Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 11, 12 January 1918, Page 16

Practical Gardening.

By DIANTHUS.

Correspondents will greatly oblige by observing the following rale* t» tending questions for publication in these columns: — J. Letters should be addressed Garden Editor "Star" Office Auckland 2. Write ore one side of the paper, and make all communications am concise as possible 3 Flowers, etc., sent for naming must be sent separately and, if possible, packed in a tin or wooden box — cardboard boxes are very liable to be broken in transit and the contents damaged. 4. The full name and address of the sender must always be sent, but • nam de plume or initial may be given for publication.

TO CORRESPONDENTS. W.E.C., Remuera. —The grubs are those ef the Daddy Longlegs or Crane fly, Tipula oleracea. These leatherjackets, as they are called, are very destructive. They feed on the roots and underground stems of various plants, and may possibly attack the youug rootlets of roses. They can scarcely "be held responsible for the condition you represent Frau Karl Drusehki rose as being in. the plant not showing any signs of growth, the wood being rather dry and brown outside, probably dead. The grubs are best combated by nitrate of soda, loz per square yard, scattered evenly on the surface of the ground and left for the rains to wash in. The nitrate stupefies the grubs so that they cease from feeding and gradually collapse. For roses, however, a better dressing is equal parts of nitrate of lime and dissolved bones, which may be applied now with advantage at the rate of 2oz per square yard, after rain. This is liest for sandy soils; for clayey soil, 1 part sulphate of ammonia anil 1 part double superphosphate is advised; and for chalky or limestone soils, 1 part 'Peruvian guano, 1 part dried blood, and 1 part double superphosphate. TAHORA, Remuera.—No doubt the reason of the leaves and fruits of the Cape gooseberries falling is the effects of an attack of red spider. Cape gooseberries are very liable to this pesi, which Is particularly a hot, dry weather pest. With the advent of rain and moist conditions the plants will no doubt revive again, and carry a crop. However, I should advise you to gather all fallen leaves and fruits, and spray the bushes with lime sulphur s °, 1>0rt8 " <3ive turee SV™?Th£ C,i" tervals J* a w€ek m ten days. sbeUe??r„ m eo^, eb , ecr y »« to prefer midday §gj 3Kas«V« Irora the time- In'f-ioV it ill r ln tne summer Oo"ns at aTtt&i""? Sf^aS - " the garden notes lnterestlnf LP? n ? and worth saving for e t e *«»| g^ggO;

J.S., Remuera.—This Is the fault that is noticeable on many passion fruit vines: the shrivelling of fruits during the midsummer. No doubt it is somewhat due to the plant carrying more fruit than it can keep supplied with food, or a poor loot system. I am presuming that only some of tbe fruits shrivel and not the . whole crop. If the latter is the case then I should say. without seeing either fruits or plants, that there is something vvrong with the roots. Let mc know If ail the fruit on one particular vine Is affected; if it is growing with other vines which are not or only partly affected also send along an affected fruit, and I will try to give yon further information on the subject. HERBACEOUS CALCEOLARIAS. The herbaceous or greenhouse calceolaria is one of the most useful and popuilar decorative plants when well grown. It is a mistake to sow too early, as it is rather difficult to keep large plants moving slowly but steadily during the winter, and this is the secret of success. A good time to sow is about the end of the present month. Take a perfectly clean pot or pan; put in a good amount of drainage, and then fill with a mixture of leaf mould, loam, and sand, in about equal proportions. Pass all through a quarter-inch sieve and well mix. As the seeds of the calceolaria are among the very minutest of all seeds, it is necessary to provide a very smooth, level surface on which to sow them. It is best to water the pans an hour or so before sowing the seeds. Scatter very thinly, and only cover with a pinch of silver sand. Cover the pan with a sheet of glass, and shade from the sun—a handful of damp moss on the glass makes a good shading. If this is done, no more water will be [required until germination has taken

