THE BEST IN ROSES” 
25 
CULTURAL HINTS 
Roses are usually hungry and thirsty. One of 
our most common mistakes is not giving them 
sufficient water. Keep the ground moist. Water 
thoroughly each time. Frequency of watering 
depends on your soil, usually from one- to three- 
week intervals. Water in morning only. 
In the early spring, mulch rose beds with either 
cow manure, peat moss or lawn clippings. Cow 
manure is excellent if clean, but foul weeds and 
insect pests may be brought into the garden 
through it. Feed each plant a half tea-cup of a 
well balanced commercial fertilizer every two 
months during the growing season. 
If you do not use a mulch, cultivate the ground 
lightly after each watering; just enough to break 
the crust. Deep cultivating cuts the feeding 
rootlets. 
Keep the roses well watered in summer. Allow¬ 
ing them to dry and go dormant causes the bush¬ 
es to defoliate and sunburn. 
Ground canes are the best wood on a rose 
bush. They are the soft new canes coming from 
around the bud union, with foliage and thorns 
identical to the older growth. Suckers come from 
below the bud union and have entirely different 
foliage, thorns and color. Suckers should be cut 
out as soon as identified. 
Pruning is very important and should be done 
during the dormant period. Leave new wood, 
cutting out as much of the old wood as is pos¬ 
sible to still retain the form of the plant. Cut 
new wood back about half way and to an out¬ 
side eye. However, you must prune according to 
the individual plant as no set rule applies to all. 
It is advisable to prune soft wooded varieties 
with a sharp pruning knife. Paint all cuts of any 
size with “Tree Heal.” 
