THE ROSE-LOVER'S 
CALENDAR OF 
OPERATIONS 
These dates will be found relatively 
correct for the average season in the lati¬ 
tude of Philadelphia. If you live North 
or South, make usual allowance of about 
four days for every too miles of latitude. 
Comparative altitude must also be taken 
into consideration. The seasons vary; 
for example, the ground may be in good 
condition and ready for digging, one year, 
as much as three weeks earlier than it is 
the following spring. 
JANUARY 
Study the Catalogue of a reliable Rose 
^ower, and by 
^ FEBRUARY 
Make your planting plans, and send in 
your order. 
MARCH 
15th. Such hardy Roses as you have 
already planted should now be pruned. 
25th to 30th. As soon as the ground can 
be well worked, plant new hardy Roses 
which are to be had dormant. Prune 
these even more closely than older 
established bushes. 
APRIL 
loth. Less hardy Roses, including the 
Everblooming class, should be pruned. 
Begin to remove the winter protection 
as the increasing heat of the sun permits. 
15th. Roses are not immune from mildew 
and other fungoid contagious diseases, 
therefore it pays at this time to spray 
with Bordeaux Mixture all your beds, 
and near-by fruit trees and grape-vines. 
2Sth to 30th. Finish uncovering and 
pruning your Roses. Plant new Ones 
(now or until May loth). A slight protec¬ 
tion over the tops will prove an ad¬ 
vantage. 
MAY 
Ist to 10th. As soon as plants are well 
set with foliage, a spraying with Nicotine 
or Sulpho-Tobacco Soap will act as a 
preventive against Aphis (Green Fly). 
20th. As soon as buds begin to swell, 
weak manure water may be applied to 
the plants. Spray again to kill off the 
aphis, otherwise they will multiply 
with amazing speed. 
3Sth. Now starts the season's procession 
of bloom, led by the sturdy Rugosas and 
the Yellow Briar Roses. Start feeding 
the Hybrid Perpetual Roses with 
liquid manure. 
JUNE 
1st. With this month we see the true 
glory of the “Feast cf Roses.” 
5th. Watch for the Rose beetle and Rose 
slug, and spray every ten days for three 
weeks with arsenate of letid (ilb. to 
lo gals, of water). 
Where to Grow Roses 
“He who would have beautiful Roses in his garden must have beautiful Roses in 
his heart. He must love them well and always. He must have not only the glowing 
admiration, the enthusiasm and the passion, but the tenderness, the thoughtfulness, 
the reverence, the watchfulness of love.” So wrote Dean Hole, the rosarian of beloved 
memory. And would that we Americans had more like him to spread the love, not 
only for beautiful Roses, but likewise for the wholesome pastime of planting and caring 
for the Queen of Flowers. 
The average home grounds, as a rule, has several available spots for Roses. An 
eastern or southern exposure is preferable. The presence of trees is not a disadvantage, 
providing the Roses are not within reach of the tree roots which will rob the bed of its 
plant food. Given five or six hours a day of sunshine, preferably in the morning, a 
good circulation of air (but secure protection from sweeping, withering winds), and 
good soil with proper drainage, and you have what is needful. 
The drainage problem is easily solved. If your soil has a tendency to remain wet 
or soggy, plant a layer of stones in the bottom of the bed at a depth of 2}^ feet. Roses 
abhor wet feet. 
A rich, deep clay loam is the best soil. If it contains grass roots, or is made up of 
rooted sods, all the better; but any ordinary soil will answer, providing it is well manured. 
Climbing Roses, themselves, if given a fence for support, make a good protec¬ 
tion from the winds and add beauty to the barrier. 
Observing the above suggestions, now let us choose the identical location for 
our Roses. “Make a picture of your lawn” is a first principle of Landscape gardening. 
Leave the center open, and plant about and along the edges. Border your walks with 
flower beds, the base of the porch and the corner across the open sweep of grass, and 
you and your friends can enjoy a complete and unbroken picture. 
After this, place your Roses where they will do best and give you most pleasure. 
Some varieties, as—for example—the Rugosas and wilder types, serve a very useful 
purpose when grouped among the Shrubbery (for many other uses see pages 28 to 34); 
but the bush or garden Roses, such as the Tea, Hybrid Tea, and Hybrid Perpetual 
varieties, will do best if grouped together and not mixed too much with other plants. 
The size and shape of the bed may be laid out to suit the location, though it is well to 
remember, in making large beds and Rose gardens, that you should be able to cut and 
cultivate the Roses without treading on the loose soil; therefore provide for a path¬ 
way between every three or four rows, or else make the beds not more than 4)4 feet 
wide. 
THE SIZE AND SHAPE OF YOUR ROSE BED 
Beds 4)^ feet wide accommodate three rows nicely, and require twelve Roses to 
every 6 feet. A bed 3 feet wide with two rows will require twelve Roses to every 9 
feet; twenty-four Roses if 18 feet long, etc. The above estimate is based upon 
planting the Roses 18 inches apart each way. 18 inches to 2 feet is about the right 
spacing for most bedding Roses. In warm countries, where growth is most luxuriant, 
and for the big, bushy sorts, more room will be required. 
Beds of any other shape or size may be laid out to suit one’s fancy. 
An avenue effect can be produced by planting Tree Roses (see page ii) on either 
side of a walk, about 5 to 10 feet apart, and in front and between them Everblooming 
Tea and Hybrid Tea Roses, with a solid row of Dwarf Polyanthas of the Baby 
Rambler type (see page 26) to form a bright edging along the front. The cost is not 
great and the effect produced by such an arrangement is really superb. 
For a nominal charge, we will suggest planting plans for Rose beds to intending 
purchasers. 
How to Grow Roses 
“The love of Flowers is of those few earthly pleasures which age cannot wither.”— Dean Hole 
A Pleasant Hobby. Growing Roses is not an expensive luxury, neither does it 
require a large amount of hard labor. A love and devotion that begets intelligent, 
diligent care when needed is the great requisite. 
Having chosen the location for our Roses, let us make ready the bed. The sim¬ 
plest and easiest way is to spade the soil deeply and mix with it a good supply of well- 
decayed stable-manure. But to raise the best Roses it will pay to be more thorough. 
Soil. If the soil is naturally well drained, it will be unnecessary to provide drain¬ 
age. But nothing is more prejudicial to the health of Roses than poorly-drained soil, 
therefore, if needful, provide drainage. Dig a trench to the depth of 2^^ feet, and in 
the bottom deposit a 4- or 5-inch layer of drainage material so that all surplus water 
will drain away quickly. It is a good idea to mix with the soil in the bottom of the 
trench a few broken bones, say a peck, for a bed holding a dozen Roses—they will 
furnish plant food for the Roses for three or four years to come. 
The best soil for Roses is a compost of one-half broken sods or the soil directly 
underneath filled with fibrous grass roots, and one-half barnyard manure, all thor¬ 
oughly decomposed. 
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