i u i i i i i i i I i i ii i i i i i n i i i i i i ii i i i i i ii i i i i i i i i i i i n i 
I WALSH’S HANDBOOK OF ROSES 
... 
PRACTICAL POINTS FOR AMATEUR ROSE- 
GROWERS, continued 
protection draw the earth up around the base of the plants 
to a depth of 8 inches, similar to the way you hill up potatoes. 
See illustration on page 29. This will shed the water and keep 
the base of the plant in good condition during the winter. 
It is not the very low temperature so much as the moisture 
which causes greatest winter-killing or damage to Rose 
plants. After the earth has been drawn up as above, mulch 
the surface with 4 or 5 inches of coarse litter or strong manure. 
This will serve as a protection from cold, conserve moisture, 
and be a fertilizer. Where burlap or evergreen branches can 
be obtained readily, place these over and around the Rose 
bushes. This will furnish shade from the sun in February and 
early March, which sometimes proves injurious, exciting the 
sap into premature action. These directions are intended to 
apply to Hybrid Perpetuals particularly. With Hybrid 
Teas, cover the entire plant with earth, or at least protect 
the branches 12 to 16 inches above the ground. 
Pruning. Pruning should be done as soon as the frost is 
out of the ground in the spring. Cut out all the old wood; 
that is, wood which flowered last year, and leave three to 
six of the strongest shoots of last year’s growth, but cut 
these back to 8 to 12 inches from the ground. The stronger¬ 
growing shoots should be cut to 12 inches and the weaker 
to 8. People usually do not prune severely enough to obtain 
the best results. This applies to Hybrid Perpetuals more 
particularly, but to other kinds of Roses as well. Hybrid 
Teas should be pruned lightly, cutting out the dead wood 
and weak shoots and shortening the strongest shoots from 
4 to 6 inches. With Rambler or Climbing Roses, remove 
the dead shoots and thin out the tall shoots, cut back when 
necessary to within about 3 inches of the base. This method 
will also apply to Austrian Roses. Rugosa Roses may be pruned 
to suit location, height, etc., and for the purpose desired. 
With all Roses, remove any shoots, commonly called 
“suckers,” which spring up from the base of the plant. A 
person soon becomes familiar with the suckers from root¬ 
stocks or Brier suckers. They have seven to nine leaflets to 
each leaf-stem—see illustrations herewith, whereas budded 
stock suckers, except in a few instances, have but five. There 
is also a difference in the color of the Briers, easily detected 
after a person becomes familiar with the plants. 
Disbudding and Cutting. For large flowers, disbud freely 
on all varieties that form large clusters of buds, and the 
resulting flowers will be much finer than any would have been 
if all had been allowed to mature. The center bud of a cluster 
usually is the strongest, and, for exhibition flowers, this alone 
is retained; or, if it is malformed, the best remaining bud is 
chosen. When the Roses are blooming, cut the flowers freely, 
as then the plants continue to flower longer. It is best to cut 
early in the morning, before the flowers are fully open, and 
take as long a stem as the growth will permit, seeing, of course, 
that an eye, growing outward, is left below the cut. 
Cultivating. An important requisite is hoeing. The 
ground should be hoed or loosened up at least once a week 
after the plants begin to grow. Do not wait to do this until 
you see weeds growing. Keep a dust-mulch covering the sur¬ 
face of all ground not protected by a heavy mulch. 
Another important point is watering. In dry weather you 
must keep the ground moist to have Roses in good growing 
condition. This should be done early in the morning or late 
in the afternoon. Roses are heavy feeders and require soil 
to be liberally supplied with water so they can take up 
the plant-food in the manure you supply. Above all, observe 
carefully. Watch your plants grow. Learn their needs by 
noticing how they behave. 
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