Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 156, 1 July 1916, Page 17

Practical Gardening.

By DIANTHUS.

Correspondents idU greatly oblige by observing the fotlcncing isles in terming questions (or in ihtse columns: — 1. Letters should be addressed Garden Editor "Star" Office Auckland - 2. Write or.c one side of the payer, and make all communications as concise as po&sille 3 Floyxn, etc., sent jar naming r,ui3t be sent separately and, if possible, packed in a tin or tcooden box — ccrdbocrd bores are very lieblc to be broken in transit and the contents damaged. -f. The full TJime α-tid address of trie sender mxst aluays be sent, but a Sara dc plume or initial may he given for publication.

TKE WEEK'S WOEK. i THS FLOWEB GARDEN. Tie weather of the last week has pet a ; " stop to most otrtdior garden, work. J It is a mistake li ge: on the ground while i ' It is sodden. " I x When the soil Is of a Ugh: volcanic or i i Eaady nature it can be worked sooner after ! iret weather than hear- soil. I . To plant when the ground is wet and i T cold, aa it is just no— Is taking risks of ; fa&se. If aaj- planting operations are on hand i , Postpone for a time till the ground gets ! , somewhat drier. ' , There will tie some jobs which can be rasae fast now without tarm, and with a| r certain amount of comfort. Xcok over begooias, gloxinias, and any Each like stored bulbs 'Jleai off sou:e or i • the dry earth, and be careful to watch for ' aij.signs o' decaj. Should any bnlbg show signs of cecay i Ktape ou the decayed portion and then oress the wound with powdered cnarcoai and sniphnr in equai parts. Seed boses should be mezded, and any ones required shoaid be made so as to E's ready when the time arrives. *eed boies with loose bottoms are a long "7 aiead of the older s:t!w The method «£*** was give, ia tta- colamns on Labels should be cleaned and new ones lEade. There are kuids of materials and various shapes recommended but there is Do lalel to beat the woodea tally. ' A piece of striisht-grained wood, sech as 6in or Sin long and lia -vide and one-eighth of an inch thick, smoothed with a pocket knife and pointed a' one end, is an that is reqaired." ilanp paint tie label some time prerious to asiag. This, in the case of a coloured such as totara, U a very good plan. Bm -K-nea about to write on the label, wnetnar painte-i or not. rnb a !l".!e fresh Paint on rie fact of it witli a peiceof rag. Tnen write on the w« nalct wi:n an ordinary black lead pencil. When the paint dry you a lave; lte ali Which will be legible for 12 months. .Labels written ia this manner hare carried the writing for many years, and that Jyi o ,' ll the lo£ patent nks or lnoeilble pencils. The writing must, however, be done on if^' sl pa!nt: U wiu Eot l bzli the time " the paint Is dry. This is a good time to get the paths cleans Cr, hf,d?es rut aud It Is also a cood time tn go ovpr the lawn isd dig out any ; n .-it the-e Some say that a wrr'i:- lawn cannot be Prevented. This k The wee-la can he k*pt out of the lawn Just a- they «c kept out ~f a fI,, WPr ~.,, ~a !e v toat many lawns are .11 W ,.«i.,, an ,i to wke OM_. Je -xetdi wotH b<. ;bp end of the armful of stakes to [■? :>i in'am! the »*!» rotted off the stakes, and have to you caa stake the pants. lowe- i<in QOt f Very ew">l*e- end if the It wnni/V i ° a Ht:lke were ■lipped in tar 'twould last three times as long.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. There is Little that can be done ia tiis section, except digging and trenching. The weather has been such that even these operations have been at a standstill, work /**?n be done as well during wet weather as fine, but after a. spell or wet. "wintry weather, as vre have ju?t hail. ir is a mistake to attempt any ground wart Fcpy ; -<iiy does this apply If the ground Is ai 2.U inclined to be* heavy, and even j<with light land It is so cold and saturated ; , that it" is best left alone. Any fruit tree.- tha: require pruning can be done If this work is sot ovpr ci-w it will allow a start to be made with och«-r work when tie ronditions are more suitable. Pruned now the winter spfay cm be got on when the weather is favourable, for fruit trees are useless if they are not sprayed. If the tree is making too much wood ar.d no; bearing froir, do not prune too I hard. ', N'on-miting may be due to eicesstve i wood growth, Iα which case do aot prune ! too severely. Or root pruning may be required, in which case now is the proper time for tie operation. Or it ir-ay be drie to eterilky. Many of o~- varieties of apples, and particularly pears, are self-sterile, and need to be planted In close proximity to other varieties, so tha; foreign pollen can be procured to set the blossoms. In this case the only core is to plant *ome other variety near to the self-sterile variety or as ia sometimes done, graft a branch'of another variety on the tree. The popnlir variety of pear. Williams" Bo" (Tbretl&a. is a particular offender in this respect, and a crop Is seldom obtained unless other varieties of p.;ars are in bloom at the same time. "Whatever variety or varieties are planted for this pnrpose make sure thdt they bioorn the «une time. This information can easily be obtained from the nurseryman who supplies the trees. ATTENTION TO TREES. Keeping the irroacd,c:ear about the roots of trees and shrubs assists their growth, while there is as muca need to keep the I surface of a shrubbery stirred with the hoe a≤ there is in the case of beds m a kitchen or flower garden. 1 OVEBCEOWDING TREES, ETC. Overcrowding of trees and shrubs, whether on lawn or in shrubberies, is o be avoided, and tn those instances where I dense planting has been encouraged for 'the sake of Immediate effect, care must be 1 i tak*n to thin the plants out ' i otherwise instead of obtaining well-de- ' ! vSoped specimens the great majority will ' , be badly furnished with branches.

