for January, 1921 



423 



Making a Rose Garden 



ROSARUM AMATOR 



rHH Location — The location of a Rose garden is of 

 utmost importance. This garden should not be 

 shaded either by buildings or trees or shrubs to any 

 appreciable extent ; it should receive the unbroken light, 

 and free air. It should be far enough away from trees 

 and shrubs so that their roots cannot penetrate its soil. A 

 Southeastern exposure is, all things being taken into con- 

 sideration, the most favorable ; next best a Southern, and 

 third a Southwestern, a building or wall or hedge or trees 

 on the North side or indeed on every side but not so near 

 as to rob the garden of sunlight and free air, yet near 

 enough to break partly the force of the heavy winds, is 

 beneficial. 



This is the ideal location, where the very highest re- 

 sults may be expected, but the Rose lover may be assured 

 that good results may be looked for in Rose growing 

 where buildings or trees, not very close to the garden, 

 shade it, but not very heavily, some part of the day. 



Soil — Any soil which will produce a good crop of gar- 

 den vegetables, will, when properly prepared and suf- 

 ficiently fertilized, be suitable for successful Rose 

 growing. A clay loam, not over stiff, and well drained 

 is the best. A light sandv loam is benefitted greatly by 

 removing a portion of it and substituting a rich clay, and 

 a heavy clay soil by a partial substitution of sandy loam 

 or sand. 



fertilizers — Thoroughly decomposed cow maimrc. a 

 year or more old is best for Rose growing, as it can be 

 used very freely without burning the roots, and helps re- 

 tain moisture in the soil. Sheep, hen or hog manure, 

 well rotted and pulverized, or at least well broken into 

 small pieces may be used where cow manure cannot be 

 obtained. If animal manures are unobtainable, the best 

 substitution is pure ground bone in several degrees of 

 fineness. 



Preparini^ the Beds — Rose beds should be only so wide 

 that a gardener can give the bushes all necessary care 

 without stepping on the beds. In preparing these throw 

 ■ lUt the soil to the depth of one and one-half feet. If the 

 lower soil, or indeed all of the soil, is very poor, cart it 

 off and substitute good soil for it. If the ground is rather 

 low, and the water settles away slowly after a rain, ex- 

 cavate a foot deeper than before mentioned, and at the 

 bottom of the excavation place a layer of broken bricks 

 or stone, and above this a second, and a third layer, each 

 of pieces of brick or stone of smaller size than the former, 

 and so placed as to fill the interstices of the former layer. 

 I'inish with a top layer of gravel and coarse sand. The 

 object, which should be kept in mind, of this arrangement 

 of brick or .stone and gravel, is to so lay them that the 

 soil when returned to the excavation will not work down- 

 ward through the gravel and stone, and clog the drain- 

 age. 



In returning the good soil to the bed, it should In- 

 mixed with the animal manures previously mentioned in 

 the proi)orti(ins by bulk of four j)arts soil to one part 

 luanure. and both soil and manure should Ix' well pulver- 

 ized. 



A spread of jnire bone flour, in addition to animal ma- 

 nures, sufficient to whiten the surface of the soil, applied 

 after the bed is prepared, and raked into the soil lightly, 

 will be beneficial. 



If it is necessarv to relv entirely upon bune fertilizer, 

 mix pure cracked bone in the proportion of about one 

 part to sixteen of soil when making the bed, and after 

 the bed is made ajjplv to its surface a sjjread of equal 



parts of pure bone meal and bone flour, thick enough to 

 entirely cover the soil, and fork or rake it in thoroughly. 

 The Rose bushes will soon feel the effect of the bone flour, 

 and later of the bone meal and cracked bone. 



The soil of the bed or border, when finished, should 

 be about four inches higher than the surrounding sur- 

 face : it will soon settle. 



If a Rose bed is prepared a few weeks before the Rose 

 bushes are set, the result will be more satisfactory. 



Upon the quality of the .soil, the fertilizers, and the thor- 

 ough mixing and pulverizing of these when the beds are 

 prei)ared, much of the success in Rose growing depends. 



Setting Out the Bushes — Hybrid Tea and Tea Roses 

 should be planted eighteen inches, and Hybrid Perpetuals 

 two feet apart. 



Alany Roses are grafted or budded on wild Rose stock, 

 at a little distance above the roots. In setting out such 

 Roses the point where the graft was made should be 

 about two inches below the soil, when the bush is set out. 

 Before setting the bush, cut off all injured roots with a 

 sharp knife just back of the injury. Place the bush in the 

 hole prepared for it; spread out the roots carefully on 

 all sides : cover them with sufffcient soil to nearly refill 

 the hole, pressing it down very firmly, but leaving the 

 upper soil loose. 



After setting, prune with a sharp knife, the very slen- 

 der, weak shoots back to the body of the bush, or large 

 branch, out of which they are growing. Prune the 

 stronger shoots back so that there" will be only one eye 

 (branch bud) and the strongest .shoots so that there will 

 be onlv two or three eyes between the point where the cut 

 is made and the body or branch out of which the shoots 

 grow. 



The Blooming Habits of the Several Classes — Tea, Hy- 

 Irid-Tea, Dwarf Polyantha (often called Baby Ram- 

 bler), roses under favorable conditions bloom from 

 Spring to .\utunm. Hybrid-Perpetuals produce their main 

 crop of blooms in June and some, not all, varieties under 

 good culture give some casual blooms the remainder of 

 the season, especially in the Autumn. Ramblers, Trailers, 

 and Climbers, except Hybrid-Tea and Tea Climbers with 

 very few exceptions, bloom only once during the year. 



Summer Pruning — Hybrid-Perpetuals, in order that 

 they may give some casual blooms after the June crop, 

 and the Teas, Hybrid-Teas, and Dwarf Polyanth.as should 

 be severely Sununer pruned for best results. This prun- 

 ing in a large measure is performed in the proper cutting 

 of the blooms. 



Cutting blooms and pruning at the same time is done 

 in this way : when we pick a bloom, or in case of Poly- 

 antha ro.ses a flower stalk of blooms, we should sever the 

 stem or stalk with a sharp knife taking with the bloom 

 or cluster of blooms a stem of such a length as to leave 

 only one or two full size, vigorous leaves between the 

 point wb.ere the cut is made and the body of main branch 

 out of which the flower branch grew. Out of the axils of 

 these leaves new branches will spring: allow onlv one or 

 two of the strongest to grow, and cut away the weaker. 

 These stronger branches will probably produce other flow- 

 ers, for it is on the new wood of roses that the flowers 

 grow. This method of picking will give sometimes 

 long and sometimes short stems, but should be strictly 

 followed, and a branch bearing a rose should never be 

 broken oft" clear back to the bodv or main branch merely 

 to secure a long stem, but should be cut exactly as di- 

 rected above, be the stem long or short. 



