PLANTING 19 



Before the Roses arrive the soil should be thoroughly 

 prepared for them, so that no time may be lost in getting 

 them planted on arrival. The bed destined for them 

 should be well dug to a depth of 1 8 inches at 

 least, and dressed with a good supply of manure. This 

 part of the preparation should, if possible, be finished 

 about a week before the Roses are expected, so that the 

 disturbed soil may settle firmly. One point must be 

 remembered whilst preparing soil for Roses, which is 

 that they will not tolerate a damp and ill-drained soil, so 

 that where either soil or subsoil is heavy and water- 

 logged it will need good drainage before Roses will 

 thrive in it. Too light and dry a soil is not liked by 

 Roses, but individual soils vary so enormously that it is 

 not possible to give any formula which will be of univer- 

 sal application in the preparation of a good Rose soil. 

 As a general rule, however, it will be found that a light 

 dry soil is improved by the addition of a good percent- 

 age of a much heavier one, and that over-heavy soils 

 need the admixture of wood ashes or leaf mould, or a 

 liberal dose of road scrapings. A retentive but a well- 

 drained soil is the ideal to be aimed at. 



Should the weather be frosty when the plants arrive 

 it is best not to unpack them at once, but to place them 

 just as they are, well wrapped in their straw covering, 

 in some place such as a cellar or solid garden shed, 

 which is not heated and yet is protected from frost. 

 There they can remain safely until the frost breaks, 

 when they should be at once unpacked and either 

 planted or " heeled in." This latter process consists in 

 digging a shallow trench in any convenient place, and 

 placing the roots in it in a slightly sloping position. 

 The roots should then be watered and the trench filled 

 in with soil. If the plants look shrivelled up when they 

 arrive it is a good plan to dig the trench rather deeper 

 and wider than would otherwise be required and to lay 



