Dreer's Specially Prepared 



S FORTHE GARDEN 



Partial View of Rose Tkial Beds at our Nursbrv. 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 1912. In fall they were carefully dug, planted in pots and stored 

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

 most natural way, an 1 are much superior to stock which has been forced in a high temperature into an unnatural and weakened 

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

 exceptions, are either home-grown or grown for us in England or Ireland 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. Most of these plants 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 its seven small leaves instead of the usual five, and 

 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 just 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 sod 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 

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

 over three and a half feet wide, which enables you to pick the 

 blooms without stepping on the bed. 



PLANTING AND SUMMER CARE.— The ideal time 

 to plant is in the spring, just after danger from 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 cultivated 

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



PRUN1NQ. — About the end of October it is well to cut back 

 to about three feet all the canes of the strong-growing sorts. 

 The principal pruning should be done in spring, beginning with 

 the Hybrid Perpetuals in March. 



If quantity of bloom for garden effect is the object sought, 

 then four or five canes may be left three feet in length, and all 

 very old or weak growth cut away entirely. After the plants 

 are through blooming, the canes should be shortened back at 

 least one-half to enable the plants to make a strong growth for 

 the next season of bloom. 



If quality is desired, all weak growth should be removed, and 

 the remaining canes cut back in proportion to their development, 

 (174) 



the weaker ones to about four inches from the root, and stronger 

 ones eight to nine inches. All canes should be cut off about a 

 quarter of an inch above an outside bud. By doing this, the 

 plant will grow in an open head, as the buds usually grow in 

 whatever direction they first take. Roses, pruned in this way, 

 require no staking up, and will need no summer pruning, the 

 cutting of the flowers with good stems being sufficient. 



Ever blooming Tea sorts are best not pruned until they show 

 evidence of growth, indicated by the buds beginning to swell. 

 By that time dead or unhealthy wood is readily detected, mak- 

 ing it easy to see what should be cut away and what should be 

 retained. They do not need such severe pruning as that de- 

 scribed for the Hybrid Perpetuals, and all wood that looks 

 promising may be left on. 



Climbing Roses require no pruning beyond cutting out the 

 very old or dead wcod and the shortening of the laterals and 

 canes to make the growth conform to the space to be covered. 



WINTER PROTECTION.— In the latitude of Philadelphia 

 a covering of three or four inches of manure or leaves over the 

 entire bed is sufficient. In colder latitudes, draw the leaves up 

 around the stems six or eight inches higher, and in very cold 

 places earth them up and protect with cornstalks or evergreen 

 boughs. For Tea Roses a good plan is to put a temporary- 

 fence of twelve-inch chicken wire netting around the bed, filling 

 in loosely with leaves, with a little earth or some branches over 

 all to prevent them from blowing away. 



ENEMIES. — When grown under favorable conditions, Roses 

 are not so 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 whisk 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. It may be necessary to sup- 

 plement this treatment with several applications of any tobacco 

 solution, or tobacco dust, for green-fly or aphis, which may ap- 

 pear during the growing season. 



