












ROSE GROWING 
By BRYAN TAYLOR 
1. SELECTION OF SITE—Select a place where there is free circulation 
of air—not draughts—and away from overhanging trees. Avoid, if 
possible, planting red roses in full sunlight, they “blue” badly; yellows 
and pinks will be quite happy in sun. 
2. PREPARATION OF BEDS—For sandy soil add good peat soil; if 
heavy clay, add peat moss to give drainage. Do not bury manure in 
the beds—roses are surface feeders and should be fed from the top. 
3. PLANTING—When your roses arrive, unpack them and “heel in” 
the whole bundle in a shallow trench—if the ground is frozen, store 
in a cool, frost-proof place. 
When planting time arrives, put all the roses in a bucket of water 
(to prevent the roots drying out). Then trim any ragged or broken 
roots and any spindly branches. 
Make the holes wide enough to take the roots without crowding. 
Place the rose so that the budding point (that is where the branches 
start to spread out) is at, or about half an inch blow the soil level. 
Spread out the roots. 
Mix with the soil taken out of the hole a handful of bonemeal and 
a handful of peat. 
Fill in the hole, shaking the bush once or twice to allow the soil to 
settle. When the hole is filled stamp around the bush to make it firm. 
The soil should be as hard as a sidewalk when the stamping is 
completed. 
Mix up a handful of bonemeal per bush with as much woodash as 
you can get and spread a half-inch layer over the whole bed. 
4. FEEDING—At the end of February spread a half-inch layer of 
well rotted manure or well rotted compost over the beds. 
Apply the following mixture: equal parts of sulphate of potash, 
sulphate of ammonia, superphosphate of lime. Apply at the rate of: 
one tablespoon middle of April, one tablespoon middle of May to 
each plant. 
5. PRUNING—Newly planted roses must be hard pruned the first 
spring after planting—that is they must be cut back to 4-5 buds or 
eyes. The only exceptione to this rule are the climbers and they should 
be cut back about one-third or to sound wood. 
The second and subsequent years they require individual attention 
as follows: 
Bush and Tree Roses—The principle of pruning is that the harder 
you cut, the stronger the resulting growth. Therefore the most useful 
guide is: about the end of March— 
Weak growth is cut back to 4-5 buds or eyes. 
Medium growth is cut back to 6-7 buds or eyes. 
Strong growth is cut back to 9-10 buds or eyes. 
Always cut to an outside bud and leave the center of the bush open. 
Polyanthas and Floribundas—Merely thin out and trim the tops back 
to sound wood in late March. 
Climbers—Take out old and dead wood down to the base, in the 
fall. Cut back any laterals, or side shoots, to 3-4 buds in late March. 
Ramblers (wichuraiana)—No pruning except to remove old and dead 
wood in the fall. 
6. ENEMIES OF THE ROSE—Aphis and sap sucking insects: Nicotine 
sulphate (Black Leaf 40) is still the best aphicide. Spray as soon as 
aphis appear and spray three times in succession with a 24-hour inter- 
val between. 
Mildew, Black Spot, Rust, chewing insects: The most useful of the 
dusts for these is 8 parts dusting sulphur, 1 part Fermate, 1 part lead 
arsenate. Start dusting early in the season—prevention is better 
than cure. 
2 
