BUSH ROSES OF THE H.P. TYPE. I will now give a few of the best Hybrid Perpetuals of the bush type; many of the varieties I shall name, however, make very good standards though they are more expensive. The “dwarfs,” as rosarians call them, only cost from 9d. to 1s. each at Messrs. Cant’s, except in the case of novelties; and where these are concerned, it is well to wait a year or two, as they rapidly go down to the normal price. Duke of Teck, bright carmine scarlet, of good form, and occasionally blooms in the autumn. Dupuy Jamain, one of the best H.P.’s ever introduced, the flowers are almost cherry-red in colour, sweet-scented, and come out in succession the whole of the summer: it is a quick grower, and does well in a somewhat shady position. Heinrich Schultheis flowers of a true rose-pink touched with silver, very prettily shaped and exceedingly fragrant. Unfortunately, this variety is subject to attacks of mildew, though this does not seem to affect the beauty of the flowers but spoils the leaves.
Baroness Rothschild, a faultless rose as regards form and colour, which is a beautiful pale pink, but utterly devoid of scent, a serious fault in my opinion. Comtesse de Bearn, large, dark, and very floriferous. Madame Gabriel Luizet, light silvery pink, quick growing, and free blooming. Ulrich Brunner, always given an excellent character in the catalogues, and indeed it is a good rose, cherry-red in colour, sweet-scented, and of fine form: it rarely ails, mildew and rust passing it by altogether. It is exceedingly vigorous, and makes therefore a good pillar-rose. Pride of Waltham, a rose little heard-of yet most lovely; its blossoms are of the brightest pink, sweetly scented, and beautifully cupped. Charles Lefèvre, beautiful crimson with dark shading; also very good at Kew (and continuous). Abel Carrière, another dark maroon of fine form, and Queen of the bedders, producing carmine flowers so freely that it must be disbudded; it is subject to mildew.
So many roses formerly classed as Hybrid Perpetuals are now called Hybrid Teas. The dear old La France is one that has undergone this change; it is a rose no-one should be without, and should be grown both as a standard and a bush; its silvery pink flowers have a most exquisite scent and perfect shape (that is, when nearly wide open; it is not a good button-hole variety). Another Hybrid Tea rose that has come to the fore lately is Bardou Job, a splendid bedding variety, with flaming roses almost single in form, but produced in prodigal profusion; it pays for feeding. Queen Mab is a somewhat similar rose but has apricot flowers, tinted pink and orange, borne in the same generous manner. It is a china rose; neither of these kinds attain a great height, nevertheless beds entirely composed of them are exceedingly effective and may be seen some distance off; they require very little pruning.
PILLAR ROSES. Having mentioned pillar-roses, I will add a few more names especially calculated to do well in such positions; perhaps one of the best is Paul’s Carmine Pillar, with its sheets; of lovely flowers covering the stems the whole way up, with plenty of healthy foliage to set them off. When better known, I should imagine it would be a rival even to Turner’s Crimson Rambler, magnificent as that is when grown to perfection. At Kew recently a bed of the Carmine Pillar was quite one of the sights of the garden. A close investigation of the bed in which they were planted revealed the fact that every alternate rose-tree was a Gloire de Dijon, but each one was a sorry failure, and instead of scaling the heights, crouched low at the foot of its iron stake, as though unwilling to compete with the other blushing occupants. The “glories” were not very youthful either, that one could see by their thick hard stems; plenty of time had evidently been given them to do the work, but for some unknown reason they had shirked it. I have known several cases of this sort with the much-loved “glory de John,” as the gardeners broadly term it. Madame Plantier is a good white pillar-rose, doing well in any situation, and Cheshunt Hybrid is also most accommodating, and blooms well even in poor soil, though it well repays good cultivation. Its flowers, cherry-carmine in colour, are large and full, and the petals are prettily veined and curl over at the edges. The foliage is rich, and the tree never seems attacked by any disease; it is a Hybrid Tea. Aimée Vibert, a noisette, is very good as a pillar-rose and extremely hardy: it also does well on arches; the flowers are small and white, with pink tips to the petals; it is very free, and flowers continuously.
