320 



GARDENERS' CHROI^ICLE 



ON PLANTING ROSES 



Rose PUinliii;^. — In ])l;iiitiny a rose wc 

 have to consider hrst the roots of the stock 

 or briar on which the rose proper was 

 budded, second the "union" or point at 

 which the budding was done, tliird the 

 point on the rose stem where it is to meet 

 the ground line once the rose is safely 

 planted in the ground, fourthly the kind 

 of soil in which w^e intend to plant our 

 rose, and lastly the rose proper, i. e., the 

 branches which are to give us flowers later 

 on. In spite of all these instructions the 

 amateur need not be frightened, the plant- 

 ing of a rose bush is as easy as that of 

 a fruit tree or any deciduous shrub; but 

 what there is of it needs exact attention 

 if we wish to achieve a full measure of 

 success. 



Prcl>ciralion of Ground. — Should take 

 place some time before you expect the ar- 

 rival of your plants. Coarse raw soil is 

 no place for rose roots, so, having selected 

 a sheltered position apart from other trees 

 or plants, to avoid closeness which in- 

 duces mildew — trench 2 feet deep, mixing a 

 fair quantity of rotted cow or stable manure 

 with the soil ; and if the latter be old, 

 renovate it by the addition of some good 

 fresh loam. 



Decide how far apart you will place 

 your plants. 



Next, mark out the bed and make basin- 

 like holes 12 inches deep. Fill these with 

 water and leave for a few days before 

 planting as this should never be done while 

 the soil is wet and sticky. 



On receiving your bushes from the nur- 

 seryman, undo the wrapping and if un- 

 fortunately not ready to plant that day, 

 thoroughly saturate with water and cover 

 with a damp bag, placing them for pref- 

 erence in some dark shed until you can 

 begin operations. If the weather and 

 ground be very dry it may be advisable 

 to dig a shallow trench, fill it up with water, 

 and after this has drained away and you 

 have made sure that the adjacent soil is 

 really moist, heel in for two or three days 

 by putting the roots and part of the lower 

 stems into the trench so that they lie at 

 an angle against one side of it and then 

 fill in the trench again with wet soil. T'^is 

 heeling in is a necessary procedure should 

 the plants for any reason, su."h as delay, 

 have become very dry during transit. They 

 should at the time of plantin.g be plump 

 and green or a nice ruddy brown. No 

 rose-bush should ever be planted looking 

 dry. 



In arranging many varieties in a bed put 

 the weak growers along the front line, the 

 stronger ones to the rear. Look at each 

 tree before planting and if there be any 

 bruised tips to the roots or broken roots, 

 cut these away with a sharp knife. Bone- 

 dust the bottom of each hole, putting a 

 good handful in each, then lay in a nice 

 spadeful of sandy soil and round it over 

 like an upturned saucer. If in a windy 

 region drive in a stake. 



Avoid deep planting especially in the case 

 of weak growers which are only of use 

 on the briar roots. For dwarf roses and 

 the ordinary budded ones, place the union 

 of the stock with the bud two inches be- 

 neath the soil. Just above this point the 

 rose will then throw out roots of its own 

 in addition to those of the briar which are 

 situated lower down and the plant derive 

 much benefit. 



Spread the roots out carefully so as to 

 have nothing crossing. Place some fine soil 

 between and over them, then a little well 

 decayed manure and lastlv fill the hole up 

 loosely with the soil. Give gentle foot 

 pressure all round to ensure the necessary 



GREENflOUSES 



Are extremely popular among gardeners who take 

 pride in having the best showing of flowers and vege- 

 tables. 



The remarkable growing qualities of King Green- 

 houses are due to the careful attention given every 

 detail of construction to insure maximum strength and 

 minimum shadow. 



_Wp ^voukl like to have you see a King House and let 

 It tell Its own story. Write us today and we 

 will give you the name of some gardener 

 near you who will be glad to show you one. 



King Construction Company 

 North Tonawanda, N. Y. 



1 West 47th St., New York 

 Harrison bidg., t*hiia. 



307 North Irving Ave., 

 Scranton, Pa. 



':'T->A 



•iilll.4iuiMiiiiiitiitMiti)imuiiiiii;j 



tpe- 



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firmness. Then fill up the hollow thus 

 caused to make top of hole level with 

 surface and tread again. 



The shorter you make the stems of your 

 newly planted roses the better. Six eyes 

 are sufficient on each stem. Give each plant 

 a good drenching once a week and mulch, a 

 fortnight after planting, with litter or old 

 manure.— ^OK/Zi African Gardening and 

 Country Life. 



HOW TO KEEP CUT FLOWERS 

 FRESH 



The following notes upon the keeping of 

 cut flowers, compiled from official and 

 graduate work carried on at Cornell Uni- 

 versity, may prove of interest: 



1. The factors concerned with long keep- 

 ing of freshly cut flowers are, proper tem- 

 pcrature, humidity, light and ventilation. 

 The temperature should be from 35 deg. to 

 45 deg. F., cool crops doing better at the 



lower temperature. A high humidity (85 

 per cent) should be maintained by sprink- 

 ling the floor of the storage room; this will 

 also help to reduce the temperature, since 

 evaporation is a cooling process. (The 

 notable exception to this treatment is Sweet 

 Peas which are injured by a damp atmos- 

 phere.) Light should be reduced to a mini- 

 mum. A constant and uniform circulation 

 of air should be provided for, to prevent 

 the rotting of the flowers. 



2. The avera.ge of the results of over a 

 thousand experiments made in this country 

 and in France indicate that Carnations will 

 keep best in a 10 to IS per cent, 'Mums in a 

 15 per cent. Orchids in a 10 to 20 per cent, 

 and Roses in a 7 to 10 per cent sugar solu- 

 tion. Prof. Knudson found that soluble 

 mineral salts in the water .greatly retarded 

 (or prevented) the fouling of the water, 

 by their inhibiting effect upon the growth 

 of bacteria. 



