The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1868-11-27
FLORICCLTURE,
ny EDWARD MASON. OF THE WESTERN
RURAL.
PREPARATIONS FOB WINTER.

PREPARATIONS FOB WINTER.
There is a great deal to be done
in the flower garden in preparing
shrubs, Towering plants, cts, for
winter. Hardy evergreen or decid-
uous trees, shrubs and hsrbaceous
plants will be most benefited by
having a mulch of some kind put
over the roots, The dead, leaves
which are now flying about with ov-
cry gust of wind. should be col
lected and placed over the roots of
shrubs and towering plants, etc,
and kept in the proper position by
branches OF evergrens, dccayed stems
of annual, biennial or perennial fow-
CTS, or light layer Of earth.
PUTTING DOWN Labels ETC.
In cleaning up the lawn and. flower
garden in the Fall much damage is
sometimes done by removing those
decayed or decaylng leaves Of herb
aceous plants, which nature has
intended as protection
for the roots in Winter. In
stead of raking them off, more
should be added, and all kept over
the roots in the manner already des-
cribed. Labels should be put down
tomark the places where tic roots
of herbaceous flowers, bulbs, etc.,
occupy the ground, for there is often
much damage done to them by the
spade or digging fork.
SOIL FOR THE ROSE.
In Summer everybody admires the.
beauty Of the rose, and as long as
the bloom lasts, it is universal
fayoritc, but Notwithstanding all
this admiration, very few take the
proper steps for obtaining a fine
healthy growth of the rosebush, and
consequently an abundant aud beau
tiful bloom.
The proper soil for the rose is a
strong, rich loan, and we'll decom-
posed dung. If the soil is light,
holes should be dug and loan and
suitable manure forked into the
bottom of each, and. W hen the plant
is set the hole should be filed with
Il similar mixture. This is the only
way to insure q good bloom, and is;
useless to plant roses in poor, light
soil, without this precaution. Gar
den soil that has been kept in good
heart by an annual dressing of ma
nure. Will produce good bloom Of
roses; yet il is always better to, put
good shovclful of we'll rotted ma
nurc into the hole at the time of
planting. Among the evils arising
from planting the rose in poor soil,
is that it frequently makes the flow
er come single or semi double, so as
to destroy all Identity of:the variety
by means of its bloom, As gen.
eral principle. it may be laid down
that the rose requires rich soil, and,
if We do not possess that, We must
change the nature of the soil by the
addition of loan, and well rotted
manure. ..---.-
Some rose culturists take up the
plants every second year for the
purpose Of renewing the beds by
deep tillage, and the introduction
Of fresh soil in the shape Of decayed
turf, muck. lcaf-mould, the.remains
Of old hot beds, etc. When the
plants stand far eaough apart, soil
and manure can be addcdAwithout
disturbing them. Roses of every
kind should be projected by a COW
ering Of some kind from the rigers
Of winter. Climbing roses should
be taken down carefully from walls,
arbors and trollisA, laid on the
ground, ard then covered with dead
leaves, straw or any light littery
substance that will keep them from
exposure to the sun.
Roses should be pruned before
they are covered for the Winter; in
Reforming this all dead or decayed
wood should be cut out, and the
young'shoots OF the last seasou,cut
back,td within three or four s,inches
Of their base, and ii strong suckers
exist they'shnulf be laid, by twist
ing them. until they can be bent
without breaking. Some persons
make a split with knife at. the
place where the layers are to be
placed in the earth, and insert a
thin wedge of wood in the longitu-
dinal cut, to keep 1t open. This
causesroots to form in short time.
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