Show 10 fl our wn 9 PRUNING ROSE JIOSE BUSHES Bush roses require pruning each spring before they start into active growth This is necessary not only for the health and long life of or the bush but also for lor the sake of or the blooms since h hybrid brid tea and hybrid per perpetual roses bear flowers only on stems which grow this year ear B By cutting cutting cut cut- ting back the old branches of at last year we encourage long longer r new shoots hoots to o grow this year ear each one with its fine ine large blossom A rose bush which has been left to grow as it several years will usually have a tangled mass of or thin weak shoots those in the center dead or dying o of starvation star and lack of air and sunlight and it will produce yearly a larg number of at small in in- tenor flowers on stems only two or three inches long Such a neglected specimen requires drastic treatment to o bring it out of the dumps Every ery thin weak shoot mu must t be cut cutaway cutaway cutaway away right at the ground A pair a of proper pruning shears or must be used too no kitchen scissors or old cas case knife fe You cant can't expect to o do a good job with bad tools Leave anI only three or four of the finest strongest shoots This will seem m like a cruel massacre to the uninitiated but it is the only wa way to bring that old rose bush back to its pristine beauty The motto with such neg- neg bushes in connection with the he pruning shears must be Treat em cm rough Even roses which have been pruned after a fashion or those which have had pIo proper r attention every year ear may have thin shoots this spring which are better taken entirely entirely en- en irely away from the plant They serve no purpose if left there They will only give poor flowers rs and it is better etter to remove them and let their str strength go o to the stronger branches which will provide you with some really fine ine blooms After Alter this thinning out has been completed there still remains the shortening of each shoot to be done We shorten th the tha branches so that we wema ma may as s nearly as s is humanly po si ble dictate J just t what sort of or ros roses s u that bush will give On a short ban branch reduced to three e eyes es only we e will have three thre new shoots with fine me large exhibition sized blooms On un a longer branch with six or seven eyes we would have six or seven shorter new shoots each with Its J flower of 01 smaller Proportions- Proportions good e enough ough for garden display but lot ot prize r Winners at a reputable show sh u must decide in the thc shortening short short- ening the K want f w r but branches whether you excellent ent roses or many nf of t a poorer quality t To Tomorrow Tomor- Tomor orr or- or r row w thIs shortening horten ng process will be dIScussed 10 in detail Queries Mrs I. I H IL Salt Lake Ct City writes n t es I enjoy your our daily articles a ver very much Please Pleas tell start me this In start Ing a C Perennial border is it t b better It to to have t the e plants plank close clos tog together the or wIth a wIde space between cae cach h s so soAn that we ma may dig among amon t them h em easIly My husband d. d 1 with this point I me on An Ans Ans I 1 like the pcr perennials r reason reason- ason ably close for many reasons The effect is far better if one has a large mass apparently unbroken by bare patches patch s of ot earth Also the close proximity of or each plant means that thai the ground will be kept shaded and therefore moist and you OU wont won't have to water so frequently One can still cultivate with a narrow hoc hoe made especially for lor the purpose |