Combinations 
The quoted price “Ten plants for Nine 
Dollars’’ is applicable to any desired 
combination of the foregoing Hillock ros¬ 
es. Prices as quoted will be maintained 
through winter of 1937-38. 
Plants 
The name Hillock has long been syn- 
onomous with plant quality. As propa¬ 
gators of roses from the four corners of 
the earth, we long and persistently strove 
for high quality rather than low prices. 
That course will be maintained with our 
own originations. Only carefully grown 
and carefully selected two-year-old 
field-grown plants will be delivered. 
Soil for Roses 
Experience apparently justifies the as¬ 
sertion that in the cooler regions roses 
prefer a heavy type of soil. 
Experience also apparently justifies 
the assertion that as one passes from cold 
to heat, increased temperatures call for a 
corresponding decrease in the clay con¬ 
tent of the soil. In the Southwest roses 
unquestionably prefer a good sandy 
loam. 
It appears to be in great part a quest¬ 
ion of soil aeration — the higher the 
temperature, the greater the degree of 
aeration that is required. 
Roses may be caused to prosper in 
heavy soils in the warmer regions 
through careful and persistent cultivat¬ 
ion, thus providing the required soil 
aeration. The task is, however, accom¬ 
plished more easily in a sandy loam. But, 
—in any type of soil — roses respond 
quickly to cultivation. 
In all situations roses prefer a heavy 
subsoil. Red clay is preferable. One foot 
of good top soil over red clay is ideal. 
Roses prefer a slightly acid soil. In a 
broad sense, the soils of the prairies are 
habitually more or less alkaline, while 
the soils of those areas that were not long 
since covered with forest growth are 
habitually more or less acid. As with all 
generalities, individual instances arise 
to the contrary. 
In preparing a rose bed, other condit¬ 
ions being equal, it is wise to use loam 
from a wooded area — with the leaves 
carefully removed. 
Planting A Rose 
For longevity of a rose plant it is re¬ 
quired that adequate rootage exist with¬ 
in the aerated portions of the soil. Rose 
varieties able to produce adequate root¬ 
age of their own often correct a situation 
arising from being planted too deeply by 
putting out their own root systems at a 
higher level. It so happens, however, that 
many of the finer varieties of roses are 
unable to produce adequate rootage of 
their own and for their prosperity shal¬ 
low planting is a fixed requirement. 
In planting a rose, dig a large hole — 
the larger the better. It need not be of 
great depth. In the center of the hole 
build a cone of soil high enough to reach 
the normal level of the bed. 
Set the plant on the cone with the 
roots striking obliquely downward alonp; 
the sides of the cone. Partly fill the hole, 
covering the roots. Press the soil down 
with the foot, seeking to restore the nor¬ 
mal consistency of the soil. Beware of 
air-pockets. 
Fill the hole to bed-level and again 
firm with the foot. The resulting depres¬ 
sion should be filled with loose soil and 
should not be firmed. 
The firming of the soil will usually 
carry the plant downward an inch or 
two and leave the bud at the surface, 
presupposing that the plant has been 
properly grown upon a shank of but one 
or two inches. If the plant is found to be 
planted too deeply, the plant should be 
raised. 
In the colder regions authorities seem 
to agree that the bud should be slightly 
below the surface. In the warmer re¬ 
gions the bud should be at the surface. 
In winter planting, no water should 
be used if the soil is as moist as one 
would desire for garden planting. Other¬ 
wise, water sparingly. Excess moisture 
prevents root growth. 
For winter protection and to prevent 
evaporation, soil should be heaped 
around the plant to a height almost suf¬ 
ficient to cover the plant completely. 
This soil should be removed in the spring 
in hoeing the plant. 
A transplanted rose plant should re¬ 
ceive no direct fertilization during the 
first year after transplanting nor at the 
time of planting. It is wise to give them 
soil of sufficient fertility to carry them 
through the first year in an entirely nor¬ 
mal manner. In the more humid sec¬ 
tions well rotted cow manure may be 
placed at a distance from the plant 
where the roots of the plant may reach 
it not at their own wish and will. In the 
drought sections, however, such action 
is often fatal. 
Roses should be planted so close to¬ 
gether as to shade the ground. This is 
most easily accomplished by planting in 
narrow beds—thirty-six to forty-two in¬ 
ches wide—planting in twenty or twen¬ 
ty-four inch squares with an additional 
plant in the center of the square. 
Paths should be left between such 
beds for air passage and for human con¬ 
venience. If it is desired that the cost 
of the bed be lessened, widen the paths, 
but do not increase the distance between 
the plants. Shading the ground makes 
strongly for an adequate volume of fol¬ 
iage. 
The First Year After 
T ransplanting 
An appreciable portion of the human 
race has long known that the defolia¬ 
tion of field crops through adverse cir¬ 
cumstance spells disaster. Likewise 
with fruits. With many other types of 
plants. 
Yet, strangely, the advice is often 
given—and accepted—that roses must 
be “cut hard” to make them bloom. 
Which being translated means that roses 
