THE AMATEUR GARDENER

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 1956, 22 May 1920, Page 3

THE AMATEUR GARDENER

. GARDEN CALENDAR. MAY. T" Average rainfall, 2.38 in. Under Glas». Plants that have finished active growth should be watered sparingly. Summer flowering plants that have gone out of bloom should be put out in a frame, to make room lor the winter and spring flowering plants. Outside Fruit trees, except peaches and nectarines, may be pruned as soon as the leaves have fallen. Cut off the asparagus tops, and lightly mulch the ground with half-rotted stable manure. Sow culinary peas and broad beans about the end of the month on a sheltered border. Lift dahlias and gladioli, and store in a cool place. Spray apricots, peaches, and nectarines with the winter formula Bordeaux mixture. Prepare ground for planting or sowing sweet peas in the spring. Get manure wheeled on to ground while the weather is dry, and dig or trench ?lt vacant ground. Put in cuttings of bush rults, roses, and hardy shrubs. ROSES. As the season for planting roses is now with us, a few remarks on the choice of varieties and planting may be of use to inexperienced, but intending, rose-growers. One of the first points to consider is the purpose for which the roses are to be grown. If it is for fine blooms for exhibition, quite a distinct type of varieties, with a fewexceptions, will have to be selected, and the after-treatment of them will be quite different from that which would be suitable for roses that are grown mainly for the beautifying of the garden and for cutting for the house. Although there are a great manv points that may be raised in favour of growing roses for exhibition, the chief of these being that the highest beauty and special qualities of the variety are only to be obtained bv concentrating the energies of the plant on a limited number of blooms, still, it is only a small minority of rose growers who confine their attention to growing show blooms. Unfortunately, very many who only desire roses that will be of the greatest use in the garden choose their varieties from blooms that they see exhibited at rose shows, which are often not at all suited for their purpose. Every year sees a large influx of new ' roses, and they artlabelled with descriptions which seem to imply that they supersede anything that has been sent out previously, so that the amateur who wishes to add a few new roses to his collection is hard put to it to know which to select. The best plan, where it is possible, is to visit the nursery during the season and to make the selection there.

In a previous note I mentioned several new varieties which I had seen growing and flowering in a rose nursery, which, I think, rosegrowers may plant "with confidence, but for the amateur who is newly starting to grow roses it will be hast to rely on the older varieties which have an established reputation, and there is a very fine selection that can be obtained. Roses that do well everywhere would include Mrs A. R. Waddel, Hugh Dickson, Lieut. Chaure, Mdme. Abel Chatenay, Betty, Chateau de Clos Vougeot, Lady Hillingdon, Lady Roberts, Caroline Testout, Souvenir de Stella (■ray. Prince de Bulgarie, Lady Waterlow, Irish Elegance, Mrs E. Willis, Antoine Rivoire, Gustave Grunnerwald, Melody, White Maman Cochet, Frau Karl Druschki, K of K, and Red Letter Day.

The rose has got the name of being a voracious feeder on farmyard manure, and a very large number of losses amongst rose plants can be put down to this reputation being taken too literally. It reminds me of a paragraph I saw a short time back, in one of the English gardening papers, I think, of an expert sweep pea grower being asked to visit a certain garden to give an opinion on the failure of a planting of

[By "AOTEA."]

sweet peas. After examining the ground with a spade he gave it as his opinion that the sanitary inspector should have been sent for, not a gardening expert. I have not found that roses, as grown in the garden, require anything beyond well worked and rationally manured ground. The soil should be dug and well broken up to a depth of two or three feet, and the lower portion should be enriched with well-rotted manure. This work should be done some time prior to planting, so that the soil may settle down. When digging the hole for planting the rose it should be made from one foot to 18 inches square, and sufliciently deep as to allow the junction of the- stock with the scion to be about an inch below the surface of the soil. Spread the roots out evenly, and as near as possible in the position in which they were originallv, working the soil well in between them, firming it well. After well covering the roots, a small handful of boncdust may be spread over the surface, and the hole filled in. Autumn and winter planted roses should only have the shoots partially shortened, and weak and cross shoots cut out, the final pruning being given at the ordinary pruning time, but spring planted roses should be cut hard back when planted. Spring planting is not to be recommended unless circumstances prevent it being done earlier. Roses that have been planted two or three vears that are not doing well, or plants that have got into a weaklv 'state, may often be improved and renovated by transplanting, cuttinr out the weak and exhausted wood and treating as advised for youm plants. While planting, especially if there are any number to be planted the roots should be carefullv covered with a damp cloth or sack, takin' them out one at a time as needed Long roots may be shortened back and anv broken or damaged portion' cut off! Do not plant standard' deeplv with the object of keepinr them upriaht. The roots should no! be more th.ui four inches below th< surface, and a sood stake should b< put in before the hole is filled in, sr as not to injure the roots, and thi stem tied loosely to it. Tt mav b' tied more firnilv when the soil haf settled. If tied too tightly at first i' mav banc the plant up instead of allowing it to settle down with the soil.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

"B s."—Your silver birch trees are, apparently, badlv affected with scale, which spreads from the wood on to the leaves, where they mostly congregate about the midrib. These insects exude a sweet, sticky substance, and the sooty covering of the leaves Is caused by a fungus which generates on this exudation. Spray the trees with kerosene emulsion made by dissolving half a pound of soap in a quart of boillns water. When thoroughly dissolved adil half a pint of kerosene and thoroughly churn up with the syringe until it forms r creamy mixture. To this add two gallon' of warm water and thoroughly spray every portion of the trees, especially the young twigs. A second spraying just before the buds burst in spring may be given il thought necessary. Gather up all fallen leaves and burn them. "Cherry Tree." —It is not possible to advise you as to what treatment would be necessary to bring your cherry tree into a fruitful condition. There are so many factors to be considered, including the age and size of the tree, the position, and soil ill which the tree is growing. Then, different varieties require different treatment as t': pruning. Possibly you have been cutting back the tree too much, causing the growth of excessive shoots in the centre of th tree. If this is so, it would be advisabh to thin this out, leaving ample room for the development of the leaves of the remaining branches; but this should not be overdone, as all cherry trees are impatient of much pruning. As to the advisability of root pruning, it would be impossible to say without seeing the tree, but it is very rarely, if ever, necessary to root prune cherry trees. Very often the cause of unfruitfuliiess is the absence of lime in the soil, and no harm will accrue, and possibly much benefit be derived, from an application of carbonate of lime forked into the soil round the trees as far as the branches extend, at the rate of Boz to the square yard.