Don't Hurry Winter Protection of Roses s. c. hubbard 



After Practical Experience in Roses, in Three Different States, Mr. Hubbard Presents a Working Plan for General Adoption — The 



Mistaken Idea that Plants Need Warmth in Winter the Cause of Untold Losses 



THE fact that many of the most deli- 

 cately tinted Hybrid Tea Roses will 

 not survive the winters of the latitude 

 of northwestern New York has dis- 

 couraged some gardeners from planting them. 

 Yet everybody wants these flowers and not 

 planting them means they are losing the pleasure 

 of many of the most beautiful not alone of Roses, 

 but of all the flowers of the garden. 



It is most discouraging to find, when spring 

 comes, only a few stubs of what, in the fall, was 

 a collection of fine, healthy Rose 

 plants. Little wonder, then, that 

 despair leads to the larger planting 

 of the Hybrid Perpetuals and 

 Rugosas as being something of a 

 more hardy nature. 



But the fact remains that al- 

 though many of the Hybrid Teas 

 will freeze to within a few inches of 

 the ground, most of them (with 



E roper protection) can be made to 

 loom profusely from year to year. 

 Many people have the erroneous 

 impression that the protection is 

 to keep the plants warm. This is 

 indeed far from correct. The main 

 object in covering the plants is to 

 keep them cold — that is, to prevent 

 thawing and freezing as much as 

 possible during the "soft spells" in 

 winter. The warm windy days of 

 March are especially dangerous to 

 the proper wintering of Roses. If 

 we could freeze our plants in De- 

 cember, and have them remain that way until 

 the latter part of March or first of April, there 

 would be no need of covering of any sort! The 

 finest bed of Roses that I have ever seen was 

 a planting of twenty-five Killarney Queen and 

 Double White Killarney on the north shore of 

 Lake Winnepesaukee in New Hampshire. The 

 house sheltered them from the cold north winds 

 and Nature did the rest by burying them in about 

 three or four feet of snow from the second week in 

 November until the middle or last of April. These 

 Roses came through every winter with more than 

 two feet of good, healthy wood. 



Conditions That Aid Hardiness 



pOR the reason already stated it is obvious 

 that our covering must be done as late as 

 possible. Early protection is often the cause of 

 the plants becoming too warm and starting, which, 

 when severe weather does come, means a consider- 

 able loss of vitality to the stock. Best results are 

 obtained by covering just before the groundfceezes 

 solidly. Two or three good freezes do more to 

 insure the carrying of the plants through the 

 winter than any amount of early protection. 



Ramblers are best laid down and covered with soil 



Hybrid Teas properly mounded with earth and ready to receive the final covering of manure after 

 the mound is frozen. This protects Teas in the extreme north 



The first factor in properly wintering Roses is 

 having the wood thoroughly ripened. Canes 

 that are full of sap, when cold weather strikes 

 them, will not survive even a mild winter. The 

 freezing of the sap causes expansion which bursts 

 the outer bark and leaves the wood exposed to 

 the weather. 



There are several ways in which one may 

 hasten, or at least aid, the ripening processs. 

 The most important is drainage. If the soil is 

 heavy and water-logged, then the roots are full 

 of sap and continue sending it up the canes. It 

 is a law of physics that "two things cannot occupy 

 the same place at the same time." As applied 

 here, it means that as long as the roots are full 

 of sap, they cannot take back that which is in the 

 canes. Therefore, look to your drainage! 



The next aid is in keeping the food away from 

 the plants so that no more growth will be made 

 after the middle of September. If the last mulch 

 is applied in the middle of July, there will be 

 little danger of soft growth continuing into au- 

 tumn. Cultivation should be discontinued after 

 the last of August. Working the soil later than 

 that tends to stimulate growth which is not 

 wanted at this time of year. If weeds grow, pull 

 them out of course, but do not use a hoe. 



There is still another method which has proved 

 beneficial in ripening the wood of Ramblers: 

 After the first light frosts, cut back about a foot 

 of growth from each cane. This checks the 

 growth and causes the wood to harden. By the 

 time it has hardened and the eyes have developed, 

 most of the sap has been utilized and there is 

 little danger of unripened canes. 



Practical Methods of Protection 



' I *HERE are several commonly practiced 

 ■*■ methods of protection which are of little 

 use in Northern latitudes, especially in winters 

 like the last when the mercury registered thirty- 

 six degrees below zero, and the average velocity 

 of the wind for the last two weeks in December 

 was forty miles per hour. 



One of the popular methods is to completely 



89 



cover the plants with straw. The canes are 

 drawn together in two or three places, according 

 to the height of the plant, and then some soil 

 thrown around the base. The plant is now 

 ready for its coat of straw. Long rye straw is the 

 best, although it is hard to procure, as most of 

 the grain to-day is threshed by machines which 

 break the straw into short lengths. If long straw 

 is used, it is simply stood upright against the 

 plant to a thickness of three inches, and tied 

 securely together, especially at the top and 

 bottom and more soil is thrown 

 against the base to a height of five 

 or six inches. This will keep the 

 field mice from making a nest in 

 the straw and from feasting on the 

 bark of the plants. This method is 

 quite satisfactory when employed 

 on Moss Roses. Where winds do 

 not have a full sweep it may be used 

 on some of the taller growing Hy- 

 brid Perpetuals. 



In using short straw, the plant 

 is practically buried with it and a 

 vegetable hamper or box inverted 

 over the whole. Burlap is some- 

 times used in place of boxes. This 

 method, however, has proved un- 

 satisfactory for three reasons; viz., 

 it makes ideal winter quarters for 

 mice, allows water to collect around 

 the plants, and does not keep out 

 the winds. 



Another method of covering is to 

 surround the bed with chicken wire 

 about a foot high and then bury the plants with 

 leaves or litter to a depth of eight or ten inches. 

 A few sticks or branches over the top will keep 

 the covering from blowing off. This is a very 

 good practice where the winters are moderate, 

 but where the mercury drops forty degrees or 

 more in twenty-four hours, especially after a warm 

 spell during the winter, it is of little use. 



The One Satisfactory Method 



THERE is but one method, which after five 

 years of experimental work has been found 

 to be very satisfactory, especially with the Hybrid 



Moss Roses can be protected by straw overcoats 



