ROSES AND THEIR CARE. 



225 



too old and hard. The base of the wood 

 below where the roses have been growing 

 is perhaps the best, although other growth 

 will answer. The base of the cutting 

 should be made just below a leaf joint, and 

 should be cut quite level or square across 

 the cutting. 



It is not absolutely necessary to make the 

 base of the cutting immediately below a leaf 

 joint, but I have had the quickest and best 

 results by taking the cutting in this way. A 

 cutting with two leaf joints will be long 

 enough. Remove the lower leaf before in- 

 serting the cutting in the sand. Use a very 

 sharp knife in making rose cuttings, so as 

 not to bruise or damage them. . Insert the 

 cutting about i^A lo 2 inches in the sand 

 according to the length, making a hole in 

 the sand with a pencil or stick before in- 

 serting the cutting. \\ ater the sand well 

 once, and keep the sand moist but not sod- 

 dened afterAvards. Pot ofT into small 25^2 

 inch pots as soon as rooted, using a com- 

 post of three parts of loamy potting soil 

 mixed with one part of fine sharp sand. 



Layering: Climbing roses are more 

 easily propagated from layers than bush 

 roses. By taking a young cane early in 

 spring of the preceeding year's growth and 

 burying a portion two or three inches below 

 the soil at a distance of a foot or two from 

 the parent plant, a good plant can be ob- 

 tained by the following spring, when it can 

 be severed from the parent plant. About 

 12 inches in length of the cane should be 

 buried, leaving about a foot or 18 inches of 

 the top of the cane exposed. This termi- 

 nal end or top of the cane will form the 

 future rose tree. 



If a straight cut is made two-thirds 

 through the cane and just below a leaf joint, 

 at a point where the cane is buried deepest 

 in the ground, it will facilitate the layer in 

 rooting. The sanie n^ethod can be used in 

 layering bush roses, but the proper wood 

 from these is not always obtainable. Select 

 the canes for layering from those growing 

 from near the root of the parent phnt, as 



they are easier to layer than canes growing 

 higher up the plant. Climbing roses can 

 also be struck from cuttings as recom- 

 mended for bush roses. 



CULTURE AND PRUXIXG. 



Roses like a deep, well drained clay loam 

 soil well enriched with rotten stable manure. 

 The drainage is an important point in win- 

 tering over the more tender varieties of 

 roses. Bone meal forked in in the spring 

 is a good fertilizer for roses. Half a pound 

 of bone meal to each bush will not be too 

 much when the bushes have become estab- 

 lished. 



Prune hardy bush roses early in the 

 spring just as the leaf buds show the first 

 sign of swelling. Prune all the strong 

 growth back to within four to eight inches 

 of the old growth, removing all dead and 

 weakly shoots. 



Climbing roses should have the weak 

 shoots of the new growth removed, 

 especially if the bush is strong and 

 vigorous. Shorten the strong canes back 

 so that they are left about four to six feet 

 in length according to the space they have 

 to grow in. 



Green fly and thrip are the worst insect 

 enemies of the rose. Use tobacco dust 

 made from raw tobacco stems or leaves, or 

 a solution of strong tobacco water to keep 

 doAvn these pests. Apply these remedies as 

 soon as the leaves are developed, as they are 

 of more service as preventatives than as 

 cures, and an ounce of prevention is better 

 than a pound of cure. 



For the rose slug use dry hellebore pow- 

 der sprinkled on the foliage when moist, or 

 use it early in the morning when the dew is 

 on. Weak Paris green water will answer 

 as well, but I prefer the dry hellebore. 

 These instructions only barely touch on 

 some of the most important points in the 

 propagaition and culture of the rose, much 

 has to be learned by experience, more es- 

 pecially in regard to suitability or different 

 varieties, and treatment of same as required 

 bv loc^l conditions and surroundings. 



