July. 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



531 



absolutely necessary, but is better. The 

 roses should be given protection from the pre- 

 vailing summer winds of the locality, but 

 this must be sufficiently remote to interfere 

 in no way with a free supply of air. 



Roses must have air and plenty of it. If 

 the ground is slightly raised above the sur- 

 roundings all the better; thorough drainage 

 must be secured in some manner, as to plant 

 roses in a cold, damp soil, or in a low spot 

 where surface water settles is simply to 

 sacrifice the plants. Under such conditions 

 they will quickly succumb to mildew. Plant- 

 ing in a shady spot under the drip of trees 

 will also result in mildew. On a cold soil 

 (a stiff, clayey loam that retains moisture) 

 I have found that ample drainage and con- 

 sequent warming of the soil can be provided 

 by about one foot of broken bricks, clam 

 shells, coarse cinders, or in fact, anything of 

 a hard nature that is large enough to allow 

 the water to filter through. This material 

 is put in the bottom of the trench, two or 

 three feet down, and covered with something 

 to prevent the soil clogging up the inter- 

 spaces. Sphagnum moss answers admirably, 

 but anything of a like nature will do. 



Roses revel in deep, well-enriched soil and 

 I have yet to hear of any one getting a bed 

 too rich for roses. Thoroughly trench the 

 soil three feet deep and add to every two 

 cubic yards of earth one cubic yard of manure. 

 Cow manure is the best, but any good farm- 

 yard manure will do. As the top, or surface, 

 has most fertility, it is turned to the bottom 

 in the trenching, which should be done, at 

 the very least, six weeks before planting — 

 ten weeks is better — to give the ground an 

 opportunity to settle before planting. 



Climbing roses do not need much pruning 

 but one cannot afford to neglect them alto- 

 gether. Merely remove the dead wood and the 

 very weak shoots and cut back on the previous 

 season's growth far enough to get a couple 

 or three good strong breaks, but do not let the 

 plant carry more wood than it can support. 

 If a plant is in good health it needs very 

 little pruning; but if it is not growing satis- 

 factorily, and there is no question as to its 

 having plenty of nourishment, prune it 

 severely. In such a case, cut back far 

 enough to produce strong, new growths, 

 cutting right down to the ground even. 

 Prune climbing roses in the early spring 

 (late March or early April). 



When growing well, the plants will send 

 up several strong suckers simultaneously 

 with the appearance of the flowers, which 

 may be taken for renewal growths if it is 

 not desired to let the plant climb to any 

 •great height ; remove one or two of the oldest 

 shoots to make room for the newcomers. 

 If a greater height is wanted, these young 

 canes must be cut out immediately, as nearly 

 all the strength of the plant is directed toward 

 their development. 



There is just one caution to be given here : 

 make sure that the plant is growing on its 

 own roots before training up the new suckers, 

 because with grafted plants the root suckers 

 must be removed. 



The rose is not a natural climber; it can 

 ramble over low shrubs, large boulders and 



The prairie rose (Rosa sefigera), a tall-growing shrubbery species which may be treated as a vine 



such things, but when grown about a veranda 

 pillar, it must be artificially supported by 

 tying up occasionally as it grows. This is 

 more satisfactory than ignoring it until the 

 end of the growing season. It is then a hard 

 job to straighten out the badly tangled or 

 twisted shoots, and the wind is likely to 

 break them when they are very long. 



Never let one shoot grow upright for too 

 long a period, or get very far ahead of the 

 others. If you do, the strongest or leading 

 shoot will receive the greatest quantity of 

 the sap and the plant, by throwing its strength 

 to the top, will soon become nude at the base. 



For training roses, I prefer to use staples, 

 as the plants make but few branches and 

 they are easily removed, which is a con- 

 venience in the case of tender roses requiring 

 winter protection. 



In the fall, give a mulch of six inches of 

 good manure, which will not only serve as a 

 winter protection but will also yield plant 

 food in the early spring, when growth starts. 

 In very dry locations summer mulching is 

 also desirable. 



Very tender roses trained on the outside 

 of a veranda or building, and which are 

 subjected to heavy drip in winter, need 



The prairie rose is excellent when grown in masses. Has bright red hips which last until Christmas 



