OUTDOOR ROSE GROWING 



greater degree, while the moss renders watering less 

 necessary, and thereby somewhat prevents the likeli- 

 hood of mildew. 



The beds tested with and without moss show that 

 the covered plants bloom only one day later, but 

 hold the bloom much longer. 



In some of our beds we are putting a four-inch 

 layer of peat moss at each side of the bed and at the 

 ends, which should still further act in keeping the 

 temperature low. We do not think this necessary, 

 but in districts where dry, hot weather of long dura- 

 tion occurs, and in seashore planting, where soil 

 must be imported, and where the existing extremely 

 sandy soil surrounding the rose bed becomes very 

 hot, such side protection should be of great benefit. 

 The moss should go from the surface to the bottom 

 of the bed and make a four-inch wall between the 

 bed and the hotter ground around it. Where cement 

 or boards have been used to keep out tree roots, 

 this side protection is, of course, unnecessary. 



Under normal conditions peat moss is worth about 

 fourteen dollars a ton by the carload and one ton will 

 cover over one hundred yards of rose beds, averaging 

 three and one-half feet in width, the finished level of 

 the moss being over three inches; in other words, 

 two hundred pounds, at a cost of less than two dollars, 



would protect ten yards of rose bed, or about forty 



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