Part 15

The Ramblers, now so popular, constitute a class by themselves, in many respects. They are of wonderfully vigorous habit, have a score or more of flowers where others have but one bloom early in the season, and give a wonderful show of color. The individual blossoms are too small to please the critical Rose-grower, but there are so many in each cluster, and these clusters are so numerous, that the general effect is most charming. Crimson Rambler is too well known to need description. The variety that deserves a place at the very head of the list, allowing me to be judge, is Dorothy Perkins. This variety is of slenderer growth than Crimson Rambler, therefore of more vine-like habit, and, on this account, better adapted to use about porches and verandas, where it can be trained along the cornice in a graceful fashion that the stiff-branched Crimson Rambler will not admit of. Its foliage is not so large as that of the other variety named, but it is much more attractive, being finely cut, and having a glossy surface that adds much to the beauty of the plant. But the chief charm of the plant is its soft pink flowers, dainty and delicate in the extreme. These are produced in long, loose sprays instead of crowded clusters, thus making the effect of a plant in full bloom vastly more graceful than that of any of the others of the class.

Roses have their enemies, and it would seem as if there must be some sort of understanding among them as to the date of attack, because nearly all of them put in an appearance at about the same time. The aphis I find no difficulty in keeping down by the use of Nicoticide--a very strongly concentrated extract of the nicotine principle of tobacco. This should be diluted with water, as directed on the cans or bottles in which it is put up, and applied to all parts of the bush with a sprayer. Do not wait for the aphis to appear before beginning warfare against him. You can count on his coming, therefore it is well to act on the offensive, instead of the defensive, for it is an easier matter to keep him away altogether than it is to get rid of him after he has taken possession of your bushes. If he finds the tang of Nicoticide clinging to the foliage on his arrival, he will speedily conclude that it will be made extremely uncomfortable for him, if he decides to locate, and he will look for more congenial quarters elsewhere.

For the worm that does so much injury to our plants at the time when they are just getting ready to bloom, I use an emulsion made by adding two quarts kerosene to one part of laundry soap. The soap should be reduced to a liquid, and allowed to become very hot, before the oil is added. Then agitate the two rapidly and forcibly until they unite in a jelly-like substance. The easiest and quickest way to secure an emulsion is by using a brass syringe such as florists sprinkle their plants with. Insert it in the vessel containing the oil and soap, and draw into it as much of the liquids as it will contain, and then expel them with as much force as possible, and continue to do this until the desired union has taken place. Use one part of the emulsion to eight or ten parts water, and make sure it reaches every portion of the bush.

In Rose-culture, as in every branch of floriculture, the price of success is constant vigilance. If you do not get the start of insect enemies, and keep them under control, they will almost invariably ruin your crop of flowers, and often the bushes themselves. Therefore be thorough and persistent in the warfare waged against the common enemy, and do not relax your efforts until he is routed.

In making a selection of Hybrid Perpetuals for home planting, the amateur finds it difficult to choose from the long lists sent out by many dealers. He wants the best and most representative of the class, but he doesn't know which these are. If I were asked to select a dozen kinds, my choice would be the following:

Alfred Colomb. Bright crimson. Fragrant.

Anna de Diesbach. Carmine. Fragrant.

Baroness Rothschild. Soft pink.

Captain Hayward. Deep rose. Perfect in form.

Frau Carl Druschki. Pure white.

General Jacqueminot. Brilliant crimson. Very sweet.

Jules Margottin. Rosy crimson.

Mabel Morrison. White, delicately shaded with blush.

Magna Charta. Glowing carmine. A lovely flower.

Madame Gabriel de Luizet. Delicate pink. Exquisite.

Mrs. John Laing. Soft pink. Very fragrant.

Ulrich Brunner. Bright cherry red.

To increase the above list would be to duplicate colors, for nearly all the other kinds included in the dealers' lists are variations of the distinctive qualities of the above. The twelve named will give you more pleasure than a larger number of less distinctive kinds would, for in each merit stands out pre-eminent, and all the best qualities of the best Roses are represented in the list.

