SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 
11 
THE PLANTING AND CARE OF ROSES 
T ▼ T 
There is probably no other flower that does better 
in San Antonio soil and climate, with as little effort, 
as does the rose. 
The first step in planting roses, of course, is to 
dig the bed deep. 2 feet is sufficient, but deeper is 
even better. The best soil is a rich deep loam, black 
dirt and sand mixed. As roses like an abundance of 
water and yet resent wet feet, good drainage is im¬ 
portant. This may be accomplished in several ways, 
but the simplest method is to mix some sand in the 
soil. The addition of leafmold, peat moss or any 
decayed vegetable matter is also good, as, in addition 
to holding moisture in the soil during dry periods, it 
enriches it. 
Roses require plenty of sunlight and circulation of 
air. 2 V 2 feet spacing between plants is correct. 
Avoid cramping the roots. When planting them, 
make the hole wide as well as deep so that the roots 
may fall in their natural positions without being 
cramped either to one side or the other. Plant them 
so the soil will be 2 inches above where the graft 
shows. See that the bottom of the hole is thoroughly 
soaked with water before putting in loam, then fill 
the hole with loam; water thoroughly to pack soil 
well around roots. 
After you have set out your roses, prune them 
back to within 8 inches of the ground. They may 
not look as well this way, but the branches will not 
dry out as is often the case when they are too long. 
As roses are gross feeders, they must be well fer¬ 
tilized. There are a number of good fertilizers for 
roses. Possibly the simplest plan is, after the rose is 
planted, to dig several inches of soil away from the 
top of the ground, spread a handful of cottonseed 
meal around the base of the rose and then cover over 
the cottonseed meal with soil, and water thoroughly. 
If you care to carry your efforts further, instead of 
using cottonseed meal, use a mixture of 10% cop¬ 
peras, 45% cottonseed meal, and 45% bone meal. 
Our advice that newly planted roses be pruned 
immediately, does not apply to established roses. 
While roses may be pruned at any time of the year, 
the best time to prune established roses is in Febru¬ 
ary and March if you intend doing so at all. The 
principle of pruning established roses is misunder¬ 
stood by many. Cutting roses back produces fewer 
and larger blooms; leaving them alone produces more 
and smaller blossoms. 
