TEA ROSES WHERE THEY ARE NOT HARDY 
MARTHA HASKELL CLARKE 
\\ here There is a Will There is Always an Effectual Way and Very 
Often it is Not as Troublesome as the Older and Ineffectual Ones 
TH a show of greater assurance than I actually could 
muster, 1 announced one winter day when the ther- 
rnometer was hiding somewhere underneath the zero 
mark that 1 intended making a specialty of Roses. It 
was in front of a blazing fire with alluring catalogues all around — 
you know the sort of thing and how it makes you feel! — with 
every page a-bloom with a lovelier Rose than the last and with 
descriptions calculated to drive one quite distracted, horticul- 
turally speaking. 
“ In this climate!” was the ejaculation from the other side of 
the fireplace — not a question even; just an admonition, 1 sup- 
pose you might call it. And it took. But, “ 1 don’t see why,” 
I said obstinately just the same. “I love Roses best of all.” 
And when April brought the shrubs and perennials, “What 
are these?” in the midst of the unpacking gave me a guilt)' 
start. ' Tea Roses? Bride, Saf ratio, Killarney!” 
“One of them is a Hybrid Tea.” I parried weakly. 
I here were a dozen — and if ever a group of Roses led pam- 
pered lives, those Teas and Hybrid Teas did. They were 
planted with the greatest care, received the richest soil and the 
sunniest location in the garden; and they grew tremendously! 
When fall came, they were great thrifty looking bushes loaded 
with buds and flowers, and the pride of my heart. 1 consulted 
books and experienced friends as to their winter protection, and 
in November old Mike wrapped each plant carefully in its winter 
jacket of straw, and hilled up the earth around its base; and we 
left them, dormant for the winter. 
Alas! Dormant they remained forever, with the exception of 
the red Hybrid Tea “Gruss an -Teplitz.” This sent up one 
weak struggling shoot late in June. Yet “what shall 1 do with 
this little Tea Rose sent gratis with our perennials?” was the 
only thing my indulgent helpmeet said, as we unpacked the next 
year’s garden order! “Oh, stick it in anywhere!” 1 answered 
as I felt. “ I don’t care.” Thus 1 laid aside my Rose garden 
dreams (1 thought) forever. But June brought the Sombrero 
Man for a visit — a person wise with the wisdom of flowers and 
growing things, and at the head indeed of a certain agricultural 
college — and to him 1 confided, in what seemed to me at the 
time a weak moment, my faded Rose hopes. Imagine my sur- 
prise when he looked interested instead of amused. “ Let’s see 
your location and soil,” said he. So we strolled out and viewed 
the scene of the tragedy. “ Fine” was his comment, and “ 1 see 
no reason why you can’t have your Rose garden.” Wherefore 
1 have— and here is the rest of the story, tabulated in the order 
of accomplishment: 
T HE Rose garden should have a southeast exposure, and if 
possible a hedge at least on the north and west as a wind- 
break. It should not be too large. A small garden which 
will contain a hundred plants is enough, and easy to care 
for. The soil should be a mixture of rather clayey loam well 
enriched. Pulverized sheep manure is an excellent fertilizer for 
Roses, and can be applied at intervals all through the summer. 
it has made no difference whether I bought own-root Roses 
or those that were budded or grafted. They all seem to do 
equally well. If expense is to be taken into consideration, you 
can procure the one-year-old, own-root Roses much more 
cheaply than any others. In the method of growing here des- 
cribed they may be planted only a foot apart, which allows 
many more plants in a small area than are usually grown. 
During the summer ordinary care should be given by constant 
weeding and stirring of the soil, and plenty of well-decayed 
manure should be dug in at intervals throughout the season. 
All faded blooms should be removed at once. 
I N the autumn after they have lost their leaves or after one or 
two hard frosts, cut the plants back to a uniform height of 
about two feet (this will not be necessary in the case of one-year- 
old plants the first year) to facilitate handling them. Dig them 
up, shake the dirt from their roots, and bunch them tightly 
together, tying the stems. Twenty or more plants can be tied 
into a very small bunch, particularly for the first few years. The 
* longer and more straggling roots should also be pruned at this 
time. Stand the bunches upright in a wooden box, and cover 
the roots with soil, packing it in firmly. Then water thoroughly 
at once and set away in a dark, cool corner of the cellar for the 
winter. Water them about once every three weeks, or just 
often enough to keep the soil from becoming dust-dry. 
As soon as the ground can be easily worked in the spring, or 
when danger of the worst frosts is over (in my latitude not until 
about the middle of May) the bundles are untied, the stems 
further cut back one half the previous season’s growth, and the 
Roses put back into their old positions. Let me hasten to say, 
if this sounds like a troublesome method, that it is less trouble 
to winter them in this manner, which is absolutely safe and sure, 
than to gamble on their living by wrapping each plant in a straw 
jacket and covering its roots. I used the little Tea Rose which 
came gratis with our perennials as a test of this method and it 
behaved and flourished just as our friend assured me it would. 
So my dreams of a Garden of Tea Roses came true — and so may 
yours, no matter how far down the mercury goes in your latitude. 
And here is my list, if any one likes to use it. 
Yellow. — {Teas) Etoile de Lyon, Safrano, Perle des Jardins, Sun- 
set. {H. T.) Harry Kirk, Melody, Mme. Melanie Soupert, Mrs. Charles 
Dingee. ( Climbers ) Gold of Ophir, Cl. Gloire de Dijon. 
Scarlet. — {Teas) Papa Gontier, J. B. Varonne. Princess Bonnie, 
Princess de Sagan. {H. T.) Chateau de Clos Vougeot, Gen. McArthur, 
Rhea Rheid, Gruss an Teplitz. {Bourbon) Agrippina, Queen’s Scarlet. 
{Climbers) Caroline Goodrich, Reine Marie Henrictte, Cl. Mad. Jules 
Grolez, Cl. Meteor. 
White. — {Teas) White Maman Cochet, Bride, DevonicnSis, Enchan- 
tress. {H. T.) Bessie Brown, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Mildred 
Grant, Viscountess Folkestone. {Bourbon) Duchess of Thuringe. 
{Climbers) Cl. White Maman Cochet, Mrs. Robert Peary, Cl. Clotilde 
Soupert. 
Pink. — {Teas) Bridesmaid, Duchess de Brabant, Catherine Mermet, 
Maid of Honor. {H. T.) La France, My Maryland, Killarney, Souv. 
de Pres. Carnot. {Bourbon) Hermosa, Souv. de la Malmaison. {Clim- 
bers) Cl. Bridesmaid, Cl. Cecile Brunner, Cl. Killarney, Cl. La France. 
Salmon. — {Teas) Gen. Robert E. Lee, Henry M. Stanley, Souv. 
de Jeanne Cabaud, Marie Ducher. {H. T.) William H. Taft, Mrs. 
Aaron Ward, Mme. Leon Pain, Mme. Phillippe Rivoire. 
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