May

As a rule the buds are not visible until June, and we still have to wait for the queen of flowers to make her appearance.  What we have to do is to keep the trees as healthy as possible.

Strong shoots and abundant foliage of a fresh green generally mean plenty of flowers, though this is not the case with many other plants, where a free growth of leaves often means a dearth of bloom.

Spray the rose bushes frequently, as it is far better to prevent greenfly than to try and cure it when once it has a hold.  Of course, to a large extent, one is dependent on the weather of May for the roses of June.  May frosts do much more damage than earlier ones, because the rose trees are so much more forward. 

In small gardens they are less likely to receive injury than in the acres under cultivation by the professional grower.  If the weather is hot and dry water must be given, especially on dry soils.

June

At last we have come to the season when our roses will reward us for all the trouble we have taken over them.  How it rejoices our hearts to see the rapidly swelling buds, and how dreadful it seems to thin them out!  But if large blooms are wanted this must be done to all but the cluster roses.  Two thirds of the total number are removed when the roses are grown for exhibition, but for ordinary garden purposes one third taken off will be sufficient.

The point to remember is this – remove the buds almost as soon as they are visible and before they have had time to exhaust the plant, it is no good whatever to leave them until the color shows.  Keep the greenfly, or aphids, away by regular spraying, and give to the roots frequent applications of weak liquid manure, for this not only helps to develop good flowers, but also produces healthy foliage and so enables the trees to resist disease.

At the end of the month many of the roses will have finished giving their first crop, and then is a good time to put a slight dressing of manure on the beds, this materially increases both the size and number of the second crop, and protects the roots from the burning sun of the next two months.   Some gardeners fail to see how a top dressing can be of any good to the roots, but it is the rain that washes the goodness down to them, and if rain does not come it is advisable to water.  If June has been a warm month we can begin budding, but it is better to wait until July.

July

This is the month par excellence for budding, of which details will be found in the Budding Section.

All dead flowers must be cut off constantly, except from those trees which produce handsome berries.  There will be all the enemies of the rose to wage war against too, remedies for which have been given in the Pests and Diseases Section.

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