Chapter 18 - Reminders For The Year

October

October may be said to be the beginning of the year for rose-growers, for what is done from now on determines success or failure in the coming season.

It is quite likely that a sharp frost some time during the month will have spoilt the chance of seeing any good blooms again that season, so any transplanting that is to be done can be carried out quite safely without the sacrifice of any good flowers. Remove the foliage and cut back the soft growth, thus preventing the wood of the plants from shriveling.

The preparation of new beds should be completed and also the renovation of old ones. If the beds, after being prepared, can be protected with some covering against heavy rain, the effort may be found well worth while.

Cuttings of the Floribundas, Ramblers, Climbers, Hybrid Musks and the more vigorous Hybrid Teas should be made and planted out in a sheltered site. Roses should be potted-up for the greenhouse.

November

This is the time when the roses are beginning to be sent out by the nurseries. On receipt of the bundle, unpack and heel them in the soil until ready to plant. If time can be spared, remove foliage, cut back soft growth and trim back long and damaged roots. In planting standard roses on the rugosa stock they should have a covering of John Innes compost if the soil is of a heavy and sticky nature. Put the stake in first and plant the tree close to it. The stake should be long enough to come up to the union of rose and stock. Cuttings of rugosa and polyantha for budding next season should be prepared and planted. Briar stems for standards should be gathered from hedgerow and copse. Long growths on bush roses should be shortened back to about two feet to prevent wind damage.

December

Continue planting if delayed by bad weather last month. Standard briars must be got in by the end of the month. Protect pot roses from frost, if no room can be found for them in the greenhouse until the chrysanthemums or other plants have finished.

January

Any roses not planted should be left until next month. Go over any show gear and get everything in order for when it is required for use. Renew stakes on standard roses if necessary and see that the ties are sound, to prevent heavy snow snapping off the heads of the plants.

Pot roses should be housed and pruned. Do not prune to less than three eyes. Roses planted out in the greenhouse may be pruned according to the amount of room available.

February

With this month there often comes an improvement in the weather conditions and, from now on, no time should be lost in getting any arrears of planting done. Seedling briar stocks for budding in July can now be planted, and stocks budded the previous year can now have their wild growth removed by cutting back about a quarter of an inch above the dormant bud. Any 'shot buds', that is, those that grew soon after budding, should be cut back to two or three eyes. After cutting back, a small cane should be placed in position so that when the new growth comes it may be tied and so prevented from being blown out in a strong wind. The briar growth on budded standard roses may also be cut back, leaving one wild eye beyond the dormant bud.

Pot roses will be breaking into growth, and spraying with clear water on bright mornings will be a great help to the plants. Adequate ventilation should be given, and there must be no attempt at forcing at this stage. If the house is heated by pipes, a mixture of sulphur and lime smeared over the top pipes at intervals of a yard or so will keep mildew away. Keep a watch for greenfly and caterpillars on the tips of the new growths.

March

Continue planting. The roses may be pruned beforehand and should be cut back to about three or four eyes. All established bushes should now be pruned if the weather is at all suitable. Do not delay this operation until the plants have broken into active growth or bleeding will result, weakening the plant. The Floribunda roses should be treated first, since they are the most precocious. After pruning, a dressing of rotted manure should be given. A moderate amount each year is better than a heavy dressing once in three years. The manure may be left on the surface or turned in. Care should be taken not to damage the roots when turning in the manure. Failing manure, compost supplemented with dried blood, fish-meal and bone-meal— a handful to the square yard—or one part sulphate of ammonia, three parts of super phosphate of lime and two parts sulphate of potash, at the rate of four ounces to the square yard, may be used.

Pot roses may be showing buds, and a feed with liquid manure once a week will improve the quality of the blooms. A complete artificial manure, at the rate of one ounce to a gallon of water, may be given. Continue spraying the foliage on bright days, but refrain when it is dull and the wind is in the north-west. Shading on warm days will prevent the tender foliage from being scorched. If light cotton material is not to hand, spraying the outside of the glass with whitening is an easy way. It may easily be renewed when necessary, if washed off by the rain.

