Roses and Rose Growing

water for half-an-hour before planting. Great care must also be taken in every case not to leave the roots of the plants exposed to the air; for if the roots get dried up, a great and sometimes fatal check is given to the rose. Those which cannot be planted immediately should be laid along a trench and lightly heeled in with soil, until they are wanted. And even those which are to be planted immediately, should have a mat thrown over the roots as they lie beside the bed waiting their turn, especially if the day is sunny or the wind cold. Many of the great growers advise dipping the roots in liquid mud mixed with a little cow manure before planting.

Each plant must now be carefully examined, and any broken shoot, or bruised and broken root, cut off with a clean cut. For this I prefer a sécateur to a knife, if the sécateur is a very sharp one.[1] A torn, bruised, or broken root, if left on the plant will decay right up and do incalculable mischief. Sometimes, in the case of one's own roses