DREER'S CULTURAL NOTES ON GARDEN ROSES 



Pruning 



This should be done in the early spring before growth starts. 

 The Roses sent out by us in the spring require no further pruning 

 that season; they are ready to plant as received. Dormant Roses 

 supplied in the fall should have the tallest branches headed in 

 when planted, to prevent the wind from switching them about and 

 loosening the plants in the soil, but the final pruning should not 

 be done until spring when uncovered. 



Hybrid-Tea varieties should be severely pruned. Cut the 

 stronger shoots back to 6 to 10 inches from the ground, while all 

 weak and thin wood should be removed entirely. 



Tea Roses do not require the severe pruning recommended for 

 the Hybrid-Tea varieties. Trim out all thin wood and cut the 

 stronger shoots back to a prominent eye. 



Hybrid-Perpetual varieties should have all weak growth 

 removed, and if quality of bloom is desired, cut back the strong 

 canes to within 8 or 10 inches of the ground, but if quantity of 

 bloom is desired, leave the canes from 2 to 3 feet in length, accord- 

 ing to their strength. 



Baby Ramblers do not require pruning; simply remove the past 

 season's flower stems. 



Rugosa and Briers require no pruning; merely cut out dead and 

 superfluous wood. 



Moss Roses should be pruned sparingly. Cut out the old wood 

 and merely cut back the growth of the previous year. 



Hardy Climbing, Rambler and Wichuraiana Roses require no 

 pruning in the spring beyond the cutting out of very old or dead 

 wood and the shortening of the laterals and long canes to make 

 the growth conform to the space to be covered, but a severe 

 pruning in July is beneficial. This should be done directly after 

 they have finished flowering. The cutting away of the old flowering 

 wood on these climbers directly after they have finished flowering 

 will encourage a vigorous growth which will give an abundance of 

 bloom the following season. 



Climbing Hybrid-Tea Roses do not require severe pruning. 

 Cut out all thin wood and trim the strong shoots back to prominent 

 eyes. 



Plan^ting and Summer Care 



While late fall planting wherever this can be done is preferable, 

 but fully seventy-five per cent, of all the Roses planted each 

 season are set out in the spring, and this with excellent results. 

 In spring planting, we recommend whenever possible to do this 

 early. The sooner the plants are set out after danger of severe 

 frost is over, the better the results. 



Tea and Hybrid-Tea varieties should be set 18 inches apart; 

 Hybrid-Perpetual varieties 2 feet apart, and all should be 8 to 10 

 inches from the edge of the bed. 



When the plants are supplied from pots, as is the case in the 

 spring, they should be set so that the ball of earth is about li inches 

 below the level of the ground. Plants furnished in the fall in a 

 dormant condition are supplied with bare roots; that is, without 

 soil. In planting these, they should be set at such a depth that the 

 point of union, or where the bud has been inserted on the stock, 

 which is readily discernible, is about 2 inches below the surface 

 of the soil after planting. Firm the soil well around the roots and 

 give a thorough watering. Throughout the summer the surface 

 of the bed should be cxiltivated weekly. If this is done, watering 

 wiU rarely be necessary. It is also a good plan to cover the bed 

 early in the summer, before the weather becomes hot, with about 

 three inches of strawy manure or tobacco stems. This keeps the 

 bed cool and prevents evaporation of the moisture, thereby helping 

 the plants to produce a succession of bloom throughout the summer 

 and autumn months. Some growers cover their beds, as hot 

 weather sets in, with about 2 inches of peat moss. This is a non- 

 conductor of heat and cold and will not only keep the moisture in 

 the ground by protecting it from the sun's absorbing rays, but will 

 also greatly reduce the actual temperature of the bed. 



W^inter Protection 



In this latitude we have found the most satisfactory method of 

 protection is to draw up a mound of soil, from eight to twelve 

 inches high, around the base of the plant, thus giving the eyes at 

 the base of the plant the desired protection. Cover the entire 

 bed, after the ground begins to freeze, with any loose material 

 such as leaves, preferably Oak 'eaves, strawy manure, evergreen 

 boughs or corn stalks. The idea is not to keep the ground from 

 freezing but to prevent the alternate freezing and thawing which 

 is so injurious to all plants. 



In more severe climates, a heavier covering is all that is required. 

 Care and judgment must be used in the removal of this covering 

 in the spring according to weather conditions. Leaving the plants 

 covered too long may cause just as serious loss or worse than 

 removing it too early. In the latitude of Philadelphia it is usually 

 safe to uncover about the middle of ]March, though in unusually 

 late seasons it may be desirable to let the covering remain until 

 the end of that month. 



Tree-shaped Roses should be protected by digging sufficient 

 sou away from one side of the roots to enable one to bend or lay 

 the tree flat on the ground. Then cover the roots and the head 

 with sods or soil. The stem will need no protection. 



Climbing Roses may also be detached from their support, laid 

 flat on the ground and covered with sods or soil in the same manner. 



The Life of Roses 



Hybrid-Perpetual, Moss, Baby Rambler, Brier, Rugosa and 

 Hardy Climbing Roses, as a rule, are good for a generation or 

 more after once planted, but with the now so popular Hybrid-Tea 

 Roses, no matter how carefully protected, some losses must be 

 expected each season, and this loss is sometimes in apparently 

 strong, vigorous plants for which it is difiicult to assign any reason. 

 However, even with such occasional losses, we cannot too strongly 

 recommend the planting of this type of Roses, which not only 

 produce flowers of the highest quality and of most varied and 

 pleasing colors, but they also give such an abundance of bloom 

 continuously from early in the summer until stopped by severe 

 frost that the occasional loss of a few plants amounts to nothing 

 compared with the greater pleasure obtained from them in the 

 high quality and abundance of flowers which they furnish. 



Enemies 



When grown under favorable conditions, Roses are not so apt 

 to be attacked by insect pests or other troubles as when half- 

 starved or otherwise neglected. 



Mildew and Black Spot are the more difficult troubles to 

 combat. For these fungous diseases the use of Fungtrogen, if a 

 spray application is preferred, is recommended, or the All-In-One 

 Mixture for dusting. While there are no materials known to be a 

 positive cure for fungus troubles upon plants grown out of doors, 

 either of the above used at the proper time will serve as preven- 

 tatives, at the same time holding in check many insect pests. 

 Spraying or dusting should be started early in the season as the 

 foliage develops, following with regular applications at one week to 

 ten day intervals. 



Green Fly or Aphis may be readily controlled with the All-In- 

 One Dust or any other nicotine preparation such as Black Leaf 40. 



Rose bugs and beetles; there are a number of preparations avail- 

 able for their control each giving more or less satisfaction, but the 

 more definite plan is to resort to the hand picking of such insects. 



We offer in our several catalogues quite an assortment of 

 insecticides and fungicides, among which are included those sug- 

 gested above, as well as others equally effective, together with 

 the proper apparatus for spraying and dusting. 



