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JANUABT 18, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review. 



IS 



have caused the most trouble. They 

 are generally combated with nicotine 

 in different forms, and one grower is 

 getting results from the use of Paris 

 green and brown sugar, used as a 

 spray. Sulphur painted on the pipes 

 is the chief method of treating mildew, 

 while hand-picking is the best way of 

 checking the black spot. Green fly is 

 easily controlled by fumigating with 

 nicotine preparations, and the leaf roll- 

 er by the use of arsenic poisons. Hy- 

 drocyanic gas has not as yet been thor- 

 oughly tested, but I believe that where 

 the houses are air-tight it will come 

 into use in the future. Where the 

 houses have many air-holes, the gas is 

 wasted and will not give good results. 



Outdoor Boses. 



The growing of outdoor roses is di- 

 vided into two classes, one for cut flow- 

 ers commercially, and the other for 

 home use. The cultivation is practi- 

 cally the same in both cases, except 

 that where there are only a few roses 

 grown, greater care in the preparation 

 of the beds can be used than when 

 growing in the fields in large numbers. 



The varieties which are used for 

 commercial purposes are naturally good 

 for garden and home use, but there are 

 a large number of additional varieties 

 which prove quite satisfactory in the 

 garden, though not valuable for the 

 growing of cut flowers. 



In growing roses in the open, the 

 first thing to be considered is the loca- 

 tion, as they must have the most light - 

 and sun possible, and, if possible, they 

 should be protected on the north and 

 west from the winter winds. It is 

 best to plant them on the south side 

 of a hedge, a building or other wind 

 break. The land should be high and. 

 well drained, as the roses will not 

 thrive in cold, wet soil. If the soil is 

 inclined at all to be soggy, it is best 

 to put in artificial drainage immedi- 

 ately, as it will be far less expensive, 

 saving the loss of at least one year's 

 time, than to wait and see if the plants 

 will grow. In case the plants do not 

 thrive the first year, it is well to im- 

 mediately look into the conditions, as 

 it is useless to continue under the same 

 conditions. 



Preparing a Garden Bed. 



In preparing the ground for a rose 

 bed, the soil should be removed to 

 about two feet in depth and, if the 

 subsoil is clay, the clay should be en- 

 tirely removed and the drainage, if 

 necessary, put in at that time. It can 

 consist of broken brick, rock or other 

 similar materials, or 4-inch clay tile 

 with cinders which have weathered for 

 a year or two, and should have an out- 

 let to a drain or lower ground level. 



The soil for filling the bed should be 

 made up of about seventy-five per cent 

 ©f good clay loam, five per cent of bone 

 meal and twenty per cent of well rot- 

 ted manure. This should be filled in 

 to within six inches of the top and 

 packed firmly, and the remainder of the 

 bed should be filled with good loam, 

 leaving out the fertilizers, as it is de- 

 sired to have the plants make as deep 

 a root growth as possible. Where the 

 loam is extremely heavy, it is well to 

 lighten it with sand or humus for the 

 planting of the everblooming roses, 

 especially the hybrid teas, but the hy- 

 brid perpetuals seem to prefer the 

 heavy soil. As the roses in this locality 

 should be planted as early in tlie spring 

 as possible, it is best to prepare the bed 

 the preceding fall, mounding it up to 



Mixed Roses Sn a Japanese Straw Vase. 



allow for settling of the loose soil, and 

 moving the surplus in the spring. 



Planting in the Garden. 



Hybrid perpetuals should be planted 

 about two feet apart, but everblooming 

 roses can be planted eighteen inches 

 apart without crowding. However, if 

 space permits, I prefer to have both 

 kinds a little farther apart.>, When 

 planting, the earth should be thor- 

 oughly packed around the roots, and 

 the entire bed should be soaked with 

 water. This applies to roses in the 

 dormant state, but in planting roses 

 of the evergreen type I much pre- 

 fer plants which have been made 

 from the cuttings the preceding 

 August, kept growing during the win- 

 ter and planted after the danger of 

 severe frost. These plants should, if 

 properly grown, be in 3-inch pots and 

 should be given a large amount of loam 

 the first year, and will become thor- 

 oughly established with little trouble. 

 The plants should be kept cultivated 

 until about June 1, when they should be 

 mulched with about two inches of rot- 

 ted horse manure or leaves, to retain 

 the moisture during the hot months of 

 the summer. The watering of roses 

 during the summer is quite important 

 and should not be done until absolutely 

 necessary, and then a thorough soaking 

 should be given, say about once a week, 

 as light watering or sprinkling does 

 more harm than good. 



The insects which are most trouble- 

 some are the leaf roller and the green 

 worm which eats out the buds, though 

 the green fly sometimes becomes trou- 

 blesome also, in wet weather. These 

 pests are easily controlled, as before 

 mentioned under greenhouse culture, 

 with the exception of the worm which 



eats the buds, and which has to be 

 picked off by hand. 



Mulching and Pruning. 



The care of roses during the winter 

 months comprises a careful mulching 

 with straw or leaves as soon as the 

 ground is frozen, and the pruning, 

 which is done in the spring. The prun- 

 ing of roses is for the purpose of ob- 

 taining more or larger blooms, and as 

 the flowers are borne on new wood 

 produced from the current year's 

 growth, all old wood should be cut 

 away each year, except in the case of 

 climbers and other tall growing sorts, 

 where it is necessary to retain the old 

 canes. These should be removed, one 

 or two at a time, as new ones grow. 



It is well to cut everblooming roses 

 almost to the ground, as they give bet- 

 ter results than when only lightly 

 trimmed. As to the hybrid perpetuals, 

 if it is desired to have a few large 

 blooms, most of the canes should be re- 

 moved to the ground and the remain- 

 ing canes cut back about one-third, 

 but if a large number of blooms are 

 wanted, the canes should be practi- 

 cally all left, removing only a few of 

 the older canes which are non-bearing. 



The varieties used are governed by 

 the use to which they are to be put. 

 In cases where the owner goes away for 

 the summer and does not come back 

 until late fall, the hybrid perpetual 

 roses are largely planted, but where 

 the place is occupied the entire sum- 

 mer, and where the flowers are used 

 for commercial purposes, the ever- 

 blooming roses are U3ed entirely, except 

 in connection with shrubbery roots, 

 where a few hybrid perpetuals are 

 sometimes used with Bosa rugosa, 

 which is classed among the shrubs. 



