6 
1938 CATALOGUE AND ROSE GUIDE 
Spraying Our Roses in Lower Garden at Cloverset 
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Roses are living, breathing, drinking, eating 
things and to insure great quantities of blooms 
and to withstand the attacks of the insects and 
diseases mentioned, they should be kept well 
fed, and watered. Watering is the most im¬ 
portant of all and the most neglected. 
Roses as well as other "ground" plants re¬ 
quire oxygen at the roots as well as at the 
tops. An ideal condition of the soil would be 
one dry enough so the roots could get plenty 
of air and wet enough so that the roots could 
get plenty of water for best development. Soil 
always too wet is just as fatal to good, vig¬ 
orous growth as soil too dry. Therefore, prop¬ 
er watering is a very difficult condition to 
control and is the main reason for many fail¬ 
ures in growing Roses and other plants. 
To water properly, run a stream of water 
about the size of a lead pencil into the bed 
all day or all night from a hose without noz¬ 
zle. The slow flow of water will be thorough¬ 
ly 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 grow¬ 
ing 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 dis¬ 
appointment to us, although there was noth¬ 
ing we could do about it. When the rains 
ceased and sunshine again appeared they re¬ 
covered and the finest Roses we ever grew 
were those of last June. Never water the 
