How do you grow roses good enough to win the Nicholson Bowl?” This question is frequently put to Edward Sima of Seattle, Washington, who won the most coveted prize of rosedom at the national meeting of the American Rose Society last June.
One glance at the perfect form, good color, large size, strong stems, and healthy foliage of the winning entries was enough to convince spectators that their exhibitor knew how to grow roses.
Edward Sima’s Caring Method For Rose Plants
Edward Sima’s method of caring for his 800 rose plants is as attractive as it is different. Here is the procedure lie follows, given in his own words:
It isn’t necessary to follow all the hard and fast rules of planting as set down by experts. Find out what works for you, then use your judgment. The elaborate methods of soil preparation so often advocated are rarely necessary.
Related: Growing Roses Of Course Without Trouble
Soil Preparation
If the soil is average, loosen it up with a garden fork to depths of 12” to 18” inches. Mix in a cupful of bonemeal per plant. If the soil is sticky or heavy with clay, add a liberal amount of peat moss, compost, and some sand.
Because the soil here in Seattle leaches badly and gravitates to the acid side, I mix in a generous cupful of gypsum or agricultural lime for every 10’ square feet of soil when preparing the rose beds.
Plenty of organic matter in the soil is essential for producing good blooms, but it is a mistake to use a lot of fertilizer at planting time. Plants come to us from nurseries with their roots pruned back to about 6” inches.
During the first season, myriads of tender hearts must be formed. These are quickly burned by contact with any unusual plant food, especially of a chemical nature.
I remove enough soil to accommodate the full spread of the roots of each plant and make a soil mound at the bottom of the hole; the plant is set on this.
I place the plant so that, when planting is complete, the bud union is an inch or two above the bed level. In due time the soil will settle, and the bud will rest at about ground level.
The roots are carefully covered with earth until the hole is nearly filled, then a bucket or two of water is poured in.
When this has drained off, the gap is filled with soil, and a mound of earth, 8” inches high, is formed around the base of the plant. I do not advocate foot-tramping of the ground after the hole is half-filled as so many rosarians do.
Spacing The Plants
If you want roses to perform their best, don’t start them off by indulging them. I prefer to space plants 24” inches apart in rows 30” inches apart. But because of limited space, my plants are about 18” inches apart.
I must admit that this compact planting, combined with the shade produced by the trees, creates a high horizon that coaxes the plants upwards to produce longer flower stems than they would otherwise. But this is an advantage when exhibiting fads favor long stems.
Shades and Pruning
Most rose plants generally appreciate afternoon shade. Large trees near rose beds should have the ground trenched between their trunks and the rose beds. All roots directed toward rose plantings should be completely severed.
With the approach of spring, the protective earth mound is gradually removed from each plant, and the crowns are hosed with oil and water. Pruning is then done to retain as much vigorous, healthy wood as possible.
To ensure exhibition blooms at the proper time, the pruning operation is staggered so that one-third of the bushes are trimmed at intervals of one week. All cuts are covered with emulsified asphalt.
Cutting Down Healthy Canes
It’s a crime to cut down healthy canes the plants put forth with such great effort the previous summer. Healthy stems are a valuable source of food supply which helps to produce first blooms of a better grade.
Small nature canes about the size of a lead pencil, normally snipped out right at the crown by many rose growers, often produce the best blooms.
If you want exhibition-type roses, only allow canes the size of a lead pencil to carry up to one bloom. Larger clubs may have two, and those of thumb size, three blooms.
Occasionally, I permit more sprouts to grow than is conducive for exhibition-type flowers, but as the apical growth shows the flower buds, I leave the best and pick off the others on weaker canes.
During the growing season, a certain amount of summer pruning is carried out. Where new basal shoots arrive and top growth flourishes, removing a certain amount of the older and weaker growth is permissible, thus favoring the remaining structure.
With the advent of winter and dormancy, the tall canes have topped a hit to protect them against wind-whipping and to facilitate winter handling.
I have no pet formula or practice for feeding rose plants. I have followed a different approach than any two years in succession.
My annual cycle goes about like this: Late each fall, I dispose of about two tubs of soot and ashes from my stoker furnace by placing a shovelful here and there in the spaces between roses.
