The Gardeners' Chronicle May 27, 1843 (355-356)
THE ROSE-GARDEN—No. V.

THE remaining group of Bourbon Roses comprises some fine varieties, remarkable for their dwarf and rigid habits. Of these, Augustine Leliur is one of the oldest, and in its way, perhaps one of the most beautiful; its flowers are only semidouble, but they are so erect and so brilliant in colour, more particularly in autumn, that it always attracts notice. Latifolia is so much like it, as scarcely to be distinguished except by its petals being a little crimpled; Madame Nerard, Celimene, and Timocles, are also of the same rigid habit, with flowers of the palest silvery blush—a term which will perhaps convey that peculiar glossiness which seems to lay on the surface of the petals; Emile Courtier, Madame Margot, Ida Percot, and Madame Aude, are all beautiful rose-coloured varieties, of different shades; and last, but not least, the Queen of the Bourbons, which originated in cross with some fawn-coloured tea-scented Rose, as it is slightly tinged with fawn—a colour quite foreign to this family, and has a slight "Odeur de Thé," as the French say. All the Roses here named have a uniform growth, and are admirably adapted for a bed, either as dwarfs on their own roots, or on short stems; they are not so well calculated for tall standards, as they do not form large heads, unless in very rich moist soils.

To some of these Bourbon Roses, which bear seed very freely, we owe a new race, now distinguished as hybrid Bourbons, blooming but once in the summer; but their season of blooming is prolonged, owing to their origin in part from Roses that continue to bloom till autumn. Most undoubtedly these will form the finest of all standards, as their habit is so remarkably robust; one variety in particular I anticipate will, if budded on large stocks of the Dog-rose, soon form a large umbrageous tree. This unique and splendid Rose was raised by Monsieur Laffay from Celine, and has been named by him, the Great Western—laughably spelt in some of the French catalogues "Grande Wistern," a name the origin of which I have no doubt has puzzled many a French gardener. This Rose has leaves and shoots of astonishing luxuriance, and flowers of a deep and peculiar red, rivalling the largest Paeonies in size; a standard or a bush of this Rose, highly cultivated, will form one of the wonders of the Rosery. It should be budded on a very stout stock, otherwise the plant will soon become top-heavy: in mentioning this, I am reminded that cultivators often do not pay enough attention to the habits of their Roses when selecting stocks for them. Stout old stocks should always have some robust-growing varieties worked on them, for if a tea-scented or some delicate-growing Bourbon Rose is worked on a large stock, the sap is engendered faster than it can be taken away by the bud; many shoots are consequently repeatedly taken off; the producers of sap, the fibrous roots, then rot and die away; the sap-vessels close, and the plant, after languishing a season or two, also dies; therefore, on all large stocks the cultivator should bud the most luxuriant-growing varieties, such as the above and some of the following, which rival the Great Western in vigour of growth, and surpass most Roses in the beauty of their flowers. The first in beauty is Coupe d'Hébé, colour delicate glossy rose; form, perfection. This Rose has been called by a gentleman, a first-rate judge, "the most beautiful Rose in the world." Charles Duval is almost equally beautiful; in colour rather deeper. Capitaine Sisolat, Edward Delair, Paul Perras, Franklin, Lady Montgomery, and Henri Barbet, are all calculated to form standards of the largest size: there seems no limit to their growth. The following are of secondary luxuriance, but remarkable for the peculiar and brilliant red in their flowers; of these red Roses, Colonel Combes, Daphne, Ernest Ferray, La Esmeralda, and Dombrowski, are the most distinguished.

Of about the same range as regards habit are Richelieu (Duval), Belle de St Cyr, Hortense Leroy, with rose-coloured flowers of the most perfect shape, Sylvain and Legouve with flowers of brilliant crimson. Hortensia and Triptoléme are remarkable for blooming in very large clusters, having a fine effect on standards. Lord John Russel, Brillante, and Miss Chauncey, the same for their rigid flower-stalks which keep their brilliant flowers erect, even in the heaviest showers. The above, and indeed all the Hybrid Bourbon Roses, form first-rate standards, their habits are so exceedingly luxuriant and yet peculiarly compact, quite different from that tendency to make long straggling shoots so remarkable in most of the hybrid Chinese Roses. The Great Western will undoubtedly prove valuable for stocks, as, like its parent Celine, it strikes freely from cuttings planted in a shady border in October. The cuttings should be made about nine inches long, eight of which should be in the ground, leaving one bud out; the following autumn they should be potted or bedded out, cutting off all roots but the tuft of fibres, which will be formed at the bottom of the cutting, and potting or planting them only from one to two inches deep, so that the bud may be inserted in the stem close to the ground. Exactly the same treatment may be applied to the Boursault stock, which will strike readily under the same treatment; this is more simple and requires much less trouble than some other modes recommended.—Z.