Cut Roses

Few flowers are more admired for the decoration of our houses and our persons than the Imperial Rose.  That this is so says much for its loveliness, as there are few flowers which last in their full beauty such a short time.  In the case of red rose blooms especially the brightness is ephemeral, for when these have been cut five or six hours on a hot day they begin to take on a blue tint.  Light colored roses last longer.

How to arrange cut roses

Public opinion has altered wonderfully during the last few decades in the matter of arranging roses as cut flowers, and indeed all cut flowers.  Once roses of all shades were crammed into a big vase with a confused mass of foliage.  Short stalks gave them a bunchy effect, and people were apt to wish they had been left on the tree.

Nowadays slender vases are designed to hold a few long stalked roses of two or three harmonising shades, mixed with their own leaves, and perhaps a little very fine grass, such as gypsophila.  When the bowl is brought into use (and nothing looks prettier when well done), the colors do not make one shudder, for though they may range from red roses to white roses, the class of tint is the same, no salmon pinks in juxtaposition to a strong vieux rose, no blue reds with yellow reds, but “touches of sweet harmony”.

Avoid mixtures of sort

We have learnt that Teas must not as a rule be mixed with Hybrid Perpetuals, that the Rambling Roses look best by themselves, with some of their rich young shoots intermixed, and that the single roses or blooms of few petals also seem happiest when kept away from their sisters of fuller habit.

Wire and other supports

Some roses have very weak stalks, and must be supported if they are to be any good for table decorations.  If a bowl is used it is advisable to fit a wire frame to it, and to stick one or more blooms through each hole until the bowl is full, otherwise all the flowers will fall towards the brim, or even tumble out altogether.  With tall narrow vases some stiff material like box will help to make the weak-kneed specimens stand erect, but of course the evergreens used must be hidden as much as possible.  Many devices will be forthcoming when the characteristics of the different species are known.

When to pick roses

The proper time to pick roses in the summer is either early in the morning before the sun gets on them, or after tea when it has lost some of its power.  It is useless to pick them in the middle of the day, they are almost sure to fade.

When the weather is hot they should be placed in the darkest corners of the room, and never by any chance in a sunny window.  When it is cold and the buds do not seem inclined to open, the stalks should be plunged into hot water and the vase set on the mantelpiece, when the genial warmth materially assists the process, and brings out the scent almost as though it were summer.

Save the leaves

It is important that the leaves should be left on the stalks, as they take up the water and convey it to the rose petals, and the harder the stalk the larger should be the number of leaves left on.

Split firm stalks

When the stalks are very firm, and there are not many leaves attached to them, they should be split up for two or three inches with a penknife, as this allows the water to reach the bud and considerably prolongs the life of the flowers indoors.

Sometimes it has seemed that roses which have only been picked an hour or two are going off for an unaccountable reason.  Nine times out of ten it is because no suction whatever is taking place.  The stem has been denuded of all foliage, and placed in water without either splitting or peeling, so that, in fact, it takes up just about as much moisture as a pen holder would absorb.

Roses to be worn

If a rose is to be worn immediately, it is better not to split or peel it, but on taking it off do so before putting it in water.  The holders in nickel or glass sold for buttonholes preserve them wonderfully.  Even in the hottest weather a rosebud will last five or six hours quite fresh in these holders.