August 11, 1917 



HORTICULTURE 



145 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



CONDUCTED BY 



Rush the Planting 



Houses that are still uuiilanted must be tackled at 

 once and the plants got in so they will have a chance 

 to get established. There are times when the fall of the 

 year is nice and clear with veiy little cold weather be- 

 fore Christmas, but this is rather an exception than a 

 rule, and if plants are to become established at all 

 they should be planted by the 1st of August or by the 

 loth at the latest. The last planted are apt to 

 be rather small or perhaps stunted some, so be sure to 

 have the soil in good condition, benches all well 

 cleaned and whitewashed — in fact, do all that is possi- 

 ble to hustle the ])lauts along as much as possiljle. Be 

 verj' careful not to overwater, however, as the plants 

 must have roots before they can take water. If neces- 

 sary go over the benches and make a regular little 

 basin around each plant to keep the water from spread- 

 ing over the whole bench. Do not attempt to cut any- 

 thing from tlie plants until tliey are large enough. 

 Pinch out all buds as soon as they are large enough 

 to be seen, faking care to see that all weak stems are 

 taken back far enough. As soon as the plants take 

 hold they can get a little bone right around each to 

 stimulate better growth This is not necessary where 

 the soil was properly enriched in the first place. 



The Manure Pile 



In spite of the fact that help is scarce and things 

 ■are a little Ijehind instead of a month ahead, see that 

 proper care is taken of the manure pile, as here lies the 

 foundation of the season's success. If a grower has 

 not the manure in proper shape to apply at the 

 proper time, the whole growing program is upset and 

 loss is the result. With the weather hot and diT now, 

 water will have to be applied to the heaps to keep these 

 from burning. The heavy rains of the spring and 

 early summer got us all so used to seeing everything 

 soaked all the time that we can hardly believe things 

 are getting real dry, but such is the case, and unless 

 fain comes in the near future, water will have to be 

 applied freely where none was needed before. An ideal 

 way to keep manure is to have a concrete platform on 

 which it is piled and have this drained into a pit, from 

 which the teachings can be used as liquid manure, or 

 else pumped over the heap every so often. Needless 

 to say the manure will have to be turned ovar once a 

 week or so to break it up and bring it around into 

 proper shape for the benches this fall. Make the heap 

 only about three feet high, broad at the top and nicely 

 leveled and squared on corners. It will look systematic 

 and will keep much better and run more evenly than 

 manure piled up any old way Fertilizers will never 

 get any cheaper; in fact they are apt to go up as the 

 natural fertility of the virgin soil is exhausted and 

 the demand for something to replace it increases all 

 over the country. A little time spent conserving all 

 manure will be well repaid in the future. 



Sod for Next Year 



Xow that the hay is in the barn and the fall con- 

 signment of coal has nut yet arrived the teams can 

 hardly do anything more profitable than hauling away 

 the old soil, and starting the sod heaps for next 

 season's rose benches. As a good grower will know 

 just which houses will be planted first, it is for him 

 to decide where to put the first sod. Do away with 

 the old style of a heap and make only the bottom layer 

 of sod a foot thick. All other layers should not ex- 

 ceed six inches with a good coat of manure in between. 

 When sod is put up in this way the manure has a 

 much better chance to work through the soil and that 

 is what counts, as such soil is transformed from partly 

 dead soil to a completely alive soil ready to receive the 

 roots of roses or whatever else may be planted in it. 

 In selecting sod, be sure to get sod that has had no 

 greenhouse soil on it for at least three years and longer 

 if possible ; also see that there is some clover sprinkled 

 all through. In plowing plow only about three or four 

 inches deep and then pick up with a fork only, leaving 

 all the fine soil on the field. This fine soil would be 

 of no use in the soil heap, and left in the field it will 

 do a lot of good. 



Tying-in Beauty Houses 



It will do all roses good to lie around a bit before 

 being tied up, Beauties especially as the whole plant 

 must be formed from bottom breaks with this variety. 

 However the thing can be overdone, and this should 

 be guarded against, and plants aU tied up as soon as 

 their time comes. Do not stake Beauties. Stakes are 

 right for all other roses, but are a nuisance for 

 Beauties, especially later in the season when it is 

 necessarj' to bend down the long growths. Then, too, 

 the plants are always bunched more or less, and red 

 spider and spot are sure to gain a foothold. Another 

 objection is that the leaves a.re mostly on one side of 

 the stems while with the Beauties on wires they have a 

 better chance to spread naturally. Wlien tying the 

 first time see that the knots are not too tight, as the 

 wood will swell as the plants grow older and if they 

 are tied tight the strings will cut so as to make it hard 

 for the sap to flow, thus choking the gro-n-fh above the 

 first wire Have the first wire only about a foot above 

 the level of the bench. The nearer the top is to the 

 roots the better, as sap will not flow so readily through 

 hard wood, and plants cut high a.re more likely to go 

 blind, or else grow and gi-ow a weak long stem. In 

 tying distribute the wood well over all the -nires so 

 that 'all will get an equal amount of light, and thus 

 grow nearly even, which is very important, especially 

 where inexperienced help has to be used to care for the 

 houses. Having the plants well tied helps in all oper- 

 ations that go to make up rose gnnving. 

 Scratching Over Benches 



As soon as plants arc established and their roots 

 push out into the soil it will be necessary to be very 

 careful not to scratch too dcejily when going over tlie 

 lienches. After planting is the time to get tlie benches 

 into condition, leveling the soil where it needs it and 

 b]-eaking up the very coarse lumps — not too fine 

 tliough— as this would jirove harmful. Leaving the 

 surface smooth would make the water wasli around 

 when watering, which is a very dangerous thing, as 

 then some plants are overwatered all tlio time, while 

 others are suffering for want of water. They will not 

 grow evenly, and the result is a poor house or liench 

 as the case may be ^nth loss to the grower. 



