258 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



November, 1912. 



Protecting Roses 



W. C. Mickeodrick, Toronto, Oat. 



It is a poor year that 1 do not dig up 

 some new experience in rose growing. 

 For five years I have been very success- 

 ful with wintering climbing roses by just 

 tying them together in a bundle against 

 the wires of the fence and putting some 

 bulrushes or straw over them to protect 

 them from the sun, and I have been 

 guilty of saying that this was sufficient 

 covering for the Wichuriana type for 

 this locality. 



However, last winter we experienced 

 very severe and prolonged cold, the ther- 

 mometer dropping as low as twenty-eight 

 degrees below zero, with the result that 

 of the sixty odd climbers which I had 

 been experimenting with none of the 

 Wichuriana came through without being 

 killed to within a foot or two of the 

 ground. Only three climbing roses were 

 hardy enough to maintain their eight or 

 ten feet of height without killing back. 



In previous years we had touches of 

 ten below zero and the method I adopted 

 of hilling up the earth around the neck of 

 the rose and then tying the branches to- 

 gether and covering them with straw to 

 keep the sun off them had been quite suf- 

 ficient. Some of my neighbors who had 

 Crimson Rambler climbers that had been 

 exposed to the weather for ten years, and 

 had wintered all right, last winter had 

 them winter killed to within a few inches 

 off the ground. The rose expert at the 

 Guelph Agricultural College, Mr. Wm. 

 Hunt, has had good success by laying 

 the climbers on the ground and covering 

 them with soil or a good heavy mulch of 

 strawy manure. 



I noticed last spring that a few of the 

 branches that had fallen on the ground 

 and were protected by the snow, came 

 through all right at my place, so I think 

 that one can do no better than to follow 

 the example of the Guelph Agricultural 

 College. The manure or litter should not 

 be tightly packed as the average rose 

 will stand cold down to at least zero. 

 Hemlock boughs will not do for a 



The Foxglove— "Digitalis Purpurea" 



climber that runs away below zero. If 

 you cannot cover the plants with 

 earth the only thing left is strawy 

 manure or dry leaves. Lay the plants 

 down on- the ground and place the straw 

 or leaves around them so that the plant 

 will get some ventilation but still be kepi 

 warm enough not to winter-kill badly. 



I do not notice any difference in results 

 between the roses I get from England 

 and Ireland. They both seem to be 

 grafted on the same stock and give about 

 the same results. 



Whether or not local roses are as good 

 as those from England and Ireland, I 

 cannot say. I purchased my roses in 

 Ireland because they cost me about half 

 what they would cost me if purchased in 

 the United States, but the large bulk of 

 the roses that are sold in the United 

 States which are grafted, are imported 

 irom Europe. 



Do not over-water geraniums or they 

 will become soft. Let them dry out well 

 between waterings. 



The Ever Popular Geranium Blooming in an Office Window 



—Photo by F. T. Shutt, Ottawa. 



Potting Bulbs for Winter 

 Flowering 



Wm. Hnat, O.A.C., Gielph, Oat. 



The best time to pot bulbs for winter 

 llowering indoors is during October, al- 

 though they may be potted later. All of 

 the trumpet varieties of .Narcissi, as well 

 as the double flowering kinds, are suit- 

 able for pot culture. Two or three bulbs 

 of these can be put into a five inch pot. 

 Tulips are not usually satisfactory for 

 indoor culture. Varieties best suited for 

 pot culture are La Reine, white; Mons. 

 Tresor, yellow; Coleur Cardinal, cardi- 

 nal; Pottebaker, white; Chrysolora, yel- 

 low; Prince of Austria, orange red; Pot- 

 tebaker, scarlet; Vesuvius, fiery red. 

 These are all single varieties. A few 

 good double varieties of tulips are Cour- 

 onne d'Or, yellow; Murillo, pink; Rex 

 ruborum, red; Tournesol, yellow. Five 

 or six tulip bulbs can be put in a five inch 

 pot. 



Roman Hyacinths can be potted three 

 bulbs in a five inch pot. The white flow- 

 ering kind are the best of these, and can 

 be had in flower by Christmas. 



DUTCH HYACINTHS 



The single flowering kinds of Dutch 

 hyacinths are best for pot culture. Good 

 quality bulbs give best results. Put one 

 bulb of these in the centre of a four or 

 five inch pot. A greater number of bulbs 

 can be grown in larger pots or boxes if 

 desired. Crocus, Scilla, Snowdrops and 

 Chionodoxa do not give as good results 

 for pot culture as those mentioned. 

 HOW TO POT 

 Pot bulbs in good potting soils. The 

 top or apex of the bulb should be just 

 below the surface of the soil when potted. 

 Water them well and stand the pots 

 away in a cool dark place, cellar pre- 

 ferred. Leave them there until a good 

 root system has developed, which will us- 

 ually be in four or five weeks, when they 

 can be brought into the window to flow- 

 er. If the pots are buried in moist sand 

 or soil in the cellar they will root better 

 than if left uncovered. Keep the soil 

 moist after potting. The soil that bulbs 

 are growing in should never become dry 

 after potting, until they are through 

 flowering. 



Place one bulb of a Chinese sacred lily 

 in a large deep saucer or dish. Fill the 

 saucer with small gravel stones so as to 

 keep the bulb in an upright position. Fill 

 the saucer now with water and set it 

 away in a dark cupboard or cellar for 

 about three weeks, until a good root sys- 

 tem has developed, then bring it out into 

 the window to flower. Keep the saucer 

 filled with water as required. 



To grow Dutch hyacinths in glasses, 

 set the bulb in a proper hyacinth glass. 

 Fill with water so as to barely touch the 

 base of the bulb. Place it awa\- in a dark 

 cool place for four or five weeks, until 

 the roots touch the bottom of the glass, 

 and then bring into the window. 



