HOUSE AND GARDEN 
March, 1912 
33 
if possible, a well-drained site. If the 
ground is wet, dig the trench to a 
depth of three feet and put in a foot 
of cinders or broken stone or brick; 
if very wet, resort to tiling. 
Alongside of the vegetable garden 
a single row of roses will answer very 
well, but in a border placed elsewhere 
a double row is better. The plants in 
one row, however, should be opposite 
the spaces in the other. This not only 
allows more room for spreading 
branches, but looks better. Make the 
border not less than four feet wide 
and set out the roses one foot from 
either edge of the border and two feet 
apart in the rows. 
Roses are either on their own roots 
or are budded on nlanetti or some 
other wild stock. In the case of the 
budded roses, plant so that the graft 
joint will be three inches under the 
surface of the ground. This mini¬ 
mizes the trouble that is likely to arise 
from the stock throwing out suckers 
that, if allowed to grow, will sap the 
strength of the graft. When a sucker 
does appear, run the finger down un¬ 
der the soil to see whether it belongs 
to the stock; if it does, press it off. 
Now and then, even in the best regu¬ 
lated gardens, the graft will die and 
the stock thrive mightily. In that 
case do not despise the latter. It may 
be a double rose and it may be single, 
but, if transplanted to some corner of the grounds, will be a good 
producer of June color. 
This precaution as to depth observed, fill the hole with water 
and let it soak in. 
Then, holding the 
plant upright with 
the left hand, spread 
the roots carefully 
with the right and 
sprinkle some fine 
soil over them. No 
manure should touch 
the roots, but it 
should be near enough 
for the new feeding^ 
roots that will soon 
be formed. Pack the 
soil firmly around the 
plants and finally re¬ 
move any dead wood 
and cut the good 
canes back to three or 
four “eyes”—as the 
leaf buds are called. 
The best way to 
prune these good 
canes is to do so 
down to an outside 
bud, so that the top 
g'rowth will be out¬ 
ward. 
Thereafter water, if 
necessary, by making a shallow trench 
around the plants. Fill with water 
and when the latter is absorbed, re- 
l)lace the soil. After the roses have 
leaved out and the flower buds are 
forming, mix one part of hellebore 
with three parts of wheat flour and 
sprinkle it on the foliage, but only 
when wet by rain or dew, as the pow¬ 
der otherwise will not stick. Sprinkle 
in the direction of the wind, not 
merely for convenience, but in order 
to keep the powder out of the nostrils. 
This will rout most of the insect ene¬ 
mies. For those that appear in Au¬ 
gust a tea made of tobacco stems is a 
good remedy. Rose beetles are most 
easily disposed of by knocking them 
oft' into a small can of kerosene. 
If roses are cut freely and with 
fairly long stems, the plants need not 
be pruned in the fall unless they are 
so long that the wind whips them. In 
such cases they may be cut down to 
two feet. This is assuming that stakes 
are not used ; most prefer to get along 
without them. The pruning time is 
March, before the sap begins to run. 
At that time hybrid perpetuals may 
be pruned as low as six or eight inches 
and four or five canes. Rigid prun¬ 
ing produces large blossoms. If mere 
quantity is desired, the canes can be 
left as tall as three feet. Prune tea 
roses after the buds begin to swell, 
and less severely than other varieties. 
Most of the hybrid perpetuals. and some of the teas, are hardy 
in my garden-, but I give all the roses a heavy covering of leaves 
after the ground has 
frozen. They also 
get some tobacco 
stems as well as ma¬ 
nure. In the spring 
manure should be 
forked into the 
ground, but not deep¬ 
er than six inches. 
This with the fertili¬ 
zer originally mixed 
with the soil and oc¬ 
casional liquid manure 
during the ante-flow¬ 
ering period, will keep 
a rose bed or border 
in fine shape for a 
matter of years. The 
best fertilizer is well 
rotted cow-manure; 
the next best is from 
the pig pen. Failing 
either of these, 
ground bone or some 
commercial fertilizer 
may be employed. 
These should be used 
{Continued on page 
77 ) 
A good example of healthy dormant stock as received 
from the grower showing good root development and 
well-shaped upper growth 
Where one has the space, there is no adequate substitute for the rose garden with its 
delicious fragrance and beautiful bloom 