April

Nothing sets off rose beds like turf. After mowing and rolling the grass the edges of the beds should be cut neatly with an edging tool. If the beds are rectangular, a long piece of wood about four inches wide and one inch thick with a four-inch nail driven through each end will prevent the edging tool from slipping and ensure that not only are the edges cut perfectly straight, but the minimum of turf is cut away.

Some pot roses will be coming into bloom and shading will prolong their freshness. Spraying should no longer be necessary, but damping down the floor will help to maintain a humid atmosphere. Aphides are almost sure to be present, but may easily be eliminated by the use of nicotine shreds. This should be done in the early evening when the house still has some of the warmth of the sun. Close all ventilators and put the shreds in heaps, set alight with a taper, and allow to smolder. The house should be vacated, making sure that no household pets are concealed under the staging. The amount to use will be governed by the size of the house, and the maker's instructions are given with the material. Do not allow the aphides to become too numerous before doing anything about it or a considerable amount of damage to the plants will result.

May

Growth on the plants in the garden will soon become rapid, and this is the best time for dealing with the stems of standard roses and dwarfs budded last season. When the growths of budded stocks, both standard and dwarf, reach about nine inches they should be tied to sticks, to prevent them being blown out. Do not delay this, or great disappointment may result and the whole work will be in vain. About the end of the month go over the older bushes and cut away thin and twiggy growth at the base of the plants.

After the first crop of bloom is over in the greenhouse, continue to feed the plants for the second crop. Red spider may give trouble if the house has been kept on the dry side. Examine the undersides of the leaves and if the mite is present, fumigating with azobenzene smokes, used in the same way as nicotine shreds, will quickly end its activities.

June

Disbudding should be done, if fine blooms are required. If the sole object is a mass of bloom, the removal of the centre bud allowing the side buds to develop, will result in a greater number of medium-sized flowers, and prevent the crowded effect that happens when the whole of the buds are left on the shoot. In disbudding for exhibition it is best to do it as soon as the side buds can be picked out without damaging the one to be left. Some varieties, especially those with a great number of petals and liable to develop a split centre, will often produce smaller though better blooms if the centre bud is taken out and one side bud retained. The average time for a bloom to come to perfection from the time when the bud is first seen is about thirty days, varying according to the number of petals, those with fewer being the quicker to mature.

Pot roses should be removed from the greenhouse to a bed of ashes outside. If good growth has been made, there will be no need to feed, but watering must not be neglected. Plunging the pots in the ashes will save a lot of time spent in watering.

July

This is the month of shows, and, because of them, things that should be done are often neglected. Keep a sharp look-out for the first signs of black spot and mildew and spray with colloidal copper and white oil emulsion or with captan and karathane. The most forward stocks may be budded. Do not be in a hurry to bud the multifloea stocks which were planted as un-rooted cuttings, as the bark is very thin at first. Do not allow faded blooms to remain on the plants or delay in the second blooming will result. Another dressing of fertilizer, at about three ounces to the square yard, hoed in, will help the plants to maintain their vigor.

August

Try to complete budding this month, the earlier the better. Standard briars budded last month should have the ties released if the growth shows signs of constriction. This is a good time to pay a visit to the nurseries, with a view to seeing and purchasing some of the new varieties. As all the up-to-date rose establishments have their roses clearly labeled, there should be no reason to require the help of the principal to make one's selection. Remember budding time is a busy time for them and usually there is little of it to spare. August is also the time when most of us take our annual holiday, the garden often being left to take care of itself. See that the beds get a good hoeing and faded blooms are cut off. It would pay to sacrifice any bloom on the plants, rather than allow seed pods to form.

September

This month should see quite a lot of bloom on the plants. There will be strong basal shoots on many of the bushes. Coming at this period of the year, although they often produce some very fine blooms, there is little time for them to ripen properly. The correct thing to do is to cut them off when first seen, but this requires courage. Towards the end of the month Ramblers should have their old, flowered wood cut out and the new growth tied into position. Weeping standards should be treated in much the same way, but one should be guided by the amount of new growth made. If this is insufficient, some of the older wood should be retained, merely cutting back the laterals and thinning out the weaker growth.