Qeorge H. ^Teterson, Inc., Fair JQawti, Klew Jersey 
25 
The Culture of the Rose 
Roses are easy to grow provided you begin with the right kind of plants. Peterson Roses have 
made it possible for the beginner as well as the experienced amateur to achieve success. 
LOCATION OF SITE. The ideal site for a 
Hybrid Tea Rose-garden is one that does not 
receive the early morning sun—a location shel¬ 
tered if possible from high winds, but where the 
plants will get enough air and sunlight. Roses 
here in the East like partial shade, 
especially during July and August when 
our climate is usually hot and dry. 
W hen one resides in a city or town the 
choice of location for a Rose-bed is 
often quite limited, and yet many thou¬ 
sands of Rose-culturists so situated are 
very successful. ; 
SOIL. Any good garden soil which 
will produce vegetables or good crops of | 
annuals and perennials will also grow ( 
Roses. The hardy understock upon I 
which all of our Roses are budded does l 
well in both heavy clay soils and in the 
lighter sandy loams. 
PREPARATION OF BEDS. Al¬ 
though, as we have just said, good 
Roses can be grown in an average gar¬ 
den soil, where the best obtainable 
Roses are desired the beds should be 
trenched to the depth of 15 to 18 inches. 
Try to get some old cow-manure and mix one 
part of this with about three parts of soil. Allow 
to settle before planting. 
It is only when you are forced to plant in a 
low, wet situation that drainage is important. 
In that case you should simply remove about a 
foot of soil and place cinders or stones in the 
bottom of the bed. 
While we do not wish to belittle the idea that 
soil-preparation is important, we do know that 
many beginners who want to plant Roses imagine 
that there is some difficult and secret soil-mixture 
that Rose plants demand, and this is decidedly not 
the case. The feeding, cultivating, spraying or 
dusting, watering, and pruning of established 
plants is more important than a lot of over-prepa¬ 
ration and over-fertilizing before the plants are set, 
MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. With so 
many new and recommended fertilizers of all 
descriptions being offered to plant-lovers, it is no 
wonder that some of us are rather confused on 
this subject. At the same time, there are no hard- 
and-fast rules for fertilizing Roses, so that many 
of the new combinations of fertilizing materials 
have their value in Rose-feeding provided you 
follow the directions of the manufacturer. 
The best and safest way to feed Roses is to use 
cow-manure in some form. If it is not obtainable 
as well-rotted barn-manure, then it can be ob¬ 
tained in a dry concentrated form by the bag. 
Because Roses want their food right down at the 
roots and within a relatively small feeding area 
there is nothing better than liquid manure. This 
solution is very easily prepared by soaking either 
fresh or dry manure in water at the rate of ap¬ 
proximately one pound to every gallon of water. 
Frequent applications about a week apart, using 
a half gallon to a plant during the active growing 
season in June, July, and August is recommended. 
COUNTESS VANDAL 
Described on page 5 
A good grade of raw, coarse bonemeal may be 
mixed with the soil when Roses are planted. It 
can also be fed once or twice a season, about a 
pint to an established plant. Be sure your bone- 
meal is a reliable brand. 
Hardwood ashes not only act as a good fertil¬ 
izer high in potash content, but will also sweeten 
the soil. This may be applied liberally two or 
three times during the growing season. 
Air-slaked lime is good to apply in moderation 
on an old bed where the soil may be acid. It is 
not a plant-food, but will make other fertilizing 
elements available for plant consumption. Never 
mix lime and bonemeal within a short period. 
Concentrated chemical fertilizers are now 
available in the form of small tablets that may be 
used on Roses according to directions. 
Never use a quick, active fertilizer high in 
nitrogen content. This usually produces a lot ol 
soft shoots producing small flowers and these 
shoots are subject to fungous attack. 
DISTANCE APART TO PLANT. I lybrid Teas 
require about 14 to 18 inches apart; distance will 
often depend on the plant habit of the variety. 
You can usually tell the comparative plant habits 
of certain varieties by the size and number ol 
canes on the plants as you receive them. Close 
planting is always recommended for I lybrid Teas. 
Hybrid Perpetuals should be planted 2 to 
3 feet apart, depending on the space at one’s 
disposal. 
