30 
Erwin’s Nursery 
Denton, Texas 
Cultural Directions for Erwin’s Roses 
(Continued from page 3 ) 
CUT ROSES 
Roses should be cut when the buds begin to open 
with as long a stem as it is possible to secure and 
still leave a stub or spur on the main cane long 
enough to carry one or two leaf stems. At the 
base of each of the leaf stems will be noticed a 
bud or eye and when one or two of these are left 
on the remaining spur they will force out new 
flower stems and produce many more flowers than 
bushes where the stems are cut too close to the 
main cane. 
The so-called Everblooming Roses, including 
the Teas, Hybrid Teas and Pernitiana groups do 
not bloom all the time but, if kept in a healthy 
growing condition, one crop of flowers succeeds 
another at brief intervals. They are the most 
popular of all bush roses, the flowers are of beau¬ 
tiful form, fragrance and color, and are hardy 
over most of the United States if given suitable 
protection in the colder climates. 
For the benefit of those not familiar with the 
varieties listed, we have inserted initials im¬ 
mediately following the names, showing the family 
or group to which they belong, such as “T” for 
the Tea Roses ; “HT” for the Hybrid Teas; “P” 
for Perpetuals ; “HP” for Hybrid Perpetuals ; 
“Pern.” for Pernitiana ; “Nois.” for Noisettes ; 
“R” for Rugosa and their hybrids ; “Poly” for 
Polyanthus ; “HW” for Wichuriana or Hybrid 
Wichuriana. 
WINTER PROTECTION 
Roses need very little protection in this climate 
and if about six or eight inches of dirt is pulled to 
the plants after they become dormant there will 
be little or no loss from cold weather. In the 
North it is well to mound this dirt up and after 
the first heavy freeze cut the tops back about 
half and work strawy manure, leaves or evergreen 
boughs over the canes, taking care that they are 
not smothered with too much material over them. 
SPRAYS 
Mildew and Blackspot are the worst enemies of 
roses and prevention is a great deal easier than 
attempting to cure the disease. Dust the plants 
thoroughly every two or three weeks with a dust 
made of nine parts sulphur and one part arsenate 
of lead. 
Chewing insects and green plant lice can easily 
be controlled by spraying with a solution of 
arsenate of lead, nicotine or other reliable sprays 
on the market used according to the direction of 
the manufacturers. 
FERTILIZERS 
If well rotted manure can be secured we recom¬ 
mend covering the beds with this, allowing it to 
remain on top until the first cultivation, when it 
can be worked into the soil. A heavy application 
can be made with fall planted roses but we use 
it more sparingly on those planted in the spring. 
For soils lacking the proper amount of humus 
we find that the refuse of gins, containing the old 
bolls, lint, and dirt, is another fine fertilizer, as 
it rots easily and contains few, if any, weed or 
grass seeds. A liberal quantity of this material 
worked into the top soil after planting will benefit 
the land and when rotted will take the place of 
the more expensive leaf mold. Another advantage 
is that it will not burn the plants. 
Cottonseed meal and bone meal mixed in the 
proportion of nine parts of cottonseed meal and 
one part of bone meal, using two or three table¬ 
spoonfuls around each plant in the spring and 
again in the fall, thoroughly mixing it in the soil 
just before a rain or before watering the beds, is 
also good. 
Caution should be taken to see that no fertilizer 
comes in direct contact with the roots and under 
no circumstances should it be placed under the 
plant at the time of planting. 
General Cultural Directions for Trees and Shrubs 
PREPARATION FOR PLANTING. The broken 
or mutilated portion of the roots must be cut off 
so as to leave the ends smooth and sound, and 
the ends of all other roots should be pruned—for 
from these ends the new fibrous roots usually 
start. Puddling the roots of trees and plants in 
liquid mud before planting is very beneficial. 
PLANTING. The hole for planting must be 
large enough to receive the roots freely, without 
cramping or bending them from their natural po¬ 
sition—'the larger the hole the better. Plant the 
tree the same depth as it stood in the nursery 
row, using plenty of good top-soil well worked 
about the roots by hand so that no air pockets 
are left. Set the tree in firmly as a post. When 
the hole is about one-half or two-thirds full of 
dirt, pour in a bucket of water and allow it to 
seep away, after which the hole may be filled with 
dirt. 
STAKING. If the newly planted trees are in 
an exposed situation where hard winds prevail, 
they should be supported by stakes to prevent 
winds from whipping and swaying them. Staking 
is done best by driving two strong stakes firmly 
into the ground, one on either side of the tree and 
about a foot from it. The tree is then tied to 
these stakes by strips of cloth, a band of straw 
or other soft material which will not chafe. The 
tree should remain staked until its roots have 
obtained a firm hold in the soil. Staking in this 
manner also offers some protection against me¬ 
chanical injury. In addition to staking it is high¬ 
ly advisable to wrap the trunks of newly set trees 
with heavy brown paper, cornstalks or thin wood 
veneer to protect against rabbits and mice, or 
sunscald. 
PRUNING. The pruning of trees should begin 
when they are planted. The transplanting of a 
tree marks a very critical point in its life history 
and to neglect careful and proper methods of 
planting and pruning at this time is to invite 
disaster or, at least, unsatisfactory results. When 
trees are dug in the nursery row many of the 
feeding roots are left in the ground ; hence it is 
necessary to prune the top of the trees, when 
transplanting, in an effort to balance for loss 
of roots. 
APPLE AND PEAR TREES. When you have 
planted these as previously directed, select from 
three to five of the branches to form the perma¬ 
nent head of the tree. These branches should 
be well distributed around the trunk, and at some 
distance apart up and down. If two branches 
come out exactly opposite each other, thus form¬ 
ing a crotch, a split may occur at this weak 
point in later life when the tree is full of fruit. 
Shorten these selected branches back to about 
five buds, cutting the branches just above a 
bud that points outward. Remove all the other 
branches close to the trunk, leaving no stub 
longer than one-eighth to one-quarter of an 
inch. Also shorten back two-thirds (or, better 
