Ten Points tor A Better Rose Garden 
1. Prepare beds for roses well in advance of planting. Mix sand and leaf 
mold or well rotted compost with soil if native soil is heavy. A layer of gravel or 
pieces of tile can be used in the bottoms of the holes if locality has lfttle or no drainage. 
Roses require plenty of plant food and water and adequate drainage. A great deal of the 
rose trouble in the Gulf Coast section is caused from plants not having enough drainage. 
2. Do not plant more roses than can be properly cared for. A few plants 
properly fertilized watered, sprayed, pruned and cultivated will give more satisfactory 
results than a large planting which has to be more or less neglected in some respects. 
3. Plant roses early. The plants should be in the ground not later than 
January 15th, for best results in the South. Roses set in November, Deciember and 
January get the benefit of winter rains and have time to make feeder roots before growth 
begins in spring. The buyer also gets better quality plants in a better selection of 
varieties when he plants his rose garden early. 
4. Buy good grade number one plants from a reliable grower. Even if you 
have to pay more for them, get good plants to begin with and have a successful garden 
the first year. Beware of the peddler and dealer who have had no experience in growing 
rtoses, but who advertise ''Two-Year-Old Tyler Rose Bushes” at bargain prices. They 
are most likely unloading some undergrade stock that could not be moved through the 
regular channels. Order roses from the grower or dealer who can and will specify 
the quality and grade of plants he is selling. 
5. Select varieties recommended for your section. The following are some 
of the better kinds for the Gulf Coast:— 
Red Radiance, Condessa de Sastago, Edith Nellie Perkins, Etoile de Hollande, 
Margaret McGredy, Roslyn, Mrs. Chas. Bell, E. G. Hill, Pres. Herbert Hoover, 
Pink Radiance, Dainty Bess, Editor McFarland, Frau Karl Druschki, Mrs Chas. 
Lamplough, Talisman, Dotty, McGredy’s Scarlet. 
6. Set plants in holes that are large and deep enough to allow natural spread 
of roots and to barely cover the union of the top and understock. Fill in the hole with 
good top soil and tamp firmly around the roots. Put no fertilizer in the hole, but work 
a good complete fertilizer around each plant after setting. Cotton seed meal is good, or 
any complete fertilizer recommended for roses. Thereafter use one-fourth to one-half 
pound for each plant at three month intervals, beginning early in spring. Water well 
at time of planting and during a drought in summer, soak beds thoroughly once a week. 
7. Plants should be purchased "pruned ready to plant;” however, each cane 
may be given a fresh cut at time of planting. Early in spring after the first year, prune 
the bushes back to three to five strong canes the length as when set. 
8. Use sulphur dust to prevent and to cure black spot, a disease which causes 
foliage to turn yellow and drop off, then turns the canes black and finally causes the 
plant to die. Begin dusting when the first grown leaves appear and continue at eight 
or ten day intervals up to June 1st. 
9. Cultivate freely to keep top soil loose. Hoe out all weeds and grass, and 
plow or fork the ground to allow air to reach the roots. Loosen the soil after each 
rain or irrigation as it is necessary to maintain at least a shallow cultivation. 
10. Keep the bloom stems cut off after flowers open, in order to keep plants 
growing and developing new buds. Do not cut stems too long—leave two or three leaves 
at base of stem. 
''THE WORLD NEEDS 'MOORE’ ROSES” 
Page 7 
