Dreer's Specially Prepared 



S FORTHE GARDEN 



Partial View op Rose Trial Beds at our Nursery, Riverton, N. J. 



While our old customers are familiar with the grade of Roses which we send out, we wish to direct the attention of those who 

 have never planted our stock to the manner in which these plants are prepared. The bulk of our Roses are field grown plants, 

 having been cultivated in fields during the growing season of 1917. In fall they were carefully dug, planted in pots and stored 

 in cold greenhouses or cold frames, where artificial heat is only used to exclude severe frost. Under this treatment the plants de- 

 velop in the most natural way, and are much superior to stock which has been forced in a high temperature into an unnatural and 

 weakened growth, and to the comparatively worthless Roses which are sold so cheaply in a dormant condition. Our Roses, with 

 few exceptions, are either home-grown or grown for us in Europe by specialists who have made a life-study of the Rose, a very 

 large percentage of the Hybrid Teas and Hybrid Perpetuals having been received from the famous nurseries of Messrs. Dickson & 

 Sons, Belfast, Ireland. With few exceptions, our Roses are budded or grafted, and while some planters prefer stock grown on 

 their own roots on account of the liability of budded plants to throw up suckers, this will rarely occur if the deep planting as 

 directed below is followed, and if a wild shoot should appear it is readily distinguished by the most casual observer, and should be 

 removed close to the root. Much can be said [in favor of budded plants, being more vigorous, producing finer blooms, come into 

 bearing sooner, and are equally as permanent and hardy as those on their own roots, and many of the choicest sorts do not succeed 

 unless budded or grafted. 



HOW TO GROW ROSES 



SITUATION. — Good Roses may be grown in any open, sunny 

 position, if possible sheltered from north winds, and clear of all 

 roots of trees and shrubs. 



PREPARATION OF THE BEDS.— Roses will grow and 

 give good returns in any fertile, well-drained ground; but it is 

 worth while to use some care in the preparation of the beds, as 

 the general health of the plants, quantity and quality of bloom 

 usually more than repays the extra care expended on this detail. 

 The best soil for Roses is the top soil from an old pasture and 

 well-rotted cow manure. Dig out the bed to a depth of two 

 feet or more, and, if drainage is imperfect, it must be provided 

 for. Fill in with a mixture of soil and manure as above. It is 

 best to make the beds some time in advance of planting, to allow 

 time for settling. After the soil is settled, it should be about an 

 iuch below the level of the adjacent surface; make the beds not 

 over 3 J to 5 feet wide, which enables you to pick the blooms 

 without stepping on the bed. 



PLANTING AND SUMMER CARE.— The ideal time 

 to plant Roses as prepared by us is in the spring, just after dan- 

 ger from severe frost is past. 



Tea and Hybrid-Tea varieties can be set 18 inches apart, 

 Hybrid Perpetuals two feet apart, and both eight inches from 

 the edge of the beds. When the plants are supplied in pots, they 

 should be set so that the ball of earth is about two and one-half 

 inches below the level of the ground. Firm the soil well around 

 the plants, and give a thorough watering if the soil is dry. 

 Throughout the summer the surface of the soil should be culti- 

 vated weekly. If this is done, watering will be rarely necessary. 



PRUNING. — The Roses sent out by us in Spring require no 

 further pruning; they are ready to plant as received. For in- 

 structions how to prune during succeeding seasons, see the direc- 

 tions given under the headings of the different classes in the 

 pages following. 



WINTER PROTECTION.— In this latitude we have found 

 that the most satisfactory protection is to draw up a mound of 

 soil from 8 to 10 inches high around the base of the plants, then 

 covering the entire beds after the ground begins to freeze with 

 any loose material, such as strawy manure, evergreen boughs, or 

 corn stalks, and in more severe climates heavier covering is all 

 that is required. 



ENEHIES. When grown under favorable conditions, Roses 

 are not apt to be attacked by insect pests or other troubles as 

 they are if half starved and otherwise neglected. Our own ex- 

 perience shows that a weekly application of Bordeaux Arsenate 

 of Lead Mixture, at the rate of eight ounces to five gallons of 

 water, applied with a wisk broom, or any sprayer that will 

 reach the under side of the foliage, beginning at the time that 

 the plants have developed into active growth, and continued 

 throughout the season, will keep them free of almost all insect 

 pests, as well as fungous diseases, but if in spite of this spraying, 

 mildew should affect the foliage, use Sulphide of Potassium at 

 the rate of one-half ounce to one gallon of water. This is some- 

 times effective where the Bordeaux Mixture fails. It may be 

 necessary to supplement this treatment with several applications 

 of any tobacco solution, or tobacco dust, for green-fly or aphis, 

 which may appear during the growing season. 



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