CARE OF ROSES 
Hardiness — Planting 
Pruning — Spraying — Wintering 
McKAY STOCK 
McKay’s Roses bloom the first year. They represent the highest quality of sturdy 
two-year outdoor or field-grown plants, (Note illustration to right.) They are strong, 
well rooted, dormant plants that have been budded on the hardiest rootstock. They 
should not be compared to hothouse Roses, forced from cuttings. We have given 
great care to the culture of our Roses and offer them to our customers with the assur- 
ance that they will grow and bloom profusely. 
We offer the finest and most popular of the well-tried varieties as well as a few of 
the newer varieties that have demonstrated their merit for more general planting. 
We can heartily recommend all varieties listed here. 
SOIL 
Roses are heavy feeders and thrive best in a well drained clay loam soil, well 
enriched with fertilizer. They will do reasonably well in almost any soil (except 
sand) if well fertilized, drained, and cultivated. They like a sunny, open, airy loca- 
tion, away from large trees which are apt to rob them of the necessary nourishment. 
After selecting such a spot for your Rose bed, dig the soil out to a depth of 12 or 
Ordinary 
Stock McKay Stock 
McKay Roses are strong, healthy, field-grown 
plants that invariably bloom the first year. 
15 inches and replace about one-fourth of the bulk of the soil with well rotted 
barnyard manure thoroughly mixed into soil. If this is not available, substitute a 
generous amount of commercial fertilizer like Bonemeal or Vigoro. 
HARDINESS 
HYBRID TEA ROSES, while comparatively tender, can be wintered safely 
in Wisconsin if covered carefully in the fall as outlined in our instructions on 
“Wintering.”’ Because they give the most beautiful flowers over the longest 
season in a complete gamut of Rose colors, they are worth the extra effort need- 
ed to protect them over winter and the cost of making occasional replacements. 
HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES are hardier, sturdier, and more vigorous 
than the Teas; however, even they will benefit if protected in winter as per our 
“Wintering’’ instructions. This class of roses blooms heavily with the largest 
and sweetest flowers in June and July. 
POLYANTHAS. Like the Teas, tender for winter, and require similar win- 
ter treatment. 
CLIMBING ROSES should be laid down on the ground and the canes 
covered with several inches of earth or 12 to 18 inches of straw or hay in the 
fall. 
RUGOSA and NATIVE Roses are all very hardy and need no winter pro- 
tection. The flowers are not of the fine quality of any of those above; however, 
they do bloom through the summer and lend themselves for use as shrubs. 
PLANTING 
Roses should be planted so that the bud or graft is at least 3 inches in the 
ground, (See illustration.) Cut oft any broken or bruised roots. Dig the holes 
deep and wide so the roots 
may spread out naturally 
without crowding. After 
sifting and working in fine 
soil between the fibrous 
roots, aT we hole two- 
thirds full of dirt, tramp . 
it solid, pee ate several MOUND OF EARTH HE 
times. Finish filling your af NR 
hole with soil, and also Ground LINE fy 
mound the earth up 
around the bush to a 
height of 4 to 6 inches. 
(See illustration.) This 
mound of earth prevents 
the canes from drying out 
by the sun and wind be- 
fore the roots become es- 
tablished. It should be re- 
moved in 10 to 14 days. 
BRANCH PRUNING. 
. 
Bub or GRAFT — 
(3” UNDER GROUND) 
PLANTING DISTANCES 
Hybrid Teas: 18 to 20 inches apart. Rugosas: 3 to 4 feet apart. 
Hybrid Perpetuals: 2 feet apart. Native Roses, etc.: 3 to 4 feet apart. 
Polyanthas: 12 to 18 inches apart. 
PICKING ROSES 
Gathering Roses by the armful is one of the joys of good gardening. 
he more you pick, the more there will be to pick. Really when you 
cut the blossoms you are pruning the plant, and the removal of blos- 
soms is a challenge for the production of more. Intelligent picking. 
like good pruning, should shape the plant, should encourage it to pro- 
duce more and better bloom on longer stems. Don’t simply snip off the 
blossoms, leaving long spindling stems, cut them low so new growth 
will start well down on the plant. 
PRUNING 
HYBRID TEA and POLYANTHA ROSES bloom on new wood only and 
should be cut off at planting time to about 4 to 6 inches above ground, leaving 
only 3 or 4 buds per cane. (See illustration.) Likewise, every spring there- 
after cut off about three-fourths of the previous year’s growth. 
HYBRID PERPETUAL ROSES, like Teas, bloom on new wood only, but 
are usually cut somewhat higher, at 6 to 10 inches above the ground, Again 
cut off three-fourths of the previous year’s wood in succeeding springs. 
CLIMBING ROSES. Cut to 6 inches above ground at planting time. (See 
illustration.) They probably won’t bloom the first year. Since these Roses 
blossom on last year’s wood only, it is customary to prune them in July after 
they are through blooming. At that time cut out most of last year s canes (that 
have just finished blooming) and let the strength of the roots go into the new 
shoots <hat are already coming up to make blooming wood for next year. These 
yonger canes will be easier to lay down in the fall to protect for winter. 
RUGOSAS. Cut off at 8 to 12 inches above ground at planting time and 
prune into shapely busbes in succeeding years. 
NATIVE ROSES. Cut off at 12 to 18 inches above ground at planting 
time and only as necessary to shape plant in later years. 
SPRAYING 
HOW TO KEEP ROSES HEALTHY: It is very important to keep your 
Tea, Perpetual, Polyantha and Climbing Roses healthy, vigorous and free from 
diseases and insects. Since prevention is better than cure, we suggest that they 
be sprayed every 2 weeks from May 15th to August Ist. Either of the follow- 
ing methods is effective. 
LIQUID SPRAY. Many geod complete sprays, ready for use, are on the 
market. If plant lice persist and fail to respond to the spray, add ‘‘Black 
Leaf 40°’ and a detergent soap powder according to directions, to act as an 
adhesive. 
DUST SPRAY. Complete mixtures are available. Select one from a reliable 
company and apply early in the morning while the dew is still present. 
WINTERING 
In our severe climate, TEA, 
PERPETUAL and POLYAN- 
THA ROSES should be care- 
fully protected for the winter. 
To do this, mound earth around 
the plant to a height of 6 or 8 
inches, late in fall and before the 
ground freezes. After the ground 
bas frozen (probably in Decem- 
ber), cover the entire Rose bed 
with hay or straw from 18 to 24 
inches deep. This will protect 
the ground from alternate thaw- 
ing and freezing, and cut down 
evaporation of moisture from 
the Rose canes. In the spring 
the mulch and mound of earth 
are removed and the Roses 
pruned as per ‘Pruning Instruc- 
tions’’ above. (Protection of 
Climbing Roses has been treated 
under *‘Hardiness.’’) 
