Evening star., 1926-03-27
PLANTING ROSES.

Roses may be planted with success
either in the Fail or Spring season.
For early Spring planting the rose
bed, if not prepared the previous
Fall. should be made ready as soon
as the frost is out of the ground, so
that the plants have the advantage of
an early start. assuring a vigorous
growth the first season
A warm, sunny location. shielded by
buildings or trees from Wintery
winds. to insure against Winter kill
ing, should be chosen for the rose
beds.
The ground should be we'll drained,
as roses demand an abundance of Wa
ter passing through the soil, but will
not thrive where the ground is wet
and soggy. If nature has not provid-
ed good drainage, then artificial
means must be reSorted to for this
correction.
An ideal soil for roses is a strong
rich loamy clay that is well drained.
Such a soil is seldom found in or
about Washington, and in it's stead we
are usually confronted with a heavy
gravelly clay almost void of loan or
humus.
This soil is usually well drained and
will produce excellent roses il prop
erly handled.
Regardless of soil textures, roses re
Quire plenty of food in the shape of
manures and commercial fertilizers.
The beds should be dug to a depth
of is inches, and if drainage is neces-
Sary an extra 6 inches should be
taken out, subsoil and top soil being
placed in separate piles. A layer of
broken stone or coarse gravel should
be placed to a depth of or inches
evenly over the bottom of the bed and
the SubSoil and top soil, each mixed
with one-third their entire bulk with
we'll rotted COW manure, placed back
in their respective places and allowed
10 settle thoroughly before planting.
Where roses are grown on an eX-
tensive scale the use of agricultural
tile drain will be found a most eco
nomical method of drainage.
Roses received in early Spring for
planting are dormant and usually
void of soil, the roots being kept
moist in transit by the use of damp
Sphagnum moss. If planting is to be
delayed any considerable length of
time after plants have been received.
the plants should be separated and
'heeled in,'' which is the placing of
the plants in a temporary trench and
covering the soil about the roots to
exclude the air and light.
Granting that the ground is pre-
pared for planting, mark off a space
of from two and one-half to three
feet for each plant and proceed to
have the holes made ready.
Prune all mangled roots with sharp
knife or shears and prune out all but
possibly four or FIVE of the strongest
growths or shoots and trim back each
of these shoots to five or six strong
buds or eyes.
IL IL I.
larger in diameter than the root spread
of the plants. and if the hole is
deeper than desired, fill in sufficient
soil and firm with your feet, being
sure to set the plant from one and
one;half inches to two inches lower
than the crown. or that point from
which the shoots arise above roots;
then spread roots in order that the
fine soil can be brought in contact
with them. AS the soil is replaced
about the roots it should be firmed
with the feet until it is ali equally
level with the surrounding area.
A few handfuls of ground bone
commercially mixed well into the soil
when planting will be highly bene-
fetal.
The plants should be given
thorough watering after planting. and
are now ready to send out new
growths with the coming warm days
and Spring rains.
In addition to what nature supplies,
1t has been found to be good practice
to water the soil thoroughly and
syringe the foliage at least once each
week in the Spring and twice Il week
during July, August and September.
Cultivation of roses is generally
recommended during the growing
season.
[ am, however. adverse TO this prac-
tice for the rose and | advise in its
stead the use of a heavy mulch of
cow manure of at least two inches in
depth placed Immediately about the
plants and left throughout the entire
growing season. This inSures against
drought and maintains an available
food supply at all times. thereby in
creasing the quality and quantity of
7ou-arc