Summer Activities Among the Roses to Keep Up Growth and Build the Plant for Next Year’s Flowers—Feeding and Pruning

There’s more to cutting a Rose than appears at first sight, and done the right way you not only get longer stems to your flowers but the plant is improved in vigor and habit. When gathering a bloom cut the stalk at a point within two inches of the branch which bears the flowering shoot. This usually leaves two good eyes which will, in about four weeks, produce more flowers. There are several reasons for cutting so hard:

It is admitted that cutting low tends to check the continuity of bloom. On the other hand it must be borne in mind that all the shoots do not flower at the same time, so that even when cut back to two eyes a succession of bloom will be the result. The slight check in the succession of bloom at the beginning of the season is more than offset by the growth made during the hot dry weather; and, when the nights grow cooler, this new strong growth will yield flowers of exceptional quality.

The disadvantage of cutting blooms with short stems is that, as a rule, too many buds are allowed to remain which produce either flowers of very poor quality or “blind wood” (shoots which contain no flower buds). In other words, there are so many buds to nourish that none of them are perfected. During the hot, dry weather the transpiration is so great that the smaller shoots or branches become very hard and, there being almost no action in them, the eyes cannot possibly develop. Letting the flowers remain till the petals fall and then removing the old head reacts in the same way, through not forcing new young growth.

Plants thus properly pruned in the process of cultivation frequently require little pruning the following spring other than cutting back the heavier canes.

To insure the keeping qualities of a rose bloom cut it early in the morning while the wood is cool and firm. After the intense sun has been shining upon a plant for a few hours the stems become somewhat wilted and the colors of the flowers start to fade.

Cut blooms that are placed in the display vases as soon as they are gathered do not last as long as those that are plunged into cool water and placed in an ice-box or cool cellar for four or five hours before being brought into use in decoration. Also remember that a rose cut just as the outside petals start to unfold and put into a cool place will develop to larger size than if left on the plant.

Feeding the plant while it is giving its flowers means much if done with a thought to the effects of different treatments. For the sake of refreshing the memory let us recall the three most essential elements of plant food, their functions in plant growth, and their sources.

A Little Dissertation on Fertilizers

Nitrogen is the one element to a great extent lacking in most soils. It causes a somewhat rapid vegetative growth and must be used with care on flowering plants. If the plants are not making sufficient growth or are somewhat backward, two or three light applications of nitrate of soda (2 oz. in 5 gallons of water) at intervals of ten days is usually enough to give them a decided start. The five gallons of this solution should cover thirty to thirty-five square feet of bed surface. Using nitrate in liquid form insures an even distribution and lessens the danger of root injury. Dried blood and tankage also contain a high percentage of nitrogen but in a form not as readily available. Nitrogenous fertilizers should always be used early in the flowering season rather than too near the blooming period.

Phosphorus is the next most important element, giving color to fruit and flower, and stimulating flower and seed production. The two most common sources of phosphorous are bonemeal and acid phosphate, but the phosphorous is not as readily available in either of the above fertilizers as is nitrogen in nitrate of soda; therefore it must be applied three or four weeks before the flowering season for full benefits. A pound of bonemeal should cover twenty-five square feet, for the same area about half that amount of acid phosphate. In applying any of the chemical fertilizers in dry form it is always best to work them well into the soil with a small rake and then give the bed a thorough watering.

Potassium, as potash, gives strength to the cell wall and the rich green color of foliage which denotes a plant in perfect health. Most garden soils of a clayey nature usually have enough potash. However, if the growth of the Roses be somewhat slender and of poor color, it may usually be corrected by an application of wood ashes, one of the common sources of potash. A single application of wood ashes at the rate of one pound to twenty square feet will be sufficient for the entire season.

If these fertilizers were applied the last of May or in June and followed by a two-inch mulch of rotten manure about the first of July there will be sufficient food in the soil to last the rest of the growing season. This mulch also helps retain the moisture, which is important, for should the soil become very dry, many of the small feeding roots of the plant are injured.

The type of soil is to be considered before choosing the manure as a Rose fertilizer. Cow manure, especially if well rotted, is undoubtedly the best all-around fertilizer for our purpose; but if the soil is decidedly clayey, the water content of the cow manure is apt to cause the surface of the bed to become pasty, which in hot weather is likely to bake very hard. If only recent manure is procurable (not more than a few months old) horse manure will give better results on a heavy clay soil.

Both cow and sheep manure may be procured in dry pulverized form and are undoubtably pleasanter to handle. The most satisfactory way of applying this type of manure is in a liquid form. A bushel of manure to fifty gallons of water is the usual proportion. At this strength a gallon should cover about ten square feet. Apply once a week up until the middle of August.

If used dry, first lightly stir the surface of the bed and then apply a thin evenly distributed coat, working it into the soil, and then giving a good watering.

Several "Don’ts" to be observed when fertilizing Roses are:

Don’t feed unless the plant is in active growth.

Don’t overfeed at any one time; little and not too often is better.

Don’t feed unless the soil is moist when using chemical fertilizers or fresh manures. Otherwise the feeding rootlets will be injured and growth checked rather than stimulated.

Don’t feed later than the middle of August. To do so is to stimulate late growth which means unripened wood in the fall with danger of winter injury.