Getting the Gypsum Out
About the first of the year, I get out the gypsum and sprinkle it over all the rose beds until the ground appears like a light snowfall. Then, around February 1, a tablespoonful of sulfate of iron for each bush is evenly scattered over the surface.
I give each rose bush a cupful of steamed bonemeal a month later. Then, during the latter part of April, a cubic yard of the best manure possible is obtained. This is not too fresh nor so old that it is leached out—about four to six months old is fine.
With a standard tined garden fork, I dig out the soil to about 4” inches and the size of a poor man’s wash basin, equidistant between two bushes. A good forkful of the manure is thrown in, spread out, and covered with soil. I call this the “hidden force.”
Spraying
The first all-purpose spraying is done in about one month. They were pruning when the flowering shoots were off to a good start.
No exact schedule is followed in spraying. It is done about every ten days. Still, there are specific periods when things look all right in the garden, and no spraying is done for as long as three weeks.
I prefer spraying to dusting and aim to get complete coverage, emphasizing the underside of the foliage. However, for occasional hurry-up patchwork, I keep a dust gun handy.
Sevin dust is used to combat a sawfly that appears during the summer. However, since it is also harmful to friendly insects, its use in the rose garden is limited.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Cleanliness and good housekeeping in the garden reduce the problem of controlling rose enemies to a minimum. It is essential to pick off the diseased leaves and those near the bottom of the plant that have yellowed, discolored, or become spotted.
All fallen leaves should be removed from the ground, and all blossoms picked as soon as they have passed their zenith.
Insect life can be discouraged and dislodged with water. Therefore, I direct the total volume of the hose at the crown of the bushes to wash away the insects that have chosen to make a breeding place in the lower part of the plant or the surrounding ground.
As winter approaches and new growth starts to let up, all spraying and insect control ceases; shortly after that, the weak and twiggy growth on each plant is cleared out, and the beds are raked clean.
Then the bud union and the ground directly around the base of the plant are given a light sprinkling with naphthalene flakes, and the crown is hilled up with soil about 4” inches above the union.
Dormant spraying with the conventional 1 to 10 solutions of lime sulfur is done about a month before the spring clean-up and pruning begins.
Summer Care
Summer care starts immediately after the cyclone of the June show has taken its toll. Plants are badly out of balance with their root system after having the long-stemmed blooms cut off for exhibiting.
The No. 1 requirement of rose plants during July and August is plenty of water. It is also advisable to let up on the fertilizing. Exhibitors’ gardens are loaded with ample remains of food to carry the plants through the season.
A diligent program of proper spraying or dusting to keep foliage in healthy condition is an essential part of summer care.
We rarely cut any blooms to further favor the plants during this rebuilding period. When a bush attempts to flower rather profusely, we nip out most of the buds as soon as they appear to preserve the plant’s vitality.
Close Survey For Exhibition-Type Blooms
To obtain show-type blooms, the following procedure is followed in our garden; it supplements the care previously described. A close survey is made of plants capable of producing exhibition-type colors five weeks before the show date.
Every new shoot is assigned top priority, from about 4” inches long to barely showing the flower bud in the apical growth. Inspection at least twice daily.
Slugs, worms, and all insects are handpicked, for a pinhole at this stage will grow with the leaf and develop into an unsightly penalizing defect by show time.
The side buds are carefully removed when the buds first emerge from the apical growth. A dime-store horsehair brush is the best tool; the wooden handle is pointed, forming a suitable implement for breaking out the side buds.
The bristle end is used to wipe off any aphids and, later, in preparing the bloom for show; it is indispensable in picking off any speck that might appear.
As the sepals start spreading, the petals of the winners-to-he must be safeguarded from thrips and insect discoloration. All spraying is stopped at this time, and a light dusting is given with Sevin every third day to prevent bud damage.
When the sepals spread further, the exposed petals need protection from rain, from the hot sun, which fades the blooms, and from particles of soot from the industrial plants in our district.
Umbrella Between Bushes
Our best protectors are umbrellas with shortened handles. One umbrella placed between four bushes usually covers six to ten blooms.
Light-colored umbrellas are best, as dark ones tend to draw the heat. They are supported by various lengths of ½” to ¾” inch steel pipe pounded into the ground.
