The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-03-09
ROSES FOR ALL.
USES and HOW
TO CROW Them
U S. Dept. of Agriculture
Sends Out Timely Home
Gardening Hints.


various uses to which roses may b.
put in achieving ornamental effect
and the care that should be taken o
are described in Farmers Bulletin
$50, issued by the Department.
Roses are divided in the bulletin
according to their uses into: roses fo1
lawn and border, roses for arbor ant
trellis, cut-fower roses, hedge roses
roses for ground covers, and tree ro
ses. Soil, fertilizing and planting
conditions for the several types Of
roses are practically the same. The
| types differ markedly; however, In
habits of growth and hardness and
require, therefore, the applica ton OF
essentially different treatment in
pruning and for propagation and
protection.
The principal essentials in soils for
rose growing are thorough drainage
and a plentiful supply Of organic mat
ter, with a reasonably constant wa
ter supply during the growing season
A soil capable Of growing good gar
den or field crops is, in general, good
| for roses. Rotted cow manure is the
! best fertilizer. Any other well-rot-
1 tea manure OF pOSL Will SERVE IIiS
purpose, however. The use of fresh
| manure, especially horse manure,
should be avoided. If used, under
no circumstances should it be allow
ed to touch the roots. OF the COM
mercial fertilizers, ground bone is ex-
cellent, but will not take the place Of
compost Cotton-seed meal may be
used in the same way as bone. Wood
ashes are sometimes a helpful addi-
| ton.
| Planting distances for roses will be
determined by the purposes of the
planting and the habits of the varie-
| ties chosen. On lawns and along bor-
ders the plants should be spaced so
that when they reach maturity they
will come together without over
| crowding. For cut flowers a sepa-
arate bed should be maintained so
| that special care can be given. Ro-
ses in such a bed should be spaced
somewhat widely to facilitate thor
ough cultivation. Climbing roses re-
quire much plant food and should be
planted in a generously sized hole fill
! ed with good SOIL
| Early spring planting is advisable
| in the extreme northern portion of the
United States and on the Western
Plains. In other regions fall plant
| ing is advantageous, but the differ
ence is not sufficiently great to war
rant postponing planting from spring
until autumn when the rose grower Is
ready at the earlier season. The
planting in spring should be done as
soon as the ground is dry enough to
work. The fall planting should fol-
low Immediately the falling Of the
leaves from trees and bushes. In
general, rose plants should be set out
as soon as possible after they arrive
from the nursery, and If it is impos-
sib1e to plant Immediately, the plants
should be placed in trench and the
roots covered. If the stems are
shriveled, vitality may be restored by
burying the whole plant for few
days. If frozen plants are received,
| they should be placed where they will
thaw out gradually, and should not
| be unpacked until the frost Is thor
| oughly out. In carrying the plants
| to the planting ground, care should
| be taken to have the roots covered.
Probably the best plan Is to carry the
plants in a bucket of water.
| Set the plants little deeper than
they were during their nursery
| growth, but be careful not to plant too
deeply When grated stock is used
the point of union should be well
under the surface Of the ground. Trim
the ends Of roots of dormant plants
and spread the roots out in the hole.
Shake the plant up and down as the
| dirt is filled in. When the roots are
covered it is well to tramp down the
soil if it is not too wet. The plants
may then be watered if necessary
| One pruning need which all types
| of roses have in common is for radi-
cal shortening at planting time. From
one half to two-thirds of the wood
should be removed. After the first
wear pruning for border and lawn ro-
ses should consist in removing dead
or weak wood and crossing branch
es. Cutting off the ends Of branches
should be avoided. 1t is preferable
to take out whole branches. Every
five or six years the whole top should
be cut back 1t is best to prune lawn
roses in the spring.
In pruning climbing roses, there
must be a compromise between the
desire for forced growth Of new wood
for blossom bearing by removing all
Of the old wood, and the desire to
have the arbors or trellises covered
with foliage. The hardy climbers
should be pruned just after blooming.
Though it would be best to remove all
Of the wood, half the branches may
be cut off at the ground and the rest
shortened from to feet, depend
ing on rapidity of growth. Mare
chal Mel and other roses Of the hy-
brid Noisette group of climbers
should be trained to one strong cane
with the side shoots cut back to about
three eyes. The. remaining cane can
be renewed occasionally. The Che
rokee should be pruned like border
roses, only weak and crossing branch
es being removed.
.Cut-hower roses must be pruned
severely If individual blossoms of
greatest perfection are desired. When
the production Of numerous small
blossoms is the aim, the pruning is
less severe. After the plants are es-
tab1ished, pruning should be practiced
in vigorous climates after freezing
weather is over. In milder regions
fall pruning may be practiced. Prun-
ing may be done, first, as for lawn
~oses, and then the remaining branch
should be shortened to or 5 eyes
Tor the greatest mass of small bios
1oms, however only one-half to one
bird of the shoots should be cut Off
Hedges should be severely prune6
1r. outline and compactness.,