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MANURING |
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After the soaking, manure should be applied. Whereas in the spring roses will be of good substance with very little feeding or other attention, in the autumn they need more. The ideal manure would be three inches of compost or of cow manure to which a little bone-dust and fowl-droppings have been added. Failing the bone-dust and fowl-droppings, blood-and-bone could be used. This should be followed by a very small
quantity of one of the nitrogenous chemicals, such as nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia, about four weeks before the roses are due to bloom. It could be repeated fourteen to twenty days later.
To apply insoluble artificial fertilizers and blood-and-bone mix them intimately in the desired proportions and then, sparingly and evenly, scatter them round each plant. The radius of the circle will vary with the size of the plant. The roots of large plants spread more widely than those of young or small plants. Do not throw the chemicals, for not only will they probably burn foliage on contact, but the heavier ingredients, such as superphosphate, will fly a greater distance, while the light powdery types will fall short. The ground should always be thoroughly watered both before and after applying artificial fertilizers. Most of the chemicals used for this purpose are soluble, and it is better to use them in weak solution, for they will then spread more evenly and there will be no risk of damaging the foliage, let alone the more sensitive rootlets. In any case, the soil should be wet already, from rain or watering, before any chemical solution is applied. The roses must be watered fairly heavily at regular intervals. The frequency will depend on the soil and, to a lesser extent, on the weather, particularly temperature, wind, and rain. Do not be misled by light showers; they do not soak the ground. Supplement them with artificial watering. The subject of watering is more fully discussed in Chapter XV. |
