148 



GARDENERS' CURO.MCLE 



Growing Roses Under Glass 



THE essential re(|iiirements for the successful cultiva- 

 tion of roses under t^lass are good houses, gocxl soil 

 proi)erly fertilized and good plants intelligently 

 treated. 



The subject of loam is important, and yet this has often 

 been given too much consideration, while other things, 

 such as water, air, sunlight, bacteria, moisture, tempera- 

 ture and other factors and conditions have been neglected. 



I have seen roses growing on a greenhouse bench in two 

 inches of loam that produced flowers which took a first 

 prize in a national rose show in this country. I have 

 grown roses indoors for nearly forty vears and have never 

 yet had a rose soil, so called, to work with. This is true 

 of many growers, and yet they produce plenty of good 

 flowers and plants. The important thing is to know how 

 to use the soil at your command so as to get the best re- 

 sults from it. 



The best soil is a peat medium, which carries the bac- 

 teria, mixed with heavy loam and dry, jiulverized, vellow 

 clay. When you have selected the s])ot from which you 

 wish to use the loam, it should be plowed, in the Summer 

 or Fall before wanted, if possible. Then, if the soil is 

 inclined to be sour, it should be limed and then harrowed. 

 Use h\drated lime for this purjxjse and not carbonate. 

 Carbonate of lime or limestone gives oft fresh carbon 

 dioxide too quickly and is likely to kill some of the bacteria 

 in the peat. Afterwards you can cart on the manure, and, 

 last of all, add the bone meal or acid phosphate, working 

 the ground over in the meantime with the plow and disk 

 harrow until the whole is cut up and thoroughly mixed. 

 Allow the loam to lie out and bake in the stm between 

 turnings-over. At the final working, hill it up' with the 

 plow so as to leave it in ridges, where it will bake and heat, 

 starting the fermenting process. 



The action of lime is threefold: Mechanical, chemical 

 and biological. It renders clay soils more friable, and it 

 compacts loose, sandy ones. It decomjx)ses organic matter 

 and promotes nitrification. It increases the ]X)wer of the 

 soil to fix ammonia in the form of nitrates. It neutralizes 

 sour soil and jjreveiits the formation of poisonous com- 

 pounds. 



The mechanical condition of the soil is important, and 

 it should never be worked or handled when it is wet. Some 

 people advocate the use of a drier to dry the loam, but I 

 think this would be too expensive an operation ; besides. 

 Nature's way is the best. Let the sun and air do the work, 

 and select a dry time for getting it into the house. If 

 needed for Winter use, pile it up in the Fall and cover 

 to keep dry. 



A chenn'cal analysis will tell you how nnich of certain 

 food elements a soil contains, but it does not show how 

 much of this quantity is in an available state for the use 

 and growth of the plant. We must observe and exi^eri- 

 ment unless we are well ac(|uainted with our soil. A fertile 

 soil is one that has the jKjwer to jjroduce crops. A soil 

 may ])osscss an alrandance of the materials re(|uisite for 

 ])lant growth, but if they are locked u]) as insoluble com- 

 ])ounds, they might as well be absent, so far as we are 

 concerned. 



Fertilizers have often been a stumbling block and have 

 jjrobably caused more failures than any other thing. .\ 

 fertile soil may be kejrt fertile by giving back to it the 

 ingredients removed by the crops grf)wn on it. Most of 

 our soils are fleficient in ])hos])horus, anrl it is almost 

 impossible in general ])ractice to ap[>ly too much of this 

 element to the ground outdoors. Inside, with ordinary 



*Rxlr.ict5 frr.'Tn paper by Ebcr Holmes, rc.i<l Iwforc a meeting of tlic 

 Cnr-lcncrs' ,Tnf1 Florists* Club of Doslon. 



care, either bone meal or acid phosphate is safe to ajiply. 

 Either of these should be worked into the soil liefore 

 planting and they may also be used as a topj-dressing 

 during the growing season. They may be mixed with the 

 soil in quantity sufficient for the season's growth, as they 

 combine with the <oil and do not leach out, as do nitrog- 

 enous manures. We have used acid phosphate for a 

 number of years with good results. It costs less than 

 bone, contains almost as much phosphoric acid and is more 

 ([uickly available. 



.\nother element that is deficient is nitrogen, and we 

 find that nitrate of soda is particularly valuable on our soil, 

 when we require a quick-acting stimulant. This should 

 be applied sparingly as a top-dressing ; it should be crushed 

 fine and may be mixed with equal parts of fine, drv loam 

 to insure a thin coat. It will not exhaust the soil if other 

 ingredients are added as required. Nitrate of soda is 

 good for certain soils that are naturally deficient in car- 

 bonate of lime, differing in this respect from sulphate of 

 ammonia, the continued use of which under such circum- 

 stances would make the soil more acid. 



The nitrogen in nitrate of soda is more valuable than 

 the nitrogen in barnyard manure, as it is is more quickly 

 available. Ordmary liarn\ard manure contains about ten 

 pounds each of nitrogen and pwtassium per ton and only 

 about two pounds of phosphorus. The content of the 

 latter element is low, because the animals use this up to 

 make bone and milk. It will thus be seen that phosphorus 

 is mostly needed to supplement organic manures, and acid 

 phosphate spread liberally on the manure as it is made 

 and carried from the barn heljis to make ui> the deficiency. 

 The lic|uid should not be separated from the solid or 

 allowed in run to waste; the urine contains nitrogen, but 

 is practically devoid of phosphoric acid. The soluble ni- 

 trogen compounds are wasted in the drainage from the 

 manure pile. 



The value of a conmiercial fertilizer depends on its 

 available content of the elements lacking in the particular 

 soil on which it is to be used. The high-analysis fertilizers 

 are more economical than the low, for the reason that the 

 cost of mixing, bagging, frei.ght charges and all expenses 

 are relatively greater in the low grade than in the higher. 



Sulphate of ammonia is the most concentrated of all 

 nitrogenous manures in conunon use. It should never be 

 used with any mixture containing free lime, for the reason 

 that when the base, lime, comes in contact with an am- 

 monium sail, the sulpluiric acid changes its old base, 

 ammonia, for the stronger base, lime ; sulphate of lime 

 or gypsum, which is noxious to plants, is formed, and 

 ammonia escapes as a gas and is lost. Neither should 

 lime he used at the same time with bunr nu-al or with acid 

 phos])hate, as in this case the ]>hosphoric ;icid is rendered 

 insoluble. The less the lime content in acid phosphate, 

 the more water-soluble ]>hosphoric acid it contains. 



.\fter we liave carefullv prepared our loam and tilled 

 the beds or benches, we are ready for j^lanting and none 

 but the best ])lants should be used. Select those varieties 

 that do best with you and then use only the best plants 

 tliat you can get in those kinds. Our ex])erience is that in 

 liglit soil grafted stock is decidedly su])erior to own-root, 

 and we shall not iilant any more of the latter. The 

 grafted .gives us much greater returns. Water well after 

 ])!anting and then use care for a time not to get the plants 

 too wet. It is best to water early in the morning, although 

 in the heat of thie Summer watering may also he done in 

 the evening. Spray fre(|uent!y in liot, sunny weather, but 

 omit this on dam]), cloudy days, .\ftcr the plants are 



