Evening star., 1898-05-07
SUGGESTIONS FOR
AMATEUR GARDENERS
Written tor The Evening Star.

floral kingdom, in spite Of all pretenders.
Volumes have been written concerning Its
history. and millions Of dollars are In
vested every year In its culture and propa-
CATION. The sending out of new rose has
crowned many an obscure brow with
laurels. And 1t Is not strange that so
much Importance should be attached to this
subject, for like most things worth hav-
ing, fine roses must be worked for. Indeed,
so laborious and difficult is tneir culture
that amateurs who are not able to employ
skilled gardeners should confinsa themselves
to few OF the tried and trust ed sorts. No
plant so resents unsuitable environments
ana careless treatment; none SO richly re-
wards Intelligent care.
For the convenience of those who have
neither time nor inclination to study TITO
details, roses may be divided INTO two great
ciasses-the summer-b.ooming or hybrid
perpetuals and the ever-b blooming or hybrid
teas.
Those belonging to the first class are in
every respect the most desirable for out
door culture. for though blooming (most of
tfem) but once, they make Up fer that de-
f1ciency a hundred-fold by their size Leau-
~, hardire ess, growth and profusioa of
bloom. The adjective perpetual applies
only 10 d lew CT this class, the favorite La
france and Mrs. John Laing being two of
the most notable exceptions. The follow
ing is a short list of desirable hardy roses,
bicomins early in summer, and cniy occa-
slonaiiy thereafter. Gen. JacqueminoI,
red; Magma Charta, pink; Paul Neyron.
pink, Dinsmore. red; Capt. Christy, fiesi-
color; Summer Queen, pink; Mabel Morri-
sen, white; Margaret dickson, white. An
oid favorite. especially adapted to planting
In cemeteries. is Madam PAINTER.
In selecting from these bear in mind that
they are not "ever-blooming'' roses, with
the two exceptions noted. and spare your
sell disappointment and vexation. A brief
list of good. dependable tea roses that
should bloom constantly is now given:
Pearl of the Garden, yellow; Souy enir de
Weotton. red; the Bride, white: kaiserin
Augusta Victoria, white; Madame de Wat
teVliie, creamy pink; Mamon Cochet, scar
let; Princess Bonnie, scarlet; Pink Sou
low.
The list might be indefinitely extended
cut all these mentioned may be relied upon
u give variety and profusion of bloom the
entire season If properly cared for.
roses reHt Ire deep, rich soil. somewhat
ciayey, and q sunny exposure, though
preferably where they are shaded from the
afternoon sun. Give them plenty of room,
water and occasional stimulants In the way
of liquid manure bone dust or other n,ant
food
In selecting take no plants that have vel
low or spotted foliage. That shows that
tney are suffering from mildew, and one
diseased plant will infect your whole col
iecuon. Eetter buy strong, healthy young
pants, one or two years old, than old ones
which have been forced and exhausted.
Alter a rose bush has finished blooming
cut the old shoots back two or three inches
inns VIII cause them to put out new shoots,
and 1t is these which produce the finest
blooms. The insect enemies of the rose are
legion Most common is the aphiS or green
fly If present in great numbers thew in
Jure the young shoots and incipient buds
beyond repair. Spraying with tobacco tea
or soap suds or dusting with white helle-
bore are the means recommended for the
determination of this pest.
rom experience / should that
process must be repeated twice day at
least, for the reproductive powers of the
aphis are marvellous. The only thing to do
IS to set your teeth and spray or sponge
away at them. keeping it up from genera
tion unto generation, until the plants are
large and strong enough to bear their at
tacks. AS to the slugs. chafers. etc, that
appear later on, the only remedy is hand
picking and mashing-not precisely an en-
1oyabe operation. but IL you want fine
mowers you must not be too mice" There
Is lot of dirty, back-breaking work to be
gotten through with before the delightful
result appears.
Next to the rose must be placed the
chrysanthemum. or, for convenience, the
num-, as florists say. If you have in
your garden beds fine clumps from last
years planting, do not despise them be-
cause the professional florist does All
theirs are raised from cuttings on new
abundance of lovely flowers for those whom
fortune has not pampered and spoiled. Re
move any "suckers"-that is shoots from
the main root-and set them out in some
shaded corner to grow into nice plants fo-
Iuture use. Thin out some of the branches
from the main stalk also. leaving, prefer
ably, those growing from the highest
part: Follow the ''pinching back and
"disbudding process described later on
Secure young plants from the florist for
potting. Get them first in four-inch pots
IN common garden loam not forgetting a
iayer OF pebbles. cinders or broken pottery
fnr
rather shady place out of doors. and water
every day as needed. When the plants are
about six inches high pinch out the central
leaf bud and all side shoots and suckers
that may appear. New shoots will soon
start near the top. In month or so trans
fer the plants to six-inch pots and richer
soil. and again about the middle of August
to eight or nine-inch pots, in which thew
are to remain. Ii possible set them now
on board in a trench a foot deep and ill
in around them With soil. Water freely.
never letting the plants dry and wilt. Keep
up the pincning back process until August
!. then stop it. BY this time you should
nave nice. stOcky plants on one strong CEN
trail stalk. The buds will soon appear
NOW decide whether you want fewer and
Larger flowers or masses OF medium sized
blooms. With tiny pair of sharp scissors
or penknife remove more or less of the
buds, leaving those that look most promis-
Ing. The fewer the buds the larger the
blooms. This delicate operation should be
done when the buds are very small Spray
the plants often and give liquid manure
once week. When frost Is threatened re-
move the pots from the trench and protect
at night, either by covering with boxes or
setting inside shed or porch. AS the
blooms appear remove to the house, but
not to very warm room. As to varieties,
the japanese are the most picturesque,
the pompons the hardest. Space forbids
a detailed list. but few of the best are
the George w. Childs. red: Mrs. Perrin.
pink: Marian Henderson. yellow; Louis
Boehmer. pink ostrich plume; Mrs. Hardy,
white; Good Gracious. peach color. and
Garnet, dark red.
A few words about tender, summer
blooming bulbs Foremost stands the
gladiolus. which for magnifcence Of color
and form. profusion of bloom and ease of
culture. is without rival. The bulbs can
be had from 81 hundred up to any big
price one chooses to pay. Plant plenty Of
them in double rows and masses, about
six inches apart and four deep, in any good
situation. They will need only ordinary
care. AS the flower stalks grow give them
strong slender stakes as supports The
Gamma is another bulbous plant that makes
a grand show where permanent effect is
wanted as its foliage alone ia Sh0wv nd