monthly roses bloom much. more con-
tinuously, and also increase the shoots
from their roots, upon which the
largest clusters of buds and flowers
are always borne. Soluble Pacific guano
is an excellent fertilizer for roses, as
il contains all the essentials for their
growth. Dig it into the soil around
roots of a large rose-bush by the heap
ing tablespoonful, but take care not to
touch the stalks with it. A very good
time to apply it is after shower and
an old iron spoon is good implement
TO use for the purpose. 1t is well to
leave an old spoon in the box of guano,
which should always be kept tightly
covered. Guano is also the best fer
tilizer for geraniums, verbenas, hello
tropes. fuchsias, and all kinds of bed
ding-out plants.
Roses must be pruned back with a
lavish hand, cutting out all the old wood
and the weak branches so as to increase
the shoots from the roots and encourage
the number of Towering shoots. Last
season an old moss rose was cut back
most vigorously because the previous
wear it had bloomed very sparsely. The
effect was soon seen in the strong shoots
sent up from the ground, and the clus-
tiers ofmossy buds were very numerous.
This season all the old growth has been
cut out and only last years shoots lett to
flower. and the shoots from the roots are
now verv luxuriant and filed with
buds. Hybrid perpetuals will bloom
in great beauty in September if all the
old wood is cut out after June flower
ing and no flowers left to mature upon
the bushes and exhaust their strength
by going to seed. Cut back most Of the
shoots but those springing from the
roots. and let new wood form, upon
which large clusters of buds will ap-
near in due season. Monthly roses
cannot endure quite as much pruning as
their stronger sisters, yet they will re-
spond with fresh buds and flowers IT the
scissors are used to clip off all the
branches that have borne roses and the
weak shoots, and thereby stimulate
fresh shoots to put forth in renewed
beauty.
Each year brings r, new roses iron
the florists. who maze their culture
speciality. and importations are received
/ from English, French, and German 70
sarians. who carefully hybridize thu
/ flowers and save the seeds. raising manl
hundreds of seedlings each winter ant
rejoicing if only a few rich and rar'
roses are obtained from them. Tn
hybrid tea roses were the produc
Of careful naturalization on the part 0
Mr.. Bennett, of England. He fertlllze
the hybrid perpetualS with the YER
fragrant and tender tea-roses and pro
duced an entirely new class OF rose
which possess the fragrance oil tn
mother plant with the hardy stron
habit Of growth of the remontants Q
perpetuals. With protection OF sod
turned grass-side downwards they wi
live through our cold winters in tn
borders.
Amongst the latest varieties is tn
Sunset, a perfect rose of the richie!
hues of orange and saffron (whence Il
name) while its fresh foliage is of
, deep crimson tint which greatly Ell
f hances its beauty. 1t is of very fin
form and an exceedingly double ros'
, 1t took the prize over thousands
, other roses at the exhibition of Il
. Royal Horticultural Society of En-
, land in June, 1884 /; and is in ever
r respect the most beautiful rose TIL
9 has ever been produced. La Franc
q of the same class, is of light, silver
5 pink shaded with peach color. 1t
r deliciously fragrant, and of perfe
r form. and very free bloomer. Antolr
S Mermet is rose Of the richest carmil
: hue, shaded to pink, and is exceeded
4 beauty only by La France. Julin Fl
c ger has flowers of salmon pink, lar
S and finely formed. Mademoiselle Jul
$ Weidman bears extra largeplowers
n silvery rose, tinged with yellow, {
G under side Of the petals being Of a vi
c let crimson shade. The Duchess
v Connaught is very double. large ros
y highly perfumed, and of delicate 70
e hue, shaded to deep salmon col
IS in the centre. Duke Of Connaught h
IS beautiful buds and flowers very swe,
II and Of bright rosy crimson. Triomp
s dangers is of fiery red, changing
e a dark velvety crimson, very dout
l. and fragrant rose. Viscountess f
y mouth has bright carmine flowers of c
1t ira size, and fine form, deliciously Fl
il grant. These roses were raised
Ie English and French rOsarians, and I
|. perfect Of their kind, and we'll wort
Il Of place in the smallest garden.
lie The Polyantha roses are also nov
" ties in the rose family, having been i
ID ported from Japan within a few yea
,, and they have not as yet been wid'
in introduced into this country. They
T. Of dwarf habit, and bloom continue