Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/250

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rose is not a greenhouse plant, but we shall never tire of seeing roses in the greenhouse and conservatory, provided they are well grown and flower early. If these two conditions are not fulfilled, roses under glass are simply out of place, and the amateur would save worry and vexation by quietly consigning his greenhouse roses to the fire when a general burning of rubbish takes place. A lover of roses will derive one peculiar pleasure from growing them under glass, and that is, he will see them in a remarkably fresh and brilliant condition in the months of April and May, when there are no roses out of doors, and his sheltered pets will be as attractive for the delicate colour and texture of their leaves as for the splendour of their early and most welcome flowers. To do roses well under glass requires a little care, but there is nothing occult in the business, and the amateur who means it, and knows a little of the rose to begin with, will be sure to succeed. A rose house is a fine garden feature, but it is not necessary to devote a structure especially to roses, for they may be grown with either hard-wooded or soft-wooded plants if carefully managed, and, of course, the warmer the house the earlier will they flower. They must have plenty of light and air, and in any case they must be forced gently; so it will be unwise always to put them in heat suddenly, for, instead of flowering nicely, they will become covered with mildew and the flower-buds will drop before they open. In an unheated house pot-roses may be nicely done, provided the aspect is sunny, and the shelter will aid them so much that they will flower a month or more in advance of those in the open ground. The best time to begin is in September or October, when vigorous plants in five- or six-inch pots may be purchased at a cheap rate. These, pruned back to within three or four buds of the base of the shoots, will form nice