place. Set the pan in a cool, shady position, whore it is protected from all sunshine. Remove the moss immediately the young Beedlings show, which will be in ten days or a fortnight, but keep from sunshine. As soon as the plants are large enough they should be transplanted into boxes of a similar compost, and kept shaded. 'Insect pests are the chief trouble, and the plants, as soon as they are of any size, should be fumigated about every three weeks. BROCCOLI. In planting out broccoli and Brussels sprouts choose ground that is not too rich—that which has borne some other crop previously. Do not dig the soil; clear off the weeds, and then plant. The harder the soil the better, as this tends to keep the plants short and stocky, and consequently they are better able to stand the winter, and give a better return. BUDDING FRUIT TREES. It often happens that an otherwise promising tree hits lost one of its branches from the main stem, which quite spoils its symmetrical appearance. This can be remedied by inserting a bud of the same variety in the vacant space.' This is best done during dull weather, and can be done at any time now. The proper time is when the bark lifts easily and cleanly from the stem. Buds from half-ripened wood are the best. Make an incision in the bark the shape of the letter T. Carefully lift the bark, and insert the bud without in way damaging it. Bind it up with raffia sufficiently tight to exclude water and air. The buds should lie dormant till next spring, when they will break away and grow. RAISING CYCLAMEN FROM SEED. The cyclamen is one of the best plants for amateurs to grow, and it is not a difficult subject to manage if a few ! points are properly attended to, and, as it is an autumn, winter, and early spring flowering plant, it is doubly welcome, for there are 60 few flowers at that time of the year. The plant is quite hardy about Auckland, and oven further 60uth, as it will stand a few degrees of frost without damage. The best time of the year to sow the seed is as soon as it is ripe and can be procured. Most people are more or lesß in the hands of the seedsman, and the}' have to wait till the seed can be obtained. However, the present month (January) is a good time to sow seed. Sow in boxes or pans filled with soil oomposcd chiefly of leaf soil and sand. What is required is a light, well-drained soil, and if no other is forthcoming use the ordinary garden soil, with addition of plenty of sand. Put plenty of drainage in the bottom of the box or pan, and make the soil level and firm. Place each seed singly about an inch apart, and just press it into the soil with the thumb. Cyclamen seed is a fair size, and, as a rule, there are not a great many in a packet, so the sowing singly is not such a great job as it appears. Lightly cover the seed, water, cover with a piece of glass, and shade from the sun. A cool, shady position is what is required, where the box can be kept moist without too much watering. The glass is recommended as a covering to prevent excessive evaporation and heavy rains washing out the seeds. As soon as the seedlings show through they should be transferred to another box filled with a similar light sandy soil, and placed in a cool, moist, shady position. Cyclamen seed is of somewhat erratic germination, weeks often intervening between the germination of the first and last seed. By sowing singly and transplanting a« aoon as large enough the opportunity is given for every seed to germinate.

BUDDING. Budding of fruit treee and roses is an interesting operation, which is best carried out during January and February. The exact time depends largely upon the weather, for, in addition to having the buds in the right condition, it is most important that the sap should be flowing freely in the stocks, so that the bark can be easily separated from the stem to allow the insertion of the buds. Wet weather encourages the flow of cap, and should the weather be dry it may be necessary to give the stocks a good watering. If possible a showery period should be chosen, as the bark is then in a much

Sboof Containing Buds Incision in Bark Required. of Stock. better condition. The selection of buds is a matter of considerable importance;• they should be neither too old nor too young. Vigorous, healthy, medium-sized wood of the current season's growth should be chosen. The best buds are usually found about midway on a shoot of the present year's growth. In addition buds shouid be taken off the best and most characteristic tree, in the case of fruit trees off the tree which carries the best fruit and is the most regular cropper, for individual trees vary. Having obtained the growth containing the buds, remove the leaves, leaving half an inch or so of the stalk at each bud.

How to Cut a Bud. To cut out the buds a sharp budding knife should be used, and inserted below the leaf stalk, in preference to commencing at the top of the bud. The bud should be cut thin—that is, it should be thick enough so that the base of the bud is not damaged; at the same time, no more wood should be taken than possible. A certain amount of practice is necessary to do this, but with care and practice it can be accomplished quite easily.

I Raising the Bark for Insertion ot Bud. The incision in the stock should be just through the bark, and of the same length as the shield of the bud. The cut must be made in the shape of a T, and the bark on each side be carefully raised by running the haft end of the knife down between the bark and the wood.

If the stock is in good condition the bark will part easily from the wood. The bud must now be carefully pushed in

Bud Properly Inserted in Stock, from the cross-cut downwards, it should be pushed well in, and the bark pressed round the bud; care must be taken not to break or bruise the bud shield or the edges of ihe bark.

(A) Bud Properly Tied. (B) Bud Wrongly Tied. The buds should then be firmly bound into position with wool or raffia. Growth from the bud should not be made until next spring, and to this end the growth produced by the stock should not be shortened until the spring. POTATO DISEASE. Out of the thousands of amateurs who, like myself, says a writer in "Garden Life," are growing potatoes this year, a very small proportion realise the serious nature of their task, and what the consequences next year may be. We may have a good crop this year—l have a capital crop from the sorts I have lifted so far. But if we do not take care, our crop next season may not be worth getting. I am not a pessimist, but am one of those amateurs who like to be on the safe side. I have grown potatoes for a great many yenrs, and have never had a bad crop yet. How do Ido it? The information may be useful to amateurs. I shall have to tell them about my method of cultivat- : ing the potato at a more suitable time, I but I believe I owe my success largely to two little things I always do. | Firstly, I always burn the tops and roots. T am not one for believing that they make good manure, having tried j them once-—but never again. So I get rid of the tops, and, what is more, I 'clear them away just before I lift the potatoes, so that no disease spores can jget amongst the tubers. Secondly, when I see a bad, doubtful, or disease-touched tuber, however slight I the ill may be, I pick it out and burn it at once. I heartily recommend these two tips to your readers. SHALLOTS. Shallots will now have completed their growth, and it is a mistake to allow them to monopolise valuable ground. Shallots ripen far better if laid out thinly on old sacks, boxes, or trays than if allowed to stay in the ground. When j they arc thoroughly dry rub off the dry i foliage and loose skin and 6tore on shelves or in shallow boxes. There are several crops that can be planted in i the same ground without more preparation than that of Taking down or hoeing, among these being lettuce, turnips, | radishes, cabbage, and spinach.