Evening star., 1955-11-20

Site of New Rose Bed
Poses Some Problems

O1Su
the bigger problem. although tn,
roses may need TO be protected
from north winds. A hedge
group of shrubs. or some othel
protection is desirable. Do moi
overdo. however. since dead al
pockets breed the red spidel
mites. Good air circulation help
to keep down the incidence o.
disease. There Is q happy me
dunn. Try TO achieve it.
Having selected the most suit
liable spot In the yard for the rost
bed. dig the soil to . depth o.
two feet. Check the subsurfac,
drainage by pouring q bucket O.
water into q hole and notini
how quickly it drains away. 4
there Is no appreciable disap.
pearance Of the water within q
hours. 1t means the bed must b,
tiled or otherwise drained.
II this is Impractical, the ONLY
way to grow roses Is to plan1
them in the soil without any sol
preparation. That viii permi,
moisture to soak into the soil
Roses viii do surprisingly vel
under such conditions, but, oi
course, they viii not be as pro.
lductive or as fine as those plant.
ed IN properly prepared beds.
Enriching the Soil
Assuming that the soil ha.
good subsurface drainage anc
that the bed is dug TO . depth
of two feet. the next step Is tc
enrich the soil. Many Of the
books on rose culture point out
the value Of incorporating guam.
titles Of partially rotted COW ma
Inure into the bottom layer OF
soil. In view Of the cost Of coz
manure. as well as the danger OF
buying unwanted weeds, peat
moss Is recommended for the
job. However, well enriched
compost win do the job Just as
well.
Up to so per cent Of the vol
lurne Of the bed can be Of one OF
more Of these materials.
Some rose fanciers spread q
layer Of manure or compost on
the bottom Of the bed and then
spade 1t into the subsoil. The
sod and other rough material is
then shoveled back into the bed
and q layer Of the humus mate
rial is added and the two turned
two or three times to mix them
This continues until the bed Il
filled. The advantage Of shovel
ing . layer Of soil and q layer
Iof humus into the bed and mix
ing Is that It helps to settle the
lower layers.
II this job can be done several
weeks ahead Of planting, much
of the settling viii have taken
place. If not. then the gardener
win need to make ample allow
'ance for the settling when plac-
ing the bushes.
Avoid Burning Roots
Bonemeal may be added to the
soil mixture at the time Of soil
preparation but not the ordinary
commercial fertilizer. Should 4
fertilizer be improperly mixed
into the soil and come into con-
tact with the feeding roots, II
may cause ''burning"--a COM
mon name for the reversal OF
the roots normal functionins
which is to take up moisture and
plant food.
It's safer TO apply the fertilizer
to the soil in the spring and let
the rains carry 1t down to the
roots In minute quantities.
In planting the new rose bed
there is q marked tendency tc
crowd too many roses into 1t
Why? Because we all want q
bush Of this variety and that va
Iriety. as well as a complete range
of colors. 1t is q lot better X
give the roses ample room. In
which to grow and to leave
enough space so that sun and
air may reach the foliage. This
helps to control diseases.
The old recommendation Of IL
to 90 inches Is too close. Two to
three feet is a better spacing
The latter seems more nearly
ideal.
It Is more desirable to have
fewer good roses than q lot OF
half : starved. disease ridden
roses.
The varieties Of roses are i'm
portant. too. Not all varieties
Offered for sale will give satisfac-
tory results in this area. That
lis why The Star published or
October 80 the list prepared BY
the Potomac Rose Society.