_ . - , FOTTTKG. Though it may seem a. simple matter, j there is a good deal ot art ;a potting plants properly. The pot 3 should be ■.vrjl usm? for t'.ni purpose pieces of broken pot.-, crockery, or rouga icoria, placing or.o piece over ho!e in the bottom of the pot. A litt'.r.-' nio-s or roush material of son;s kind next be ovnr the crocks to keep the soil from boinz washed down and the drainagi T'laa put on an inch or so of soil before placing the plant in position, and Sll h with, the

rype require to be potted very firmly, md a rammer or potting stick should be used to Srm the soil. Soft-wood plants •zener-aily do not need to be potted so tirmlv. and in some cases should be comparatively" locso. The illustration shows exactly how a plant should be turned out of its pot for purposes of examination. l-'i<rar<> C eb.o-.vj the correct placing of the drainage, one larir* , piece of crock beinz shown witr thc'hdHow side downwards (as it wouk be were the plant replaced in the pot. a; at D>. Thb should always be s-uflici ently large to well cover the drainagi

j hole at the bottom of the pot, and any i' : other material for drainage, such a3 |' I smaller erodes, should surround it, while,' j a little moss should be placed above it. i 'so that the compost mar not be washed; 1 ' through. This latter, it of proper con-j ] stituents. can hardly be made too firm, j by fair means, but a soil composed solely of heavy garden loam will have its ! porosity endangered if rammed about. the roots with undue vigour. In all pot- j ting operations, see that the root£ of j the plants are laid out in the soil, that j is to say. t'acy should not have the j soil thrown on them, but among them. ] It ia wise, also, generally, to finish off with a surfacing of sand, while the com- . post should be slightly lower at the rim ■j of the pot than at the collar of the: I ph.-' ■ J

compost., pressing tbL* down rather firmly ; with the fingers until the pot is nearly | bu: not quite ru'.l. i see Fig. 4.1 I It the pot is overfilled, as at Fig. 1. insufficient room is left for watering,] while, ii not full enough, the pot does; not contain enough soil, and in. som.: ] cases there ii a liability of the plant gettins too much water. Fig. :J depicts a plant potted on one side, a clumsy way. bat one often seen. Fig. 4 shows a plant potted properly. The soil s-houM be kept about three-quarters of ai. inch below the top edge of the pot. Something will depend upon the state of the soil "or compost. If it U eufliciently " rough" or porous, comparatively little drainage will be reqeirpd. but if at all fine and " close. - ' plenty should be given. Plants of the hardwocded or shrubby

occasional <iose of water during very dry weather will keep them going, and the leai mulch -will prevetrD excessive drought. The best manure to use for them is cow manure, although as a. rule it is not often required; should any be required use caw manure, either in solid form as a top dressing or mixed with the soil, or a3 a liquid stimulant during the sunmer. Very little pruning, if any, is ever required by these plants, but there is one operation -which is almost essential, and that is the dead blooms should be ! -picked off as soon cs they fade, 1 and tlras prevent the iormation of Eeed I pods. The rhododendron is a very free I seeder, and if left to develop the quantity of seed pods that usually set on a plant it will ee-vntualiy be the cause or I the plant dying during a spell of dry , weather.