THE ROSE AS A SUMMER BEDDER

The amateur gardener may enjoy Roses from June to November if he is willing to take a little trouble for them. Not, however, with the material treated of in the chapter on "The Rose"--though what is said in it relative to the culture of the Hybrid Perpetual class applies with considerable pertinence to the classes of which I shall make special mention in this chapter--but with the summer-blooming sorts, such as the Teas, the Bengals, the Bourbons, and the Noisettes. These are classed in the catalogues as ever-bloomers, and the term is much more appropriate to them than the term Hybrid Perpetual is to that section of the great Rose family, for all of the four classes named above are really ever-bloomers if given the right kind of treatment--that is, bloomers throughout the summer season. In them we find material from which it is easy to secure a constant supply of flowers from the beginning of summer to the closing in of winter.

In order to grow this class of Roses well, one must understand something of their habits. They send out strong branches from the base of the plant, shortly after planting, and these branches will generally bear from five to eight blossoms. When all the buds on the branch have developed into flowers, nothing more can be expected from that branch in the way of bloom, unless it can be coaxed to send out other branches. This it can be prevailed on to do by close pruning. Cut the old branch back to some point along its length--preferably near its base--where there is a strong "eye" or bud. If the soil is rich--and it can hardly be too rich, for these Roses, like those of the kinds treated of in the foregoing chapter, require strong food and a great deal of it in order to do themselves justice--this bud will soon develop into a vigorous branch which, like the original one, will bear a cluster of flowers. In order to keep a succession of bloom it is absolutely necessary to keep the plant producing new branches, as flowers are only borne on new growth. It will be noticed that the treatment required by these Roses is almost identical, so far, with that advised for the Hybrid Perpetuals. Indeed, the latter are summer ever-bloomers of a stronger habit than the class I am now speaking about. That is about all the difference there is between them, up to this point, except as regards the flowering habit. The Hybrid Perpetual blooms profusely in June and July, but sparingly thereafter, while the ever-bloomers bloom freely all the season after they get a good start.

Fertilizer should be applied at least once a month. Not in large quantities, each time, but enough to stimulate a strong and healthy growth. The plants should be kept going ahead constantly. Let them get a check, and you will find it a difficult matter to get many flowers from them after that, the same season. Give them the treatment that results in continuous growth and you will have Roses in abundance up to the coming of cold weather. Of course plants so treated are not to be expected to attain much size. But who cares for large bushes if he can have fine flowers and plenty of them?

The blossoms from the Teas and their kindred are never as large as those of the June and the Hybrid Perpetual classes, and, as a general thing, are not as brilliant in color. Some are delightfully fragrant, while some have no fragrance at all.

La France,--which is classed as a Hybrid Tea, because it is the result of hybridizing one of the hardier varieties with a pure-blooded Tea variety,--is one of the finest Roses ever grown. It is large, and fine in form, rich, though not brilliant, in color, is a very free bloomer, and its fragrance is indescribably sweet. Indeed, all the sweetness of the entire Rose family seems concentrated in its peculiar, powerful, but, at the same time, delicate odor. Color, pale pink.

Duchess de Brabant is an old variety, popular years and years ago, but all the better for that, for its long-continued popularity proves it the possessor of exceptional merit. It is of very free development, and bears large quantities of flowers of silvery pink.

Viscountess Folkestone is, like La France, a Hybrid Tea. It is an excellent bloomer. Its color is a soft pink, shaded with cream, with reflexed petals. It has a rich, June-Rose fragrance.

Maman Cochet is, all things considered, one of the best of its class. It blooms in wonderful profusion. It is a strong grower. Its color is a bright pink, overlaid with silvery lustre. It is very double, and quite as lovely in bud as in the expanded flower.

Hermosa is an old favorite. It is always in bloom when well cared for. Its rich carmine-rose flowers are very double, and are produced in prodigal profusion. But it lacks the charm of fragrance.