CLOVERSET FLOWER FARM. KANSAS CITY 
7 
out nozzle. The slow flow of water will be 
thoroughly absorbed and the roots well 
soaked. For large beds move the hose from 
place to place until all plants have been 
thoroughly watered. Do this once or twice 
a week during the growing and blooming 
season. The time to water must be left 
entirely to the judgment of the gardener. 
Since the plants cannot stand soil that is 
always soggy and cannot do well in soil 
that is too dry, digging in the bed to find 
out the real condition as to moisture seems 
to be the only way to determine when to 
water. During the excessive rains of last 
spring our Roses were too wet and were a 
great disappointment to us, although there 
was nothing we could do about it. When 
the rains ceased and sunshine again ap¬ 
peared they recovered and the finest Roses 
we ever grew were those of last June. 
Never water the leaves of your Roses, as 
vet leaves are sure to bring disease to 
them. 
As soon after watering as the soil be¬ 
comes dry enough to cultivate, a thorough 
cultivation should be given to provide a 
dust mulch and prevent too rapid drying 
out. Never cultivate over one inch deep as 
the feeder roots are near the top of the 
soil, and deep cultivation will surely de¬ 
stroy them and greatly injure the plant. 
Or a mulch may be provided in which cul¬ 
tivation will not be necessary. Peat Moss 
or Cow Manure make good mulches. We 
prefer Cow Manure which, in addition to 
being a good much, also carries great 
fertilizer values. 
Once each month your Roses should be 
fed 21/2 pounds of Cloverset Rose Grower 
Fertilizer or our Cloverset Blood and Bone 
for _each dozen plants, scattering it on the 
ground under the plants and cultivating 
it into the soil, or it may be dissolved in 
water and used as a liquid manure. (All 
materials necessary can be purchased 
from us). These instructions, if followed 
carefully, will result in good Roses from 
May 20th until heavy frost. 
TO GROW EXfflBITION ROSES 
Hybrid Tea or Monthly Roses usually 
produce two or more lateral buds on the 
stem below the main or terminal bud. For 
those who desire only one bud on the stem, 
it will be necessary to pinch off the lateral 
buds when they first show. This will cause 
much larger terminal buds. This procedure 
is universally used in growing green¬ 
house Roses. 
CUTTING YOUR BLOOMS 
Hybrid Tea Roses should, if possible, 
be cut with long stems. Long stems can be 
produced only by securing vigorous 
growth and by planting the rose plants 
close enough together tO' produce long 
stems. Thick timber always means tall 
tim.ber and where weeds grow close to¬ 
gether they always grow tall. This same 
rule applies to Roses and every other plant 
and where roses are planted not over 16 
inches apart and vigorous growth is se¬ 
cured by proper fertilization and culture. 
long stems will always result. 
In cutting your blooms we have always 
recommended leaving two leaves on the 
stub, but our experiments last summer 
have convinced us that better growth and 
a more shapely plant can be secured by 
cutting blooms at a point that will leave 
four leaves on the remaining stub and this 
shall be our rule in the future. This treat¬ 
ment not only produces a better looking 
plant but induces more bottom growth and 
larger blooms. 
SAVE WORK BY MULCHING 
Experiments in our Test Gardens the last 
few seasons have convinced us of the ad¬ 
visability of a mulch for Roses. A board 
frame 4 inches is placed around the bed 
and inside filled with Peat Moss or finely 
shredded cow manure. This makes it un¬ 
necessary to water so often and does away 
entirely with cultivating. This last item it¬ 
self will repay the cost of the material in 
the labor saved. This Peat Moss or cow 
manure mulch prevents the ground from 
drying out and keeps the roots cool and 
moist, resulting in heavy growth and bloom 
the entire summer as well as in the cool 
spring and fall months. 
We can supply imported Peat Moss, 
standard size, large bales, at $3.50 per bale 
or in 2 bushel bags at $0.75 per bag. 
We can supply finely shredded cow 
manure in 2 bushel bags at $0.75 per bag. 
5 bags for $3.00. 
