Benefit of Our Experience 



HOW TO GROW ROSES — Continued. 



Fertilizer 



This is a question we are frequently requested to an- 

 swer. Animal manure from one to two years old where it 

 can be obtained is the best. Cow manure is generally 

 preferred, and can be used in fresh condition. Horse 

 manure when new is very heating and should not be used 

 while in this condition, except as a winter mulch. Hog, 

 sheep and chicken manure are also very useful. The last 

 two, however, should be used sparingly. Ground bone is 

 beneficial, but should be secured as fine as possible, and it 

 should be used sparingly. The best method is sprinkling 

 a portion over the bed until the ground is entirely covered, 

 then with the use of a fork it can be dug into the soil and 

 thoroughly mixed. You will also find an occasional appli- 

 cation of Bonora, such as is offered in this book, will pro- 

 duce good results. Air slacked lime also is beneficial, 

 about a cupful to a plant scattered on the surface in early 

 spring and mid-summer. A mulching of cow stable ma- 

 nure is very beneficial during the growing season. It helps 

 to retain the moisture during the dry season, as well as a 

 food for the roots. 



Planting 



As soon as the plants are received it is best to imme- 

 diately plant, yet if it is impossible to do this the plant 

 should be placed in a cellar or moderately warm place and 

 protected from the sun. Set them upright to admit the 

 fiee circulation of air. When you receive them they will be 

 wrapped in Sphagnum Moss, which should be removed be- 

 fore planting, as it is used only for protection. Water 

 freely from time to time. The roots should be covered with 

 soil or burlap and never be allowed to become dry. Soak- 

 ing the roots in lukewarm water or thin mud for an hour 

 or two before planting to restore their vitality is beneficial. 

 Do not set the plants too shallow. They should be planted 

 deeper than they were growing in the pots before ship- 

 ping. This can easily be determined by an examination of 

 the plant. The roots of the plants should be spread out 

 and not cramped. If you receive them with the soil on 

 the roots in which they have been growing, do not remove 

 this soil, but simply loosen it if packed in a hard ball. 

 Give them as near a natural position as is possible. Use 

 plenty of water after planting and shade for a few days 

 if the sun is hot, with newspaper or similar material, and 

 if the season is a dry one an occasional watering will be 

 beneficial. The best time to plant Roses such as we send 

 out, being pot grown, own root stock, is in early spring as 

 soon as all danger of frost is past and the ground is warm 

 and pliable, or, in other words, about corn-planting time. 

 This time, of course, varies with the location. Here in 

 Pennsylvania about the first of May is our planting time. 

 Further north it is a little later; further south earlier. Feb- 

 ruary, March and April are good months for Roses on the 

 Pacific Coast and the far South. This refers entirely to 

 pot-grown plants and not dormant plants. By dormant 

 plants we mean field-grown, that is, lifted from the field 

 and have not made any growth whatever. Such plants as 

 these should be set out earlier than pot-grown plants. 



Pruning 



As a rule the Roses that we send out do not need any 

 pruning, being pot-grown plants. However, if the bushes 

 are more spreading than is desired it does not injure the 

 plant any to prune it back. This applies only to the pot- 

 grown plants. Where dormant or field-grown plants are 

 secured they should be pruned back before planting. Prun- 



ing can be done at any season of the year with a certain 

 class of Roses, but it is a matter to be governed by the 

 judgment of the possessor of the plants. The best time 

 for pruning is in early spring, just before they begin to 

 break at the eyes. Then it is well to trim Roses back to 

 about one-third to one-half the season's growth. The larger 

 and heavier the growth the more it should be trimmed. 



Winter Protection 



The protection necessary to keep Roses safely through 

 the winter months depends entirely upon the character of 

 the plant and the location. For such Roses as the Hybrid 

 Perpetuals, Rugosas, Harrison's Yellow, etc., very little 

 protection, if any, is necessary in any climate, yet it is 

 beneficial in the cold latitudes of the North to give them a 

 protection of strawy horse stable manure after the fir>t 

 hard freeze. The soil itself is a good protection. When 

 protecting the Teas and Hybrid Teas it is a good plan to 

 mound the earth about each plant, or use clean sand about 

 six inches deep, then fill in between the mounds with 

 strawy stable manure, the coarser the better. The uncov- 

 ered tops may be tied up with straw or burlap. We would 

 not suggest the use of leaves, as oftentimes mice make 

 their home there and destroy the plants through the 

 winter. This protection should be gradually removed in 

 March in the latitude of Philadelphia, or as soon as all 

 danger of hard freezing is over. The tender Roses may 

 also be wintered in boxes or pots of soil in a cool cellar or 

 heeled in (the earth itself). Where you have a dirt floor 

 two or three waterings will be required during the winter, 

 just sufficient to prevent drying out. 



Diseases and Insects 



MILDEW — This disease very frequently attacks the fo- 

 liage of Roses, especially the Crimson Rambler. It is 

 shown by a grayish crinkling appearance of the leaves and 

 usually occurs after a change in the temperature. It can 

 be checked to a certain extent by sprinkling the leaves 

 with powdered sulphur immediately after its appearance. 

 If, however, this does not check it, dissolve one ounce of 

 potassium sulphuret in two gallons of cold water and apply 

 a fine spray. 



GREEN FLY OR APHIS— A green suckling insect which 

 usually gathers in great numbers upon the tips of the new 

 growth. A solution of tobacco made from tobacco insecti- 

 cide soap, which you will find offered elsewhere in this 

 book, will exterminate them. 



Red Spider is also a small insect indiscernible to the 

 naked eye, and a frequent spraying with a strong hose is 

 all that is necessary. The leaf roller is an insect of yellow- 

 ish-white color, resembling the butterfly, and lays eggs on 

 the underside of the leaf, which soon form a cocoon, roll- 

 ing around itself the leaf, hence the name, leaf-roller. 

 The Rose bug, a familiar insect, appears in the earliest 

 sUmmer,sometimes in great quantities, and is very trouble- 

 some. It is a very destructive insect and usually feeds 

 upon the white petals, but is easily destroyed, especially 

 in the early morning, when they will readily fall into a 

 vessel containing kerosene. They can be poisoned, but it 

 is not a very desirable way to get rid of them. This is to 

 spray with wood alcohol, which will kill any insect by con- 

 tact, operates quickly and does not injure the flower if 

 applied in a mist-like spray. Care should be exercised by 

 the operator not to inhale any of the fumes. Any of the 

 foregoing preparations can be applied by the Tyrian Plant 

 Sprinkler or the Auto-Spray, the price of which will be 

 found elsewhere in this book. 



