Parsons on the Rose / A Treatise on the Propagation, Culture and History of the Rose

by Samuel Browne Parsons

Such a result, from such a cause, is rarely known here, and the resident of the city may have his little yard filled with roses whose bloom will be in no way inferior to that of the plants in an extensive lawn or garden.

PLANTING.

All those roses that bloom only once in the year, and also the Perpetuals, or Remontant Roses, can be planted in autumn, after the first severe frost. The ends of the roots, which have been broken in taking up, will then form a callus, and the soil will be so thoroughly settled about the roots by the winter rains, that the plant will commence forming new roots early in the spring, and will rapidly make strong and luxuriant shoots. As far north as New York and its vicinity, the Bourbons and the Bengal, with their sub-classes, being more delicate, should not be planted until spring.

If the subsoil is wet and retentive of moisture, the planting of any roses should be deferred until spring, but from our preceding remarks it will be borne in mind that such soil should be well drained before planting, in which case the autumn will still answer.

The plant should be taken up carefully, with all the root possible, bearing in mind that the elements of life are in the root, and every fibre that is lost is so much taken from the future health and prosperity of the plant. The root should then be carefully examined, and every portion that has been bruised should be cut off; all the broken ends should also be cut away as far as they are split or injured. Any root of the character of a tap-root, or growing directly down into the earth, should be cut off; for it is best to encourage only lateral roots, which can more readily partake of the benefits of the rain and sun, and can more effectually absorb the nutriment in the soil.

In the spring the hole for each plant should be dug somewhat larger than the root, and the bottom forked, or dug up, and if necessary enriched with the surface soil, which, it is presumed, has been prepared according to preceding directions. Let one hold the plant, while another throws in the soil; or if one alone is planting, let him hold the stem just above the root with one hand, and throw in the soil with the other, moving the stem from side to side, and occasionally pulling it upward a little and shaking the root until the soil has worked well among the fibres; on which much of the subsequent prosperity of the plant depends. If the weather is dry, a little water may be placed in the hole, which should then be filled up and the soil well trodden down about the stem. When planted, it should be very little, if at all, lower in the ground than before; very little of the stem should be buried; and when trodden down, the root should be made firm and solid.

In planting climbing or pillar roses, care should be taken to set the trellis, or pillar, or whatever may be used for their support, before the plant is put in the ground; for if such should be set after the plant has commenced growing vigorously, it will in all probability damage the roots, and give the plant a check from which it will not recover during the whole season.

The Rose, even in the best soils, should be taken up every three or four years, and have its roots shortened and pruned; a portion of the soil in which it grew should also be removed and replaced by soil of the character before described. Where the soil is poor, they should be taken up every other year, and replanted, after renewing the soil as above, or digging it with plenty of manure.

Van Mons states that in Belgium the plants are uniformly taken up at the end of eight years and placed in fresh soil, or they are thrown away and young plants substituted in their place. This substitution of young plants is perhaps the most certain mode of ensuring a continual supply of strong, healthy wood and well-formed flowers.

The Rose may be transplanted at any season, provided the shoots are pruned closely and deprived of all their leaves, and the soil in which they are planted kept well watered. The flowering also may be retarded in this way, and those roses that bloom only once in the season, if they are transplanted just before they are coming into flower, and properly pruned, will bloom in autumn. The autumn and spring, or the dormant season, however, is the proper period for all transplanting.