THE GARDEN.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 100, 26 April 1912, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

CBy EOBTCS.) ' [Hortns Is willing to answer any .queries. I Correspondents must give their real names and addresses, though cot. for publication. TO COBBESPONUZ-\TS. Planting Fruit Tress (ZealaEdia). — is no; j advisable to plant tall fruit trees in small ! areas; an ordinary apple or pear tree , when it attains fnil size would cover the . fciface you mention.' but yon might plant ; two apple and two pear trees and tra_n ; them as dwarfs. When .ruu nave pruned them into siiope they will give you very . little trouble. You can prepare the ground i I f'>r them now bo as 10 get it into order ' before tile planting season. The apple ! trees you can train in cup .form and the j pears in pyramidal shape. About the beginning of June you could go to one o£ the local nurseries and state what class of trees you want; the nurseryman could supply you with exactly what yon require in view of The limited sp."<:r. Ashes and Burned Rubbish. (G.B.V —(11 Burned earth is usual] of a reddish colour. The ashes from all buroed vegetable matter is first-class material to be used as a fertiliser for all garden produce, especially for bulbs. Ashes and burned earth can be- scattered over the surface of the soil and mixed in round the bulbs, etc, with the hoe or fork. The rains will soon wash the manurlal ingredients in the ashes to the roots of the plants. Yon can add any of the quicklydissoivtng artificial manures. These should only be used when your plants are growing strongly. (2) Seeds will germinate in a stable. shed, or wasahoose under a calico covering, without the direct rays of the son "being on them, 'bat, after they have started to grow they toast have as much sunlight as possible, cowering them at night to Seep them from the cold until they are strong enough to foe hardened off for ■planting out. If you have your young plants -in .conveniently sized boxes. take them out when the sun shines, and ■bring them into shelter before the en .11 of evening, and keep tiiem in -when damp and rainy weather prevails. (3) As I have stated above, wood ashes are among the fertilisers thai can be used with much advantage, but on no account distribute coal j ashes over your garden, nor use them in • any other wav than for the making of ! paths. (4't Some gardeners at Home place I fine moss on the pot* and seed pans to assist in the germination cf fine seeds. I ' think that it would be better for you xo j use your supply of moss in placing it in j the bottom "of pots, and pans to help the drainage. Black Fly (A.8..P.I — If the fly is not an aphis infesting' the leaves then it is one That breeds in decaying vegetable maisvr I in the soil. Scrape away the loose soil. j give a water. with permanganate of . i potash, of about the strength of weak tra. { j afterwards adiiics a iittle pood petting! compost if necessary. Do not. however, I disturb the roots at this season. (21 We | .presume the "' Elephant's Ear" lily is t!:0 ( Arum or Calla lily. Pot-in ?ood ordinary i loamy soil. with one-tb-rn decayed manure i I added. Plare in a : "-.liii window, and , . water modeiately tini.i growth is free. | when larger Quantities ran be given. : ■When in full growth, if vigorous, water I very freely. HI2CTS. An effective way o; growing hyacinths is to place a bulb in a bin. pot of suitable soil, and then plunge the pot into the j garden soil. As soon as fie bulb begins ! to send up its green shoot, cover the pot with another .of similar size, inverted of [ course. This forces the centre spike, ! which produces the flower, and you thus ! secure an evenly balanced plant. If the { plant is not covered at first you will find : that the grass or leaves grow, and the flower spike remains dwarf, and the result is a poOT-lookimg specimen. The object aimed at is to have a nice looking plant which you can bring into the house and use as a table decoration. The requirements of dndaox plants are I not very exacting just now. The water ! supply is the chief its™r:- - Flasts an--co©! rooms should not be over-watered, and I in case of frosts it is better to allow ; them to become almost dry. Those in j rooms -.rith fire and gas or lamp dry j much more rapidly, and will need daisy j attention. Also tpon:re. the leave* of j plants other than terns every three or | tour ■weeks to remove dust. Always use tepid water during winter. Bulbs in water or pots must have all the light possible, a=, they are making free growth |' Deciduous plants should have enough i water to keep the .-oil from drying, and I they may stand in any out-of-the-way j corner to make room for other subjects. Keep a keen look-out for green-fly, which likes to get on the under sides of leaves, and i≤ often unnoticed till a sickly yellowness appear;. \ The propagation of bedding plants j now, or in May, nrjsl be attended to in j earnest -by all -who wish to secure strong stocks of cuttings ior carrying through' j the winter, and to make cut-tings in | spring. In these modern days they are j often" placed on temporary shelve? in j greenhouses and pits owing to the. ?pacs j required for pot plants; to be used for | the decoration of the home. It becomes i imperative to have them well established j before the early winter months. This is the case particulajrl? in regard to alternantheras eoleus and such tender subjects but it applies to aIL Verbenas, petunias and soft plants must be struck from cuttings taken from near the base of the j plant not from the flowering parts-, eacn j must be cut across below tie lowest leaf j and the above next two or three reaves ; stripped off the cutting so that when it J is inserted in sandy soil having an all- J sand surface no portion of a leaf is i buried in. To propagate successfully *ome amount | of bouom. hoi! i;- advisable for most plants and a still quiet- atmosphere. It is no- i-o necessary that there, should b< , a. glass covering indoor?, but still it. i? an "<irlvanta.se. Violpt plants should be deprived of al! , side shoot*, many of which will _be fount growing around them. Though this is particularly necessary in Conner- , tion with double - flowered varietie* grown on for transposing to frame* — The Czar and other single flowered varieties, etc., crown m rows lor flowering in winter—it is. an plicable to all outdoor pat-he.?, even the. ; small Russian type, plants of which never ; bloom so freely 'a? they otherwise would j do. if runners were prohibited, also over- : crowding. i