B.HODODETTDBONS. The Auckland district cannot be considered the best for the cultivation of this beautiful section of plants. Nevertheless, although it is not possible to excel it is possible to grow one or two plants, providing that fare aa-d atten- ! tioii is given. The <:hief essential-to be ■observed i= that there Is no lkne in the soil. The best method is to dig oet a hole, three or four feet across, and a-bout eighteen, inches deep. This should be tilled with a mixture of turfy] loam and leafsoil in about equal parts.; the soil should ba well finned. When; planting see that the roots are kept near the surface, these plants being surface rooters. To prevent the roots gettins dried out by hot eun or drying winds a heavy mulch ot dead leaves [ should be kept on top of the soiL Aa

AMERICAN BLIGHT OK ■WOOLI-γ c APHIS. j s The woolly or cottony substance which \ j may be noticed in patches on sole apple j trees ie the hidin:i j place or covering i material of a most destructive species of < : aphides, known aj woolly aphis. or i I American blight. The white substance , ■ which covers the insects serves as a pro- j i tf.-ti'.-e shield for th<-m. and linder it they '■ pierce the tissues and suck the sap from j i the tree. The growth below this usually becomes swollen and cankered, and the , branch becomes prematurely gnarled and . -racked, with the result that it passes , beyond the era of productive satisfaction. The insects hide in the crevices of the bark, or in the soil about the roots. Several generations are produced in one year, so that if steps are not taken to ; check them the numbers increase at an ' aUtnniag rate. The young insect ia pink in colour, and covered wi£h dorm. The mature insect is brownish, and when crashed emit 3 a reddish fluid. As the winter comes on, the females lay one egg each, then die beside them, their bodies . acting as a protective covering during the winter. Larvae are born of these in the spring, and soon become flies, and . winged females carry the in-feetion from j one tree to another during summer. Some i varieties of apples are immune from : these insects, and possible these j varieties should be chosen, and when ' buying apple trees they shoaki atways be ; procured worked on Northern Spy stocks, j as the roots of this variety are immune from the insect. Where, however, varieties have been planted, and are attacked by this aphis, and it i≤ not expedient to destroy the tree, measures of prevention | should be taken. When there are only one or two trees, or if there are only one or two patches of aphis to be seen, an easy method of eradication is to paint the colonies with methylated spirits, using an ordinary paint brush. When, however, this is too large a job, spraying should "be resorted to; the best spraying fluid is an oil spray, procurable from all seedsmen. There are several kinds on the market, such, as Harbas red spraying oil, but almost any are good. The spray should be put on during the winter, and then, if the trees are carefully watched during the summer, and the methylated spirits and a brush used as soon as a colony is seen, this insect can be kept in check. The advantage of using methods of keeping this insect in checki is that varieties of apples which are not immune can be grown, and as some of the best of our varieties come under this heading the advantages will be obvious. CARNATIONS. The following are twelve good varieties of carnations for the ordijiary garden. They are not all show blooms, but they are varieties that do well and throw a good quantity of good, useful blooms. Many of our present-day varieties are excellent for -'show" purposes, but are useless for the garden. There is at present such a large range of colours in the carnation that it is hard to pick out twelve that would be suitable to all tastes. The following, however, can be taken as a very suitable representative twelve: they are ail good growers, and are varieties that will produce blooms under adverse circumstances: — Border Yellow.— This is one of the new varieties, but it is undoubtedly the best of the yellows for the borders; the majqrity of yellow carnations seem to have an inherent weakness. Gordon Douglas, crimson self —this is one of the best of its colour. Jean Douglas.—A large, well-formed

scarlet self, carried erect on it tout steins. ' Linkman.—A yellow ground barred i .-ith brig-ht scarlet; a good grower, ami i reduces lino blooms. Mrs. Andrew Brotherstone. — White -round, heavily spotted and splashed rith purple. A strong grower, having | cry large 'Jowers on stout stems, standQ™ the weather well. Ro3v ilorn.—A fine rose, self, of good ortn. v Takapuna.—A beautiful white self, one )f the whites ia commerce; strong grower, large blooms, and gives blooms jver a long period. Mrs. Byron Base.—This is a strongITowing variety, the colour is a. yellow rround. marked an-d striped scarlet. One jf the best, and euitable for any garden. Montrose.—A white ground, marked with bright scaxlet. A very strong n-ower, and always give 3 good blooms. ' Sam Weller. — A beautiful yellow ground, with crimson aad purple marking; gives fine blooms and in abundance Silver Fox. —A unique variety of a beautifnl mauve colour, with, silvery sheen. Xeeds shading, otherwise brooms soon spoil.