Evening star., 1928-04-14

/ which the editor of the American Rose
| Annual speaks is not, therefore. utter
lack Of intelligent, inquiring interest or
spasmodic care. AS one of those mas
ters of life who have managed to make
their business their hobby, or their hob
by their business. either way one
chooses, he may be inclined to under
estimate the number of the careless
and the Indifferent.
To those who are willing to take a
few chances, however, and go to a
| little trouble he speaks a message of
consolation. He has found that roses
will grow anywhere on the North Amer
ican continent where anything else will
Not all varieties, of course, will grow
everywhere. but some of them will So
even the rose zone map" published by
the American Rose Society in 1920
with the cooperation OF the Bureau of
Plant Industry OF the Department of
Agriculture, needs generous revision, he
announces. Ever since the publication
of this map" he tells us, indignant
letters have been coming in proving that
the rose has more tolerance of frosts
! and of conditions than the makers of
| the map had assumed"
As for the old hokum of elaborat1
soil preparation, ut no longer exists, -
according TO Mr.. Mcfarland ANY soil
that would grow ordinary potatoes. or
| peas, or corn. or any ordinary garden
| crop, will grow roses" He skaters the
| ancient idea~nay, law-that the rose
| bed must be dug at least feet deep
and enriched with cow manure.
| You put down diagonal layers of this.
that and the other thing for feet. so
that when you planted the roses the
roots would penetrate all the different
| har
fectly happy job of it selecting Just
what they wanted from where they
wanted 1t when they wanted it The
roots OF most roses, the rosarian con-
| ttnues. go no farther down than l8
| inches. so I am telling my friends
| that 18 inches of honest soil prepara-
| ton Is ample for any roses l know
| about" And this means, it may be
added. all the roses; for there are
| precious few that Mr.. Mcfarland does
not know about
| An almost unparalleled confession
| for garden WRITER'S found in the
next paragraph: II have had to revise
| my own book, The Rose In America.
to correct the error I find have pub
/ lished, illustrated with a diagram TO
show how roses should be buried to 2
| or 3 inches below the place at which
| they f1ourished in the nursery. l never
could understand why the rose had
| seen blooming beautifully in the nir-
sery row would not do as well at the
same level in my garden, but l followed
the books just the same Now l know
| that 1t was a mistake Plant
ing. therefore, no lower than where the
rose grew in the nursery is at present
| advised as by far the best practice, and
1t Is certainly the easiest"
Pruning. he says. is simply "a matter
OF applied common sense" Directions
for 1t, not at all complicated. may be
| secured easily by any of the aforemen-
toned good people"
AS for location in the garden. "the
older books our author says, stress
the need for an impossible combination
OF shelter and openneSs and insist that
roses must not be used In borders or
where they do not have free air circu-
lation." He points the finger of deri-
sion at himself and others, however.
who have inherited this bit of hokum
and passed 1t on" He makes a plea
for roses now and then in the peren-
NAL border.
All in all. this seems one OF the most
sensible articles to appear on the rose
favorite flower OF the world-in many
years, and amateur gardeners are urged
to look 1t up. although we have tried
TO give the gist Of II here for busy
readers.