26 
tyi JCittle n^ook (About "looses 
Climbing Roses on a fence or trellis may be 
spaced 7 to 8 feet apart in a straight row. 
Polyanthas, used either as a hedge or for border 
planting or as bedding Roses, should be spaced 
15 to 18 inches apart. 
PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS. Detailed in¬ 
formation about how to plant Roses properly is 
sent with each order. 
PRUNING. Before shipping we cut the bush 
plants back to about 1 foot high. Climbers and 
Perpetuals are left a little longer. 
SPRING PRUNING. Both 
the newly planted Hybrid 
Teas and older plants will 
need pruning in March or 
April, soon after frost leaves 
the ground and before very 
active growth begins. Even 
if the wood is live to the ends, 
which is not likely where the 
winters are severe, the canes 
should be pruned back rather 
severely. A general rule is to 
cut the weakest canes the 
shortest, and where these are 
numerous, some of the small¬ 
est ones may be cut out en¬ 
tirely. The stoutest canes 
should be cut back to about 
6 inches and the weaker ones 
to 3 inches, but this depends 
somewhat on the individual 
habit and vigor of the variety. 
Cutting away about two- 
thirds of the previous season’s 
growth is a safe rule to follow 
in pruning the main strong canes. The severer 
the pruning, the larger the flowers to follow. A 
moderate pruning will yield more flowers of less 
size. When in doubt, prune hard because rarely 
if ever is a Rose bush injured by severe pruning. 
On the other hand, lack of proper pruning is 
responsible for many Rose-failures. 
Both old and new Hybrid Perpetuals may well 
be cut back to a foot of the surface if large, 
typical flowers are to be expected. It is true that 
where Perpetual Roses are allowed to grow tall, 
say 4 to 5 feet, they will continue to flower. But 
if they are pruned severely once in a while, and 
the plant is thus rejuvenated, the size of the 
flowers is greatly increased, and furthermore, 
there will be recurrent blooms during the sum¬ 
mer, if the flowers in June are cut with long stems. 
We feel that one of the reasons that the popu¬ 
larity of the Hybrid Perpetual has waned is be¬ 
cause the erroneous impression has gone around 
that they do not need pruning; consequently, the 
plant becomes straggly, blooms mediocre and 
unattractive. Therefore, our recommendation is 
to make better use of the pruning-shears on this 
highly desirable type of Rose. 
Climbing Roses—and here we refer to the 
Wichuraianas and the new Australian climbers 
that produce their large flowers singly or in clus¬ 
ters on long stems—need very little pruning the 
first few years, except to see that the old flower- 
stems, provided they have not been used for 
cut-flowers, are cut back to within one or two 
eyes from the main branch. It must be remem¬ 
bered that this class flowers only on wood of the 
A Hybrid Tea Rose 
bush thinned out and 
pruned back to the 
black lines in spring. 
This also shows the 
proper depth to plant 
below the soil-line. 
previous season’s growth. On most varieties even 
the old, hard canes, provided they are healthy, 
will produce a bountiful crop of flowers year after 
year. At any time, preferably during early sum¬ 
mer after blooming, some of the old canes may be 
removed entirely if the plant is becoming too 
large or growing out of bounds. In other words, 
prune them for shape and symmetry and train 
them wherever and whichever way you want 
them to be, either on trellises, pillars, fences, per¬ 
golas, arches, etc. Greater profusion of bloom 
results when the new canes are bent or trained in 
different directions instead of being allowed to 
grow straight up. 
The old Rambler type, like Dorothy Perkins 
and Crimson Rambler, whose small, double flow¬ 
ers are borne in clusters, must be pruned each 
year so that the canes that have flowered are re¬ 
moved. This allows the new strong shoots com¬ 
ing from the base of the plant to grow and develop 
flowering eyes for next year’s flowers. 
In pruning Polyanthas, simply remove the 
faded flowers during the summer and prune 
lightly in spring. 
SUMMER PRUNING. At the end of the first 
or main blooming season, which in this latitude 
comes in late June, a medium pruning will result 
in a more bounteous crop of bloom later on. 
Where the flowers were not cut with a liberal 
stem, the latter may now be cut back two-thirds 
or so of their length; this allows two or three sets 
of leaves to remain on each strong stem. Do not, 
however, cut all growths back nor prune severely 
as advised in the spring. So severe a pruning will 
disturb the balance between top and root and 
will seriously check the growth. We do not advise 
later summer pruning nor fertilizing since both 
will have a tendency to promote late growths 
which will not have time to ripen or harden for 
the winter. 
AUTUMN PRUNING. The question has been 
asked us many times how or what to do about 
pruning before hilling up with soil for winter pro¬ 
tection. Very little, if any, is necessary except to 
remove some of the tall branches on varieties like 
Radiance, Lady Ursula, etc. This may be done 
roughly and is mainly recommended to prevent 
unnecessary evaporation when so much of the 
plant is exposed to strong winds and sun. 
CULTIVATING AND WATERING. Most 
everyone knows that it is important to keep the 
soil in a Rose-bed loose and aerated. A summer 
mulch of peat moss, tobacco stems, grass-clip¬ 
pings, or other clean litter is always beneficial. 
We like to see the peat moss hoed and worked 
into the upper soil-layer. Roses do not need to 
be hoed or cultivated deeply so long as the job is 
done regularly and thoroughly. 
Never allow Rose-beds to become dry through¬ 
out the entire growing season from early spring 
until late fall. We know of many instances where 
Roses are suffering, especially during July and 
August, from lack of water. In many cases the 
gardener imagines his problem is one of feeding, 
whereas all that is necessary is a thorough soak¬ 
ing. The theory that Rose-gardens must be 
especially well drained has been carried to the 
extreme in this country. It is different in the 
Pacific Northwest and in foreign countries, par- 
