Jdnk 11, 1914. 



The Horists' Review 



19 



STOBING DORMANT BOSES. 



Will you kindly inform us what are 

 the best methods of keeping tea and 

 hybrid tea roses dormant through the 

 winter? We have two large cellars 

 and a packing shed, but the tender va- 

 rieties turn black and die, either when 

 packed in moss or shingletoe. Last year 

 we stored them in the cellar and packed 

 the roots in clean, sharp sand, but still 

 we lost nearly all of the following va- 

 rieties: Ehea Reid, Etoile de Lyon, 

 Lady Roberts, Mrs. Aaron Ward and 

 Betty. P. W. C. 



Neither moss, sand nor shingletoe 

 packing will carry roses, or, for that 

 matter, any shrubs through the winter 



pack the teas in coldframes, burying 

 the plants well, and later cover with 

 leaves and place sashes over them. Hy- 

 brid teas will winter well the same 

 way, or can be entirely buried outside, 

 giving the ground over them a good 

 mulch of straw or leaves. Such plants 

 are pretty sure to come out plump and 

 green at planting time in spring. 



C. W. 



MILDEW ON SHAWYER ROSES. 



Will you oblige me by telling me 

 whether the Mrs, George Shawyer rose 

 is especially subject to mildew? We 

 have planted a batch this season and 

 they are constantly covered with mil- 

 dew in spite of everything that we have 

 done for them. T. J. 



I have handled Mrs. Shawyer roses 

 for the last three years and have had 

 practically no mildew on this variety. 

 On the other hand, some good growers 

 tell me they cannot grow it without 

 mildew. Personally, I think it all de- 

 pends on how the rose is grown. Shaw- 

 yer is a quick grower and on that ac- 

 count should not be grown too warm, 

 as it is liable to be thrown into soft 

 growth and consequently to acquire 

 mildew. I recall the same trouble with 

 Killarney when it was first introduced. 

 We had been growing Brides and Maids 

 in a temperature of 55 to 58 degrees at 

 night and Killarney needed a few de- 

 grees more. Until this was generally 

 understood, Killarney was subject to 

 more censure than any other rose ever 

 introduced. Today complaints of mil- 

 dew on Killarney are comparatively 

 scarce. Shawyer does not need to be 

 grown so warm as Killarney, and this is 

 a point in its favor, as every added 

 degree of heat in cold weather means 

 80 much additional coal. 



This variety has done wonderfully 

 well in California and the south, as 

 well as in the east, and it will eventu- 

 ally find its place as a staple pink in 

 the market, because the color does not 

 fade as does that of Killarjiey and the 

 plant is a wonderfully quick grower and 

 wonderful producer of blooms. 



Chas. H. Totty. 



in proper condition. Nurseries make a 

 practice of carrying large quantities of 

 stock over winter in packing sheds, 

 usually packed in sand. This often is 

 far too dry and, while the plants may 

 look fresh when taken out, on being 

 exposed to the sun, air and outside con- 

 ditions, much of the wood invariably 

 shrivels and dies back. The main 

 trouble is that the roots get too dry, 

 and no tree or shrub can get dry at 

 the root for any considerable period 

 without being seriously injured or 

 killed. 



If you want to carry over your roses 

 successfully, pack in moist earth and 

 be sure the roots are moist when you 

 store them away. If necessary, water 

 them to settle the soil about the roots. 

 A temperature as near freezing as pos- 

 sible will winter them finely. You can 



AMERICAN ROSE SOCIETY. 



The members of the American Rose 

 Society are invited as a body, or as 

 many as can conveniently do so, to 

 visit Elizabeth park rose garden, at 

 Hartford, Conn., June 19, meeting at 

 11 a. m. in the Union' station at Hart- 

 ford, Conn. -The program will be to 

 take lunch there, then go out to the 

 park. The roses will be in good condi- 

 tion at that time. 



Alex. Cummings, chairman of the 

 American Rose Society's rose garden 

 committee, reports that at this writing 

 everything looks most inviting. Not 

 only the members of the American 

 Rose Society are invited but anyone 

 who takes an interest in roses. 



The affiliation effort of recent months 

 has resulted in a membership of some 

 300 persons. Wallace R. Pierson, presi- 

 dent of the American Rose Society, 

 says: "Give the matter all the public- 

 ity possible and invite any rose lover 

 to come with us. ' ' 



Benj. Hammond, Sec'y, 



ac 



ac 



? SEASONABLE i^ 1 

 i s^ SUGGESTIONS \ 



Freesias. 



Flats or pans of freesias which have 

 been given suitable treatment now will 

 be well ripened and, when time permits, 

 can be shaken out and sorted. The 

 small bulblets, at planting time, which 

 need not be earlier than July 15, can be 

 sown moderately thick in flats and will 

 produce fine flowering bulbs a year 

 later. Do not, however, save bulbs 

 from freesias which have been cut 

 down close td the soil. No matter how 

 well these may look as regards size and 

 firmness, they will bloom disappoint- 

 ingly. 



Amaryllis. 



The houses after this time are much 

 too hot for amaryllis. An excellent 

 summer treatment is to plunge them to 

 the brims in a bed of leaves or strawy 

 manure in frames. Tilt the sashes well 

 back and front over them and give 

 them a coating of kerosene and white 

 lead. Spray over once or twice a day, 

 and once a week for the next three 

 months feed with liquid manure. Plants 

 treated in this way will make wonder- 

 ful bulbs, double the size of those kept 

 on hot, dry greenhouse benches, and 

 will throw two and in some cases 

 three spikes per bulb, instead of one. 



Winter Snapdragons. 



Since Easter the flower markets seem 

 to have been all more or less surfeited 

 with snapdragons, the first time this 



condition has really arisen, especially 

 in the case of good pink varieties. The 

 trouble seems to have been that every- 

 one aimed to get a big spring crop and 

 the produce was more than the market 

 could take. From October to early 

 March there are comparatively few 

 snapdragons obtainable, and these are 

 of poor quality. There surely is a field 

 here for wide-awake growers to enter. 

 The plants should now be of sufficient 

 size to prick off into flats. It is a 

 little too late to sow seeds which will 

 produce good flowering plants by the 

 early part of October. Of course they 

 would flower by that time, even if sown 

 late in June, but they would not have 

 the size and strength necessary for 

 midwinter bloomers. So, if you have 

 no strong seedlings, buy rooted cut- 

 tings of one or more of the good named 

 sorts advertised. Bench them toward 

 the end of August. 



Seed Sowing. 



Now that coldframes are compara- 

 tively clear of bedding plants, there 

 are many seeds that can be sown with 

 advantage. A light soil containing con- 

 siderable leaf-mold and old, screened 

 manure, with some sand ad<led, is ex- 

 cellent for the purpose. I like to screen 

 the soil, or at least the upper three 

 inches of it. This insures a fine root- 

 ing surface and more even germina- 

 tion; seedlings, also, come out more 

 readily. A few seeds which should be 



