HOME GARDENS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 15, Issue 72, 21 July 1950, Page 6

HOME GARDENS

(By J. S. Yeates, Massey Agricultural College) ROSES This month and August being important ones for planting and pruning roses, now is a very suitable time to consider the whole subject of roses.

The average home gardener is interested only in how to buy and grow roses which will add beauty to his garden and provide some cut flowers also. The first consideration should be the soil. In general roses grow and keep on growing, best in a rather heavy but well drained soil of good fertility. That is not to say that you should not try them on lighter soil. Any soil that has moderately good fertility, drainage, and moisture through the year, should grow good roses. A good potato soil is about the ideal, remembering however, that you can dig in organic matter each year with potatoes, but with roses you need to incorporate several years’ supply before planting. Preparing The Rose Bed

This job should by rights have been done weeks ago, but many people will not have done it yet. Plan the bed not more than about four feet across, so that you can reach any part of it easily from one side or the other. The roses should be spaced about „ two feet apart each way. Those along the edge can be a foot or 18 inches from the edge without getting in the way of the mower. Dig the bed really deep. Eighteen inches is not a bit too deep, though it seems a long way when you are digging. Shift top soil to one side, or remove some of it from one end of the bed to the other, and then • dig or fork the subsoil thoroughly, incorporating any organic matter at the same time. You may have to remove the subsoil if you are adding much good soil. Then replace the top soil. When digging the bed it is a good chance to mix in some slow-acting fertiliser like ground rock phosphate,. which is a fairly good substitute for the “bonemeal” of past years. If your bed is being dug where fresh grass is growing, it would be unwise to dig in the top grassy turf just- now. It would, scarcely have time to rot down before planting. In that case replace it with some good top soil, preferably from ground where turf has recently been worked in and rotted. Drainage must be carefully watched. If you dig a bed such as the above in heavy soil, it will collect a lot of drainage water. If the soil at the bottom is not porous, then you must ,see to .it that tile or similar drains are provided to get rid of this water.

The rose bed should be in as open and sunny a place as possible, so long as it is not too exposed to wind.

When planting, examine the roots and trim off any ragged or bruised ends with a shai'p knife or secateurs. Look for the union (usually one to three inches from the roots) where the variety has been budded on to the root-stock, and arrange the depth of planting so that this union is about one inch below the surface. Dig a hole nearly deep enough and tramp it firm, because otherwise it will only sink and upset your depth of planting. Then fill in with loose soil so that the plant rests on it at the right depth. Next fill the hole little by little with crumbly soil, moving the plant up and down slightly to get soil among the roots. When the hole is about full, pack the soil firmly, using the heel of your boot, until the plant is really firmly held. Finally top off with loose soil and go on to the next plant. It will readily be understood that this handling and trampling of typical heavy rose soils could do a great deal of harm if the soil were too damp at the time. Do not let the roots dry by exposing them too long to the air, and do not on any account put fresh manure or fertiliser in contact with the roots when planting. The roses sent out from the nursery are cut back for convenience in packing and transport, but they are not supposed to be pruned. The pruning should be done, not at planting time but in August, when the older, established bushes are pruned- also.