A more straightforward cover for blooms is made by nailing a shingle to the top of a garden stake placed alongside the rose stem. The shingle is set from 6” to 8” inches above the bud and can be swung away when necessary to expose the bud to the sun.
American Rose Society’s Scoring
You need have little concern about the perfection of rose specimens if the plants have been properly sprayed, pruned, fed, and cared for.
All that is required is to choose a model with a good, well-proportioned stem, clean, undamaged foliage, and a good-sized bloom characteristic of the variety.
As recognized by the American Rose Society, the following scoring points should be considered when selecting roses for the exhibition:
- Form, 25
- Color, 25
- Substance, 20
- Stem and Foliage, 20
- Size, 10
Form means the shape and symmetry of the bloom. For example, a rose should be at the stage where the center petals retain a perfect bud form, and the outside petals are open far enough to form a symmetrically circular outline. This is described as being from 1/2 to 3/4 open.
Substance refers to the thickness of petals. Size means the bloom should be amply large for that particular variety. Stem and foliage should be clean and healthy.
Foliage should be uniformly spiraled about a branch that is strong enough to carry the bloom upright and is in reasonable proportion to it.
Cutting Roses For The Show
We cut roses for the show during the afternoon and the evening before the event. Great care is exercised in handling them to prevent damage to leaves and petals.
The flowers are set at once in containers of cold water and taken to a cool dark place in the basement. All foliage is submerged, but care is taken not to wet any part of the bloom.
Special attention is given to cleaning up the top award possibilities. If outside petals are damaged, they may be carefully removed, providing their removal does not affect the symmetrical outline.
Varieties In Each Color Class
Although I respect every variety grown in my garden because of its individuality, I would recommend for beginners the following few in each color class:
Red
- CRIMSON GLORY
- ENA HARKNESS
- POINSETTIA
- CHARLOTTE ARMSTRONG
- APPLAUSE, ROSE OF FREEDOM
- CHRISTOPHER STONE
Pink
- Snow GIRL
- ETERNAL YOUTH
- PICTURE
- THE DOCTOR
- EDITOR MCFARLAND
- DAINTY BESS (single)
- ISOBEL (single)
Yellow
- GOLDEN HARVEST
- MCGRADY’S YELLOW
- ECLIPSE
- MRS. PIERRE S. DU PONT
- LOWELL THOMAS
- PHYLLIS GOLD
- DIAMOND JUBILEE
Blend
- PEACE
- SUTTER’S GOLD
- SATURNIA
- MRS. SAM MCGRADY
- HECTOR DEANE
- MME. HENRI GUILLOT
- PRIMA DONNA.
White
- MME. JULES DOUCHE
- MCGRADY’S IVORY
- FRAU KARL D RLISCRICI
- MRS. H. M. Emir
- NEIGE PARFUM
- SNOWBIRD
- ‘MRS. HERBERT STEVENS
Among Polyanthus and Floribundas
The suitable varieties are:
- THE FAIRY, FASHION
- PINOCCHIO
- ROSENELFE
- CECIL BRUNNER
- RED RIPPLES
- MASQUERADE
Here are the names of varieties that are among the finest for exhibition types. Some of them are sparse bloomers, weak growers, and often must be budded on Rosa canina or another compatible understock to produce results.
A few may be out of commerce now. But the occasional perfect bloom makes them worthwhile for the exhibitor and connoisseur.
Red
- WILLIAM ORR
- ROUGE MALLERIN
- H. V. MACHIN
- EARL HAIG
- ROME GLORY
Pink
- DAME EDIT HELEN
- WILLIAM MOORE
- MRS. A. R. BARRACLOUGH
- MRS. HENRY MORSE.
Yellow
- SAM McGREDY
- JULIEN POTIN
- DIRECTEUR GUERIN
- PERCY IZZARD
White
- CLIMBING PAUL’S LEMON PILLAR
- MRS. FOLEY HOBBS (tea rose)
- EDITH KRAUSE
- MRS. C. LAMPLOUGH
- MRS. H. R. DARLINGTON
- EDEL
- SIR HENRY SE. GRAVE
44659 by Emelia Burke