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Seeds (Raising Roses from seeds)

Raising Roses from seeds is a practice seldom resorted to except for obtaining new and improved varieties. As a rule, only an exceedingly small percentage of seedlings fulfil these conditions, now that good sorts are so numerous; by far the largest majority will be found worthless. When seeds are to be saved, the hips must remain on the plant until quite ripe, when they should be gathered, dried in the sun, and afterwards rubbed out. The seeds may either be sown at once, or the hips may be kept whole, and stored in sand or soil, until spring. Rats and mice are very partial to the seeds, which they devour greedily; it is, therefore, necessary to make provision, as far as possible, against their attacks. Birds are also destructive in the seed-bed, if this is in the open ground. Rose seeds may be sown in a warm, sheltered position in the open air, or in pans or shallow boxes of sandy soil, which may afterwards be placed in a cold frame. The seeds vary a great deal in the time they take to germinate; some seedlings appear the first season, many not until the second. The first autumn, all that are large enough to handle should be transplanted from 6in. to 12in. apart, according to their different sizes, and protection must be provided for these, and for others in seed-beds, throughout the winter. Seedling Roses do not produce their first flowers at any fixed time; some blossom in less than a year, but many more do so the second season, while others take a longer period. The first flowers indicate little beyond the colour; those which follow are often of far better substance and superior merit.

Cuttings. Roses of all kinds on their own roots are now much favoured, and propagation by means of cuttings may be successfully practised from spring until late in autumn. Formerly, the method chiefly adopted was by cuttings made of dormant shoots, and inserted in autumn; and this is still extensively practised. The mode of procedure with ripened cuttings in autumn is very easily explained, and, if the cuttings are good and properly inserted, success is almost as certain as with cuttings of Gooseberries or Currants. Rose cuttings should be made from wood of the current year, which should be of medium strength, and well ripened. They may be cut from 9in. to 12in. in length, and if a heel can be obtained, so much the better, but this is not absolutely essential for striking them. The Hybrid Perpetuals, and any others which are equally as hardy as, or more than, these, may be inserted in the open ground. They should be placed about 6in. deep, and from 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. apart. The best plan is to dig the soil and insert cuttings as the work proceeds; care must be taken to tread round them thoroughly, in order that frost may not lift them out. In preparing cuttings for insertion, none of the eyes should be removed, as frequently, when the upper portion of the cutting dies, shoots proceed from the joints beneath ground, and so the plant is safe. This is one of the advantages Roses raised from cuttings always have over those worked on another stock, namely, that all the shoots thrown up at any time are those of the Rose itself, and if the upper branches are cut down by frost in all probability the lower portion of the stem will escape injury. Occasionally, after a sharp spell of frost, it will be necessary to tread round cuttings inserted in the previous autumn, to keep them firm and in position. Good plants will be ready for lifting in the course of a year, when they should be transferred to permanent positions for flowering. Cuttings of Tea-scented and other somewhat tender Roses, when inserted in autumn, will not succeed under the system above described; they must be more carefully treated, by being placed in pots of sandy soil, and provided with protection under glass. They may be dibbled in rather close, and merely kept in a cold frame through winter, during which time they will form a callus, and be ready for emitting roots when subjected to a little heat in spring. This valuable section is more generally propagated in summer; but in autumn ripened cuttings may be procured from outside plants, when there are none grown in pots. Cuttings of Roses may be readily rooted at almost any time during summer, when suitable firm, partially-ripened growths can be obtained. The leaves at this season should be carefully preserved, and cuttings with two or three eyes may be successfully rooted. The first batch may generally be procured early in the season, from plants that have been forced, and none are better suited for propagating. If inserted, and placed in a close frame with a little heat, or on a slight hotbed, and kept moist and shaded, roots will, as a rule, soon be emitted, and the young plants may then be potted off singly, and still grown on for a time under similar conditions until they are sufficiently established to be inured to cooler quarters, gradually hardened, and eventually placed in the open air. At the middle, and towards the latter part, of summer, Rose cuttings, with leaves attached, may be readily rooted under what is termed cool treatment in the open air. A shady position is essential, such as is frequently obtainable against the back wall of a forcing or other plant house which faces south. Bell or hand-glasses are often used; but a better plan is to prepare some sandy soil, and to use the framework of an ordinary rough box, about 10in. deep, and without either bottom or top. Place this on the border, should there be one, put in about 3in. of prepared soil, press it firm, and lay some sand over the surface. All this should be made ready before the cuttings are detached, as they are much injured if allowed to lie about, if only for a short time, before being inserted. Dibble them in rather close, and give a good watering afterwards; make the top as nearly as possible air-tight, by fitting large panes of glass closely to cover it. On the north side of a lean-to house, if this situation is available, but little shading will be necessary, and it is best to leave the glass on without ever removing it until the cuttings show signs of making roots; air may then be gradually admitted. The young plants may be lifted so soon as they are sufficiently established, potted up, and placed in a close frame for a few days; afterwards harden, and get them well ripened before winter.

Layers. Propagation by layering is a sure method of increasing dwarf or weeping Roses that may be brought to the ground, but it is not extensively practised. By layering in June, and early in July, if suitable, firm wood of the current year can be obtained, the rooted plants may be detached the following autumn. When the work is deferred till later in the season, they are not usually ready for removal until the following year. Layering with a tongue is the most successful method. See Layering.