Chapter 22 (extract 1) of "Roses for English Gardens" by Jekyll and Mawley (1902), in which Mr Mawley describes how plants in the glasshouse are rested and revived during the summer months.
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Illustration: Rose Paul Ferran, pot grown (from Foster-Melliar "The Book of the Rose" 1894).
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The Summer Treatment of Pot Plants.—When the plants have flowered more air should gradually be admitted and the temperature gradually lowered so as to prepare them for removal from the house. The middle of June is quite soon enough, as the plants should be encouraged to make new growth before being placed outside. An open spot, handy for watering, should be chosen for the summer quarters of these pot plants, and the pots plunged to their rim in ashes in order to keep the roots cool and to check evaporation.
The endeavour at that season should be to obtain strong new growths which will become well ripened by the autumn. For this purpose the wants of the plants should receive frequent attention in the way of watering, the destruction of insect pests, and dusting with sulphur on the first appearance of mildew. All the flower-buds will also require to be removed as they appear. It is to the absence of reasonable care of pot Roses during the summer months that much of the want of success in growing them may often be traced. Occasional waterings with weak liquid manure will be found of much service.
Repotting.—As soon as the plants have flowered, the roots and drainage should be examined. If any plant be found to require moving into a pot a size larger, this must be at once done, taking care to disturb the roots as little as possible, and to ram down the new soil firmly with a potting stick between the pot and the old soil. A suitable compost would be one composed of one half fibrous loam, one quarter old cow manure, and the remaining quarter leafmould, sand, and bone meal in equal quantities.
Where it is found that the roots have not made sufficient growth to warrant the plants being repotted, they should be returned to the pots they previously occupied after the drainage has been seen to; in that case some of the surface soil should be replaced by some of the above-mentioned compost. All the plants may then be well watered. Until the roots have found their way into the new soil and fresh growths have been made, the plants should remain in the greenhouse.
In order to make these instructions as clear and simple as possible, they have been so far confined to the first year's treatment of young plants purchased in the autumn from the nurseries and grown to flower in the following April or May, because, for any one commencing Rose culture under glass, this plan is the easiest and the most satisfactory to follow. There are, however, two other methods which may be afterwards adopted with pot Roses. The plants can be raised from cuttings struck in the way recommended on p. Ill, or young plants may be potted up from the open ground, which is far preferable, particularly for H.P.'s and H.T.'s; in the latter case the plants may either be taken up from the Rose garden, or maiden plants obtained from the Rose nurseries.
But whichever plan be adopted, the earlier they can be potted in October, while most of the leaves are still on the plants, the better will be the result.
Having selected a pot of a suitable size, and it should not be larger than will allow reasonable room for the roots, say, from eight to ten inches across, according to the vigour of the plant, all the stronger roots should be shortened, but on the other hand all the fibrous ones retained and without any curtailment.
For compost it would be well to use that advised under the head of "Repotting" (p. 140). Do not plant too deeply, as the tendency of the new roots will be to strike downwards, and yet sufficient space must be allowed above for watering. Very firm potting is advisable; in fact the soil cannot well be made too firm for Roses. When potted the plants should be well watered and then placed under a north wall. After this, until they are taken into the house in December, but little water will be needed. Early in January the plants should be pruned rather hard — that is to say, all the sappy, weak, and crowded shoots should be cut clean out, and the well-ripened ones that remain shortened back to two or three eyes.
After this time the plants should be treated throughout the winter, spring, and summer in all respects as has been recommended for young plants purchased in pots from the nurseries (see pp. 135 to 138). The fire heat given should be very moderate^ as these Roses have been so recently potted, and therefore but a small proportion of their roots will be as yet in active growth.
Whether the plants are purchased plants, raised from cuttings or potted up from the open ground, they must in the second and following years be submitted to the same routine of treatment as in the first year, except that the pruning should be less severe. A little experience with pot Roses will show that with their roots thus confined the annual growth made is very moderate indeed compared with that of the same varieties in the open ground.
Consequently, if pruned as hard, most of the shoots made during the previous summer would be entirely removed; whereas it is important that as many of these shoots as possible should be retained. After the dead wood and any weak or crowded growths in the centre of the plant have been cut clean out, the remaining shoots of the past season's growth should be pruned from one-third to one-half of their length, according to their strength, the stronger growths being left the longer of the two. The aim should be to obtain a well-balanced plant with a moderate number of good shoots as equally distributed round it as possible. In order to obtain this, it will be advisable after pruning to fasten a wire round the rim of the pot, and to tie out any shoots that may require it to the wire with raffia, taking care not to break any of them in so doing; or light Hazel sticks may be inserted at intervals round the pots and the shoots secured to them. In the case of very vigorous growers, the leading shoots should be bent spirally round the ring of sticks.
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More: Greenhouse Roses - roses in pots; pests of roses under glass; forcing roses for winter flowering; roses in greenhouse beds; climbing roses under glass.
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