The Radical Ylewpolnt by Ed McCaughtrie Spring Cleaning Your Roses No w that the snow has left and the d a y s are getting balmier, get out in t h e garden and putter around. If you mulched the roses last fall, carefully rake the mulch away from the stem and a llow the sun to warm up the soil and sterilize it. When the buds star t to appear then is t h e time to prune. Cut o f f all the dead wood, at least an inch below the dead part. Make sure that you cut itonan inward slant arid that the bud- eye is pointing outward. If there was not much winter kill, it is still beneficial to prune the bush for better blooms. Firsthavea good look at the plant; lwalk all arounditif youcan. Make certain that your shears are sharp. Select four or five good, healthy, s t r ong canes and cut the others out. Prune from the inside to the outside, c utting the canes back to about a foot or so. Leave the outside pointing bud at the t o p , so that the branches will g r ow outward giving you a nice sym- etrical bush. Fertilize with a quart of Imanure tea'. W h e n t he weather has warmed up about JunetIst, replace the mulch a r o u n d the stem, adding new hay as r e q u i red. Do not add grass cuttings unless you have some mulch on the s o il first. You may plant some garlic or chives around the bottom, and thus avoid the use of pesticides, especially t h ose which are supposed to 'kill the bugs as it eats the leaves. ' Suppose a child eats them? Rovers Seek Permanent Home Recently Rovers Canada, the sen- ior arm of the scout ing movement, was revived in Whitby. The ol der members of the 5th Whi tby Venturers formed the 5th Whitby Rover C r e w a n d selected the name "Lord Perrywafter Whitby's founder. Thecrewmembers are being aided by an establ ished crew in the require- ments for membership in Rover's Can- ada. T he crew holds a m ee ting every w eek,' rotating meetings among mem- b er's homes, but woutd like to find a p er manent meeting place. Since its * e stablishment last faIt, the crew has gone on severat group camps, and h a s s e ve r almore pl anned for this * spr ing. R ov ers Canada is a fraternity of the outdoos and servicewitoamemat- meeting of another crew. Phone or write to: 668-6490, 5th Whitby Rovers, 215 Colborne Street East, Whitby. WHITBY FREE PRESS, GAR DEMNINO 1he TecdcA-h Thursday, May 1l, 1972, Page Il by Sid Morris Framing the landscape If you have recently been :ast "The Station" you will have noticed a tree p lanting scheme of large proportions ha s been carried out. The trees at "The Station" really set the building off and f rame the structure. This framing is important when landscaping your yard. This isthebesttimeof the year for transplanting trees. If you go to your local nursery for either a deciduous t r e e (balled and burlapped or bare- r o o t ed) or an evergreen (balled and burlapped only), select a tree that will not cause problems later. Willow, for example, might ruin tile beds for septic tanks; lombardy pop- lars are short lived. By planting your t r e e-s a t this time of year you have on 1 y a short t ime to wai t before the soil is warm enough to hel p root grow- th. At this season of the year there is usually ample moisture too. In buying from your local nursery you are likely to purchase root-prun- ed trees. This is an operation where every two or three years, the roots are pruned by the nurseryman to1 duce a fibrous and dense ballI of r in a small area. Trees that have1 r o o t pruned can be moved with, few problems, and will adapt tot new location quickly. Whether you have a balled and lapped evergreen or bare-rooted i duous tree you should properly pare the new location. Dig a hole 1 enough to prevent cramping. pro- 'oots been very their bur- dec- pre- arge Y o u should spread the roots out. L oo s en the soil in the bottom of the hole, so new roots can establish them- se 1 v e s with ease. You couId incor- porate peat moss in the bottom of the hole aswell as some well-rotted man- ure and some superphosphate thor- oughly mixed wi th the soif. P lant the tree the same depth that i t w a s growing in the nursery row. This depth can be determined by look- ing at the soil stain on the tree trunk. T h e next s t e p is placing the top s o i I ar o und the roots, making sure that you tamp the soil. This will el- i m.i n ate air pockets. Be sure to add water to the hole as you are filling it. W hen planting a B&B. (balled and b u r I apped tree, take the same steps describedabove. Before you begin to f i 1 1 in the hole around the soil bail, untie the burlap and fold it down in- side the hole. S u p p ort y o u r transplanted tree with either stakes or guy wires, this preventsthe tree from swaying in the wind as the roots can grow and anchor the tree firmly. The supports should be left on for two years. When using wire to support your tree make sure a piece of old water hose is over the w i r e where i t encircles the tree to' p r e v e n t it from becoming girdled by the w ire. You should try to balance the bran- ch system with the root system. The r e as on for this is water lost by the I eaves is great, and if the roots that are present can't absorb enough wat- er, the tree has a hard time to estab- 1 i s h i t self. B&B evergreens do not need this special treatment. Questions may be sent to Sid Mor- ris C/O W h i t b y F r ee Press, Post Office Box 206, Whitby. 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