DREER'S CULTURAL NOTES ON 



Garden Roses 



Roses are one of our principal specialties, and we aim to ofifer not only the novelties of the 

 greatest Rose specialists of the world, but also a complete list of all the worth-while standard 

 varieties. 



Our Roses are all extra strong two-year-old American field-grown, budded or grafted plants, and 

 while some planters prefer plants grown on their own roots on account of the possibility of budded 

 plants developing wild suckers, this will rarely occur with the careful de-eying of the stocks which 

 are used for this purpose, and if the deep planting as directed is followed, 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, coming 

 into bearing sooner, they are as permanent and hardier than those on their own roots, whilemany 

 of the very finest varieties will not succeed at all when grown on their own roots except in very 

 favorable locations, such as on the Pacific Coast, and even there, preference is given to budded 

 plants by all who have had any experience with the dififerent classes of stock. 



Fall Planting 



When stock is wanted for fall planting (we particularly recom- 

 mend fall planting when this is possible), we supply plants as dug 

 from the fields. This cannot, however, be done until late in the 

 autumn after the plants have become well ripened, which is usually 

 not until the latter part of October or early in November, but 

 you need not hesitate to plant late, even if you are located where 

 there is danger of the ground freezing before the plants reach you. 

 Prepare your beds and cover them with a few inches of loose litter 

 which will enable you to plant with perfect safety even after 

 freezing weather sets in. These newly set-out plants must, of 

 course, be protected the same as established plants as recommended 

 further on under the heading of "Winter Protection." 



In case the plants should reach you too late to plant or at such 

 time when it is not convenient to set them out in their permanent 

 positions, select a well-drained position in your garden where 

 you can dig a slanting trench twelve inches deep at the root end, 

 lay your plants in this trench in a slanting position, fill in the soil 

 between the roots as well as between the branches carefully, 

 firming this soil as you go along, the roots when thus "heeled in" 

 should have a covering of at least twelve inches of soil, tapering 

 to 4 or 5 inches at the tops. This mound of soil at the approach 

 of severe freezing weather, should be covered with two or three 

 inches of preferably Oak leaves, straw, or loose stable litter, or 

 similar material held in place by a few evergreen branches, narrow 

 boards, or anything that will prevent the wind from blowing this 

 covering off. Buried in this manner the plants will keep in 

 perfect condition until early spring when they must be planted 

 in their permanent positions. 



Spring Planting 



While our regular 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. All of our Roses are field-grown plants; in Fall 

 they are carefully dug, planted in pots and stored in cold green- 

 houses or cold frames, where artificial heat is only used to exclude 

 the most severe frost. Under this treatment the plants develop 

 in a natural way and are much superior to stock which has been 

 carried dormant beyond April 1st, by any method of retarding 

 which has yet come under our observation and also vastly superior 

 to plants which have been grown in a high temperature into an un- 

 natural and weakened growth. As a rule we can make Spring 

 delivery until about the first of April in dormant plants with bare 

 roots the same as in the fall, but after this date, they are potted 

 plants, shipped with the ball of soil retained or held in position 

 by a paper carton. 



Situation 



Good Roses can be grown in any open sunny position; they 

 should have full exposure to the sun at least two-thirds of the day; 

 if possible sheltered from north winds and located so that the 

 roots of neighboring Trees and Shrubs will not penetrate the 

 beds and impoverish the soil at the expense of your Roses. 



Preparation of the Beds 



Some authorities recommend elaborate preparation of the soil. 

 This is not necessary. Roses will grow and give good returns in 

 any fertile garden soil that is well drained. It is not necessary to 

 excavate the beds 2 or 3 feet deep and fill in with specially prepared 

 soil, excepting where the soil is very sandy or otherwise unfit for 

 good development. Roses prefer a heavy, fibrous loam, but the 

 ordinary fertile garden soil deeply dug, at least two spades deep, 

 with a liberal amount of well-decayed cow or stable manure dug 

 in and well mixed with the soil is all that is necessary, or if such 

 manure is not available, use Shredded Cattle Manure as ofliered 

 on page 18 of this catalogue in the proportion of one half pound 

 to the cubic foot of soil; a small amount of Bohe Meal, about 

 3 ounces to the cubic foot, may be included at the same time: 

 Providing the ground is well drained, if this is not naturally the 

 case, artificial drainage should be provided. This can be done 

 by excavating the soil 2\ feet deep, filling in the lower 6 inches with 

 broken stone or rubble, and replacing the soil on top of this. 



It is always advisable that no matter whether you plant in 

 the autumn or the spring, that the beds be made ready some time 

 in advance of the date at which you expect delivery of the plants, 

 so that they may be planted promptly on receipt. 



Size of Beds 



Beds not over 5 feet wide are preferable to wider borders. This 

 will enable you to cut the flowers, prune, and do such other work 

 as may be necessary without walking over the beds. In naturally 

 well-drained soil we prefer to have these beds so that when 

 planted the soil is about an inch lower than the surrounding 

 ground, but where the drainage is not absolutely perfect, it is better 

 to have them raised 2 or 3 inches above the surface. 



Time of Flowering 



Hybrid-Perpetual varieties bear their main crop of bloom 

 in May and June, with a few scattering flowers during the summer 

 and autumn. The Wichuraiana varieties bloom during June and 

 July. Rugosa and Hybrid Rugosa flower nearly the whole summer. 



Teas, Hybrid-Teas, and Baby Ramblers bloom continuously 

 throughout the summer and autumn until frost. 



Hardy Climbing Roses, Moss and Briers flower during May and 

 June. 



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