19 
Qeorge H. 'Peterson, Inc., Fair J^awn, 7\jew Jersey 
Never use a quick, active fertilizer high in 
nitrogen content. This usually produces a lot 
of soft shoots producing small flowers and 
these shoots are subject to fungous attack. 
DISTANCE APART TO PLANT. Hybrid 
Teas require about 14 to 18 inches apart; 
distance will often depend on the plant habit 
of the variety. You can usually tell the com¬ 
parative plant habits of certain varieties by 
the size and number of canes on the plants as 
you receive them. Close planting is always 
recommended for Hybrid Teas. 
Hybrid Perpetuals should be planted 2 to 
3 feet apart, depending on the space at 
one’s disposal. 
Climbing Roses on a fence or trellis may be 
spaced 7 to 8 feet apart in a straight row. 
Polyanthas, either used as a hedge or lor 
border planting or as bedding Roses, should 
be spaced 15 to 18 inches apart. 
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS. Detailed 
information about how to plant Roses 
properly is sent with each order. 
PRUNING. Before shipping Roses, we cut 
the bush plants back to about 1 foot in height. 
Climbing Roses and Perpetuals are left a 
little longer. 
SPRING PRUNING. Both the newly 
planted Hybrid Teas and older plants will 
need pruning in March or April, soon after 
frost leaves the ground and before very active 
growth begins. Even if the wood is live to 
the ends, which is not likely where the winters 
are severe, the canes should be pruned back 
rather severely. A general rule is to cut the 
weakest canes the shortest, and where these 
are numerous, some of the smallest ones may 
be cut out entirely. The stoutest canes should 
be cut back to about 6 inches and the weaker 
ones to 3 inches, but this depends somewhat 
on the individual habit 
and vigor of the variety. 
Cutting away about two- 
thirds of the previous 
season’s growth is a safe 
rule to follow in pruning 
the main strong canes. 
The severer the pruning, 
the larger the flowers to 
follow. A moderate prun¬ 
ing will yield more flowers 
of less size. When in 
doubt, prune hard be¬ 
cause rarely if ever is a 
Rose bush injured by 
severe pruning. On the 
other hand, lack of proper 
pruning is responsible for 
many Rose-failures. 
Both old and new Hy¬ 
brid Perpetuals may well 
be cut back to a foot of the 
surface if large, typical 
flowers are to be expected. 
It is true that where Perpetuals are allowed 
to grow tall, say 4 to 5 feet, they will continue 
to flower. But if they are pruned severely 
once in a while, and the plant is thus rejuve¬ 
pruned back to the 
black lines in spring. 
This also shows the 
proper depth to plant 
below the soil-line. 
nated, the size of the flowers is greatly in¬ 
creased, and, furthermore, there will be 
recurrent blooms during the summer, if the 
flowers in June are cut with long stems. We 
feel that one of the reasons that the popularity 
of the Hybrid Perpetual has waned is because 
the erroneous impression has gone around 
that they do not need pruning; consequently, 
the plant becomes straggly, blooms mediocre 
and unattractive. Therefore, our recom¬ 
mendation is to make better use of the prun- 
ing-shears on this highly desirable type of Rose. 
Climbing Roses—and here we refer to the 
Wichuraianas and the new Australian climbers 
that produce their large flowers singly or in 
clusters on long stems—need very little 
pruning the first few years, except to see that 
the old flower-stems, provided they have not 
been used for cut-flowers, are cut back to 
within one or two eyes from the main branch. 
It must be remembered that this class flowers 
only on wood of the previous season s growth. 
On most varieties even the old, hard canes, 
provided they are healthy, will produce a 
bountiful crop of flowers year after year. At 
any time, preferably during early summer 
after blooming, some of the old canes may be 
removed entirely if the plant is becoming too 
large or growing out of bounds. In other 
words, prune them for shape and symmetry 
and train them wherever and whichever way 
you want them to be, either on trellises, 
pillars, fences, pergolas, arches, etc. Greater 
profusion of bloom results when the new 
canes are bent or trained in different directions 
instead of being allowed to grow straight up. 
The old Rambler type, like Dorothy 
Perkins and Crimson Rambler, whose small, 
double flowers are borne in clusters, must be 
pruned each year so that the canes that have 
flowered are removed. This allows the new 
strong shoots coming from the base of the 
plant to grow and develop flowering eyes for 
next year’s flowers. 
In pruning Polyanthas, simply remove the 
faded flowers during the summer and prune 
lightly in spring. 
SUMMER PRUNING. At the end of the 
first or main blooming season, which in this 
latitude comes in late June, a medium pruning 
will result in a more bounteous crop of bloom 
later on. Where the flowers were not cut with 
a liberal stem, the latter may now be cut 
back two-thirds or so of their length; this 
allows two or three sets of leaves to remain 
on each strong stem. Do not, however, cut 
all growths back nor prune severely as ad¬ 
vised in the spring. So severe a pruning will 
disturb the balance between top and root and 
will seriously check the growth. 
We do not advise later summer pruning 
nor fertilizing since both will have a tendency 
to promote late growths which will not have 
time to ripen or harden for the winter. 
AUTUMN PRUNING. The question has 
been asked us many times how or what to do 
about pruning before hilling up with soil lor 
winter protection. Very little, if any, is 
necessary except to remove some ol the tall 
