GARDEN TOPICS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 123, 9 March 1950, Page 3

GARDEN TOPICS

AMONG THE FLOWERS Written for the “Guardian" by A. F. MORGAN. N.D.H. (N.Z.). F.R.I.H. (N.Z.I The season for the queen of the autumri flowers, the chrysanthemum, is fast approaching and it is a critical time for these plants, especially where they are being grown in pots or tins for exhibition purposes. Most varieties have now reached their maximum growth and will he producing the tiny buds at the tips of the stems and these have to be “taken” as soon as large enough to handle. The natural thing for the plant to do is to produce a bud, and almost simultaneously commence to start into growth a number of lateral-shoots surrounding the bud and at all the axils,of the leaves all the way down the stem. When a large exhibition flower is desired, all these side laterals have to he removed, particular care being taken with those surrounding the young bud so Ithat it is not. damaged. This treatment means that we have a single flower bud left to each branch on the plant, and in the case of large exhibition varieties, they are usually limited to two or three branches. The same varieties are in many cases grown more for decorative plants, in which case 20 or more branches were allowed to develop earlier in the season, but the same process of removing all side laterals, in particular those surrounding the bud has to be carried out from now on. Both types of plant whether “decorative” or for exhibition purposes, being grown in pots, will by how have used up most of the food contained in the receptacles, and liquid feeding has to be provided in some form to complete tlfe maturity of the bloom. Excess feeding when the buds are very will caus'e such a rush of nourishment to the young bud that it will in many cases simply rot off. Feeding should be withheld until the bud is well developed, or even to the stage where it is just beginning to show colour. Liquid cow and sheep manure can he given alternately from this stage, once a week, but the liquid should be diluted to

the colour of weak tea and never applied when the pots are over dry. A half sugar sack of old soot can be suspended in a half-drum of water, and this liquid given in conjunction with the liquid manure is also a useful tonic.

. Plants grown in pots should be given all the air and sunshine possible to ripen foliage and stems, as they will of course have to go under cover, whether a glasshouse or covered framework, as soon as the buds begin

to unfurl. Chrysanthemums which have been grown too soft are apt to produce flabby flowers and are sub-

ject to all kinds of disease when put under cover for the finishing off process. In all cases it is a wise precaution to give a good covering spray, particularly on the undersides of the leaves, with a sulphur or Bordeaux preparation a week before the plants are housed.

Some interesting research work has been done with chrysanthemums to determine their reaction to light and dark insofar as this affects their time of flowering. Photo periodism is the scientific term given to this reaction and is simply the property -which plants possess of reacting more or less in accordance with the duration of daily light. In comparison with other plants the chrysanthemum has a very definite reaction to changes in the duration of light during its growing period, and an understanding of this phenomenon will help the grower to make the most of his plants, particularly if growing for exhibition. The chrysanthemum requires short periods of light, and long periods of darkness for flowering, being in fact a “long night plant.” If the period of darkness is broken for an hour in the middle of the night, the plant behaves a a if the days were long, and the shorter the period of darkness the longer the plant takes to produce buds until a point is reached where bud formation is prevented. Thus if plants are coming on too fast, it is possible to retard flowering by giving an hour’s illumination in the middle of the night, for the required period, before the buds appear. The extra light needed to retard flowering need only be very weak, even a 75-watt lamp at 3 feet being sufficient. The more powerful the light the shorter the break in darkness needs to be. On the other side of the scale, to speed up flowering of backward plants, limiting daylight (by means of black cloth or other methods) to 8 hours per day until the buds have formed will be effective.

Chrysanthemums grown in the open garden simply as a garden plant do not of course require all this specialised treatment. They do, however, require a certain amount of disbudding if well-formed flowers suitable for picking are required. They will have been pinched back twice during the growing season, or allowed to branch at will, in which case when the buds are produced at the tips of the branches they will be found in most cases to be surrounded by a number of subsidiary birds. To produce good decorative flowers of reasonable size all these subsidiary buds should be rubbed off as soon as large enough to handle, leaving only the main or terminal bud to develop. These outside grown plants can of course be encouraged to provide a better and bigger, display by an application of liquid manure, as recommended for the larger flowered kinds. Routine

Bulb planting of all kinds of spring and early summer flowering bulbs should be completed this month if possible. Dead heads must be removed regularly from all flowering plants to prolong the display as late into the autumn as possible. New lawns can be sown this month, but is worth while putting in a little extra work, tramping, raking, and levelling before the actual sowing. Gladioli ,can be lifted and properly dried off as soon as the top growth has turned yellow. Vegetable Garden There is generally a lot of cleaning up work required in the kitchen garden at this time of the year. Onions and shallots should be harvested and any herbs required for winter use. A bed for next season’s onions could be prepared, ready for sowing early next month. All refuse, providing it is not diseased, should be composted and any vacant ground dug over and sown in a green crop. Winter greens will still require spraying to control caterpillars and should be kept cultivated and well supplied with water. Celery and leeks will also require plenty of water from now on.