ROSE PLANTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 June 1941, Page 2

ROSE PLANTING

SOME USEFUL HINTS. i Roses should now be arriving from the nurserymen, and if the beds and borders were prepared as recommended some time ago—by trenching and manuring—planting' should be done at once —if soil and weather conditions are favourable. If the soil is wet and sticky or there is hard frost cr snow on the ground, planting should be delayed and the plants heeled in. If the preparation of the beds has not been done, the new ones should be trenched to a depth of two and a-half to three feet deep, a good layer of farmyard manure or compost heap being placed near the bottom. Old ones which can be renewed by trenching and manuring should also receive attention, the old plants which arc still strong and vigorous being cut hard back, their roots trimmed and replanted, and weak and unsatisfactory ones being burned to make room for a few new varieties.

First level the ground filling up hollows due to uneven sinking of the soil, and then mark out with sticks, allowing from 24 to 27 inches between the plants and the same distance between the rows. Dig holes at least 12 inches square, and 18 inches deep, placing the soil on the sides. If the soil is inclined to be heavy and sticky, it is an advantage to have some dry soil, such as old i potting soil or soil from seed boxes, to which a five-inch potful of bone dust has been added to each barrowload, for covering the roots. First examine the roots, and any which have

been bruised or damaged can bo trimmed with a sharp knife or secateurs, then fit the plant into the hole, taking care to spread the. roots evenly and at such a depth that the junction of the stock and the scion will be two inches below the surface when the operation is completed. Next put in seme of the fine or prepared soil, sufficient to cover the roots, and shake the

plant to work it in among the fine roots. Put in more soil and tramp it firmly round the edge of the hole, pressing it in towards the stem, but not immediately round it. Continue to put in more soil to firm it until the operation is finished, when the surface should be left level, but fairly rough and open. If farmyard manure was not available and the soil is not rich a good handful of bone dust can be worked in along with the soil after the roots have been covered. During the operation care should be taken to shelter the roots from cold, drying winds, the plants being removed one at a time from under wet sacks Though the plants have been cut

back for the convenience of packing and transport, they are not as a rule pruned, this operation being delayed until the usual time in early August.