ROSES IN THE SOUTHWEST 
175 
Rose roots lie just beneath the surface. For this reason, notice the 
point of union of the bud and the understock of a plant, and if it 
is not close to the root-system, don’t expect the bush either to do 
very well, or to live very long. 
As for the matter of a plant sending up wild shoots or "suckers” 
from the understock, they must be torn off from the rootstock 
deep down, and to do this successfully is often difficult without 
digging up the plant. After all, it might save time and trouble if 
you did dig it up and throw it out at the beginning, for a plant 
rarely gets over such a tendency, it being largely the product of 
a faulty and cheap system of propagation. 
Southwestern-grown Roses are unquestionably best for the 
Southwest. Due to the bright quality of our daylight, to the favor¬ 
able balance here of those two agencies for maturity in a plant 
—heat and cold—and to our long season of growth, no better 
Roses can be grown anywhere for us than in our own section. 
Virginia Shumate Loomis. 
