LIME FOR ROSES

Evening Star, Issue 22685, 26 June 1937, Page 23

LIME FOR ROSES

When rose bushes are doing well, the production of branches and blooms that have to be renewed each year, owing to pruning, uses up a large quantity of the nourishment in the soil. This is usually replaced by frequent applications of farmyard manure and chemical fertilisers. If this is not done, the subsequent growth and production of blooms suffer. Continuous' dressings of manure, however, can be overdone and will cause the soil to become sour, owing to the lime content being used up* This acidity can be rectified byidressing the ground now with one of the non-caustic limes. These are clean, easily handled, and are specially prepared for garden use; they may bo applied without the trouble and bother of slaking which is necessary with quicklime. A one hun-dred-weight bag will- contain enough for quite a large area of soil, if the lime is applied at the rate of about 21b to each square yarqi. This quantitywill be sufficient for a whole season. , The lime is roughly spread over the beds, a shovel being used for the purpose, and it will do no harm if it falls on the bushes. A more even distribution may be affected by raking the lime into the soil, or it may be lightly pricked in by means of a _ garden fork. If a rake is used to distribute the lime, it-is a good plan tq prick over the soil first. A mulch of manure may be applied after pruning is finished, for by that time most of the lime will have sunk into the soil, so it will not be likely to liberate the useful ammonia content of the manure. Lime is an excellent tonic for impoverished soils, for it releases the nitrates, phosphates, and potash from manures applied previously. It also assists the bacteria which render organic matter in the soil available to crops, and is a valuable plant food. It makes heavy soils warm and porous, and kills many of the fungoid pests that aro dormant in the soil. Wood is necessary in rose tPfees, and lime is essential for its production. In sour soils it is more valuable than manure.—‘ Popular Gardening,’ London. : . ■ ■ • ■