ROSE HEDGES. Hedges of roses are quite as effective as pillars, and make a very pretty screen for two-thirds of the year. The ever-green roses are best for this purpose, and of these Flora is by far-and-away the nicest rose. It has sweet flowers, small, full, and of the loveliest pink; they are borne in clusters, each one looking just ready for a fairy-wedding bouquet. They have a delightful scent, too, their only fault being their short duration; in one summer they will grow from five to ten feet, and are so free-flowering as almost to hide the leaves. Dundee Rambler, Ruga, Mirianthes, and Léopoldine d’Orléans are all equally suitable for hedges.
DWARF TEAS. I will now name a list of the best dwarf Tea-roses; to begin with, Alba Rosea is a dear old rose-tree, moderate in growth, bearing numbers of flesh-white blossoms, good in form though small in size. These have a faint, sweet scent, and are very pretty for cutting. One day last August, I cut a whole branch off with about six open flowers upon it, and put it in a tall vase just as it was; they arranged themselves, and were much admired. The tree is decidedly dwarf and moderate in growth, and the leaves are very dark green, thus making a beautiful foil to the roses. Catherine Mermet is somewhat of the same type, but the flowers are larger and more deeply flushed with pink; it is a good green-house rose. Madame de Watteville resembles a tulip, having thick firm petals of a creamy-white colour, distinctly edged with pink. It is a strong grower and free in flowering. Madame Hoste is a pretty lemon-yellow colour, one of the easiest to grow in this particular shade; the flowers are of good form, and if well manured are large and full; it has a sweet scent. Madame Lambard is a rose no one can do without, it is so free-blooming and continuous; the colour is not constant, sometimes being mostly pink, at others almost a fawn, but as a rule it is a blend of those two shades.
Marie van Houtte is another indispensable variety; the roses are lovely in form, of a pale lemon-yellow colour, each petal being flushed with pink at the edges, and the whole having a soft bloom, as it were, over it. This carmine-marking, however, is not constant; weather and position seem to have a good deal to do with it. Meteor is one of the darker Teas, being carmine-crimson shaded with blackish-maroon; the roses are not full though of good shape, consequently they look best in bud. This tree wants feeding to do well, and is not a vigorous grower. Grace Darling is a gem which everyone should have; the blossoms are large, full, perfect in shape and exquisite in colour, which is generally a peachy-pink, the reverse of the petals being a rich cream, and, as these curl over in a charming manner, the effect is unique and extremely beautiful. The foliage is abundant, of a ruddy tint, and keeps free from blight; indeed, this entirely fascinating rose has only one fault, it is altogether too unassuming.
A bright, pink rose of fine form is the Duchess of Albany; it is often called a deep coloured La France, as it is a “sport” from that famous rose. The Marquis of Salisbury is another dark tea-rose; it is small but well-shaped though thin, and the blooms are abundant; it is strictly moderate in growth, being somewhat like the Chinas in habit. A fine rose in a warm summer is Kaiserin Friedrich, as it has large, very full, flowers, which take a good deal of building up; it appears to dislike cold and rainy weather.
Sunrise is a new kind that is making a considerable stir in the rose-world; its flowers vary from reddish-carmine to pale fawn, and the tree has glorious foliage.
THE TIME TO PLANT. October and November are the best months to plant rose-trees, except in very cold parts; February is then a safer time, especially for the tender sorts. Their first season they require a great deal of looking after; their roots have not got a proper foot-hold in the earth, and this means constant watering in dry weather. At blooming-time, an occasional application of guano does a great deal of good, making both flowers and leaves richer in colour. Dead blooms, too, must be sedulously cut off, as, if left on, the tree is weakened.