Part 5

The pruning of Hybrid Teas and Teas had better be postponed until the first signs of life appear. The bark becomes greener and the dormant buds begin to swell. Dead or dying wood will then readily be noticeable and it may be removed. Remember that these two classes do not need such severe pruning as do the Hybrid Perpetuals; twice the amount of wood may safely be left if it seems promising.

Dormant rose plants bought in the spring will arrive from the growers already partly pruned. In general, from one-half to two-thirds of the remaining length of cane should be cut off when the plants are set out, removing entirely all bruised or dead wood. Bear in mind always, if your conscience revolts at such severe cutting, that the strongest dormant buds are nearest the base of the plant and it is these we want to force into growth to bear the prize blooms.

With the ramblers very little cutting is needed; merely cut back the shoots that seem to be outdistancing their neighbors by too much, and cut out entirely the dead canes.

The rugosa is intended to be a bush rather than a strong, lean plant for prize blooms. Merely cut out old, dry wood and trim back the longer shoots to the desired form.

Use a first-class pair of pruning shears in order that the work may be done quickly and, above all, with clean cuts that show no tearing or abrasion of the bark.

PESTS

Once more let me repeat the fact that by far the most effective campaign against the insects and other pests that infest rose plants is to be found, not in sprayings and dustings, but rather in maintaining to the best of our ability a condition of health in the plant itself. Prevention here, as always, is better than cure. Nor can it be too strongly emphasized that the daily use of a powerful but finely divided spray from the hose will make life on the rose plant miserable for practically all of the parasites.

The following are the chief enemies that we may encounter in the rose garden. They are briefly described so as to be recognizable when found, and for the annihilation or keeping in check of each is given one of the many remedies. Practically every rosarian develops, after a time, his own pet formulae for these poisons, so that rose books will be found to contain a wonderfully varied assortment of weapons--so numerous in fact that one would think the army of rose pests could never live to continue their depredations another season.

Aphis or Green Fly

A small, pale green louse, winged or wingless, with a soft, fat, oval body apparently too big for its legs. A single aphis in five generations may become the progenitor of 6,000,000,000.

Tobacco smoke is an excellent weapon, or, if a spray is found more convenient to apply, a solution of 4 oz. of tobacco stems boiled for 10 min. in 1 gal. of soft water, will do. The same weight of quassia chips may be substituted for the tobacco. If the tobacco is used, the cheapest that can be bought is the best for the purpose. Strain the solution and add 4 oz. of soft soap while it is still hot, stirring well to dissolve the soap.

Another remedy--1 qt. of soft soap boiled in 2 qts. of soft water, adding 1 pt. of paraffin before cooling--is well recommended. It should be applied diluted with soft water to ten times its bulk. The paraffin acts as an astringent which, together with the soft soap, cleanses the plant of honey-dew, which is exuded by the aphis to protect its feet against cold and wet.

Mildew

A fungous disease that may appear when the rose plants are in a damp, shady or ill-ventilated location. Although some varieties are more susceptible than others to this disease, the rose garden located out in the open, where the air has unobstructed access, will not be troubled much by mildew. When the disease appears late in the autumn it need not be feared.

Dusting flowers of sulphur upon the foliage, taking care to reach the under side of leaves as well as the upper, and upon the ground about the plants, is a well established remedy. It will be found convenient to shake the powder from a baking-powder can, the end of which is punched with holes, if a regular powder gun is not at hand. Use the sulphur in the early morning, when the dew will help to hold it on the leaves, or else spray the plants with water beforehand.

Rose Thrip

A small, yellowish white insect with transparent wings, usually found on the under side of the rose leaves. This pest appears in swarms and in an astonishingly short time turns the foliage yellow.

If the pest appears, spray the rose plants daily with a hose as suggested above. If this does not prove efficacious, dust the under side of the leaves with white hellebore in a powder gun. Whale oil soap solution, in the proportions of 5 oz. of soap to 1 gal. of water, is a very good remedy. It is easier to dissolve the soap if the water is hot.

Rose Caterpillar or Leaf-roller

Several kinds of caterpillars may appear, varying from one-half to three-quarters of an inch in length, and either green, yellow or brown in color. They have a habit of enveloping themselves in the rose leaves, or boring their way into the flower buds. In the latter case they are very apt to be overlooked.

Powdered hellebore will hinder their progress, but by far the most effective weapons are the finger and thumb--gloved, if you insist.

Rose Chafer or Rose-bug

This brown beetle, less than one-half inch in length, is one of the best-known rose pests. It is a slow-moving creature that appears suddenly in armies in the blooming season in June, and is the more annoying for the reason that it devotes its attention almost entirely to the flowers themselves.

Paris green, dusted over the plants, will kill the pest, but this poison has a disagreeable way of showing no intelligent discrimination in the choice of its victims. Really the only satisfactory method of attack is to knock the stupid creatures off the flowers into a tin of kerosene and then burn it.

Rose Slug

The larvae of a saw-fly which comes up out of the ground in May and June. The female makes incisions in the leaves and deposits her eggs, which hatch out in about two weeks. The slugs will eat an astonishing amount of leaf if not checked. They are about a half-inch long, green, and will be found on the upper side of the leaf.

Powdered white hellebore, dusted on the foliage, or the solution of whale oil soap mentioned for the Rose Thrip, will keep it in check.

White Grub