Chapter 20 (extract 1) of "Roses for English Gardens" by Jekyll and Mawley (1902), in which Mr Mawley gives advice on how to avoid losses in the rose garden due to hard winters and dry summers.
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Illustration: Protecting standard tea roses from frost in Mr Mawley's garden, Rosebank.
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CHAPTER XX
THE ENEMIES OF THE ROSE
There is scarcely any other plant which is attacked by so many or such persistent enemies as the Rose.
Strange to say, writers on Rose culture, in enumerating these, invariably omit to mention the most potent enemy of all, and that is, adverse weather. It is not only that these adverse weather conditions often inflict more serious and lasting injuries than all the other enemies of the Rose put together, but they are also indirectly responsible for the worst attacks from insect and other pests. Taking all classes of Roses together, there is perhaps no climate in the world so favourable to their perfect development as that of the British Isles, and, provided seasonable weather could always be depended upon, these islands would be a perfect paradise for the rosarian. Unfortunately this is far from being the case, as more or less unseasonable weather must be regarded in this country as the rule rather than the exception, and consequently he is kept in a continual state of anxiety as to what unfavourable climatic changes his favourites may next be called upon to encounter. No doubt one reason for these anxieties is due to the fact that most of our cultivated Roses are only half-hardy plants, and therefore peculiarly susceptible to all kinds of unfavourable weather influences.
Frosts.—These may be divided into two classes — the winter frosts and the spring frosts. Against the former the protection provided cannot well be too complete, whereas very moderate means will mostly be sufficient to ward off injuries from spring frosts; and yet against the ill effects of these spring frosts there is practically no remedy, unless it be syringeing or spraying the frosted foliage with water very early in the morning in order to thaw it before sunrise. For at that season it is not so much the damage done by the frost itself that has to be guarded against as the sudden thawing of the frozen leaves by the sun shining on them. Of course the reason why spring frosts are so difficult to deal with as compared with winter frosts is that in the one case the plants are clothed with delicate young foliage, whereas in the winter it is only necessary to protect the lower portion of the leafless shoots.
Early in December all the dwarf or bush Roses, whether Hybrid Perpetuals, Hybrid Teas, Teas or Noisettes, &c., should have the surrounding soil in the beds drawn over the centre or crown of the plants to the height of several inches. In other words, they should be earthed up like potatoes.
This earthing up is generally confined to the Teas, but no amateur will regret having given his other dwarf Roses this extra attention should the winter prove unusually severe, for there are comparatively few varieties which will be found at pruning time after such a winter with perfectly sound wood even within a few inches of the surface of the beds.
Standard Roses are less easily protected. Bracken, cut in September before it has become brittle, should be secured to the heads; or a more effectual protection may be afforded the standard Teas by first drawing the shoots of the plant together and then lightly thatching the head with straw or bracken fastened above it to a firm stake, with one or more ties lower down, as may be necessary to prevent the straw or bracken from being blown aside in high winds. Tender wall Roses, such as Marechal Niel, are best protected by fastening over them some fine cotton netting, or by placing bracken, small sprigs of fir, or other light evergreens, among the branches.
Drought.—In dry weather it will be well to give all the plants a good watering (at least half a gallon to each Rose) once a week, either with clear water or weak liquid manure. On the following day the beds should be hoed to keep a loose surface, which will be of the greatest help in preventing the soil beneath from becoming quickly dry again. Another plan is to give each plant a thorough watering with clear water and then to cover over the surface of the beds with a mulching or covering of half-decayed manure.
The objection to a mulching, which should never be applied before June, is that many consider it unsightly, and the birds are sure to scratch among it and so scatter the manure over the grass or other paths between the beds.
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More: Enemies of the Rose - insect pests; - fungus pests
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