Practical Gardening.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 206, 28 August 1920, Page 20

Practical Gardening.

—. • —, By DIANTHUS.

Correspondents will greatly oblige by observing the following rules in sending questions for publication in these columns: — 1. Letters should br addressed Gard&i Editor "Star" Office Auckland ■*". Write one one side of the paper, and make all communications as concise as jxisxible .'I Flowers, etc., sent for naming must be sent separately and, if possible, packed in a tin or iroodrn box — cardboard boxes arc very liable to be broken in transit and the contents damaged. h. The full name and address of the sender must always be sent, but m txom de plume or initial may be given for publication.

- * % TKE WEEK'S WOKK. * j: * * THE FLOWER GARDEN. t* P.-opagato bodding plants by cuttings under glass. * r Plant out rootoU cuttings of Shrubby Calcoolorln. * £ Root Heliotrope, Alternanthera, Irosine cuttings in heat. * j. Sow sood of Lobelia and divide old plants! or make cuttings. % j. Lift, divide and roplant Delphiniums, Pyrethrums, and Phlox. . j: Train Sweet Peas to their supports. T j: Hoo batween beds and bordors. i js Get all vacant ground turned over as soon as possible to check weods. ij; Sow Primula Obconica. -j. 1= Plant Clomatis. "j" fc Pot up Begonias and Gloxinias. jj: £ THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. * tjs Sow Broad Beans, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Carrots, Lettuce. :(: I" Make a sowing of Turnips and Spinach In spare placos. * i" Prepare ground for planting autumn-sown Onions. -. =j: p Plant Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Lettuce. * r Potato planting should be continued; sprout the sots flrst. * : Sow Tomato seed und.r glass. ♦ E Make further cowlngs of Peas. "** j. Plant Asparagus and manure the old beds. $ |. Dig and manure all vacant ground. T j; Keep weeds down by continuous hoeing and digging. i j; Manure Rhubarb; stir the soil, between the plants, with the fork. 3"----i* • * 1 .--K-**-*--*-**-^^

_ _ _ n .. .V /* _ A .\ .T-A-A—rt-7V--3V-7V-7rTVTrTVTS--A--Vr-«"^-.V sown now. No special treatment Is I necessary, except to protect from slugs, j which are very fou.l of Hie plants. GYPSOPHILA ELEGANS. Those who arc looking fur a light, small, wliite-ilowerod .subject which can be used to mix with sweet peas, or any other cut tlower, cannot do better than make a sowing of this. ISow in lines about a foot apart, and thin the seedI lings tv four inches apart. I j CAJ__P._J_T.l__. PYRAMIDALIS. This campanula is oiv of the finest plants for the border. It scuds up its tall spikes to a height of live or six feet when well grown. There are two vnrie- ! ties —the type with light campanula blue ; and the other with white flowers—both are worth growing. The plant is a perlennial, but owing to its hahit of growing ; from pieces of roots it is only when ■'grown as a biennial that it is seen in j full beauty. The seed '.should be sown j now, and as it is very fine it is best put ; into a pot of fine sandy soil. The seed ; should not be covered with soil, but the ! pot covered with a piece of glass ami the glass covered with paper. It will gcri minute under cool conditions. As soon las the seedlings appear the paper and : glass must bo gradually removed until ■ the seedlings.can stand full exposed to ; the sun and air. When large enough | they must be pricked off into boxes of ! line rich soil, nnd when large enough i planted out. Planted three or four in a ! clump, about llfteeii inches apart, they j make line tall plants for tho buck of the I border. They noed a rich, well-drained soil. In wet soils they rot off in wet weather. HOW TO TREAT STRONGGROWING ROSES. When pruning 6trong-gro\ving roses liko Hugh Dickson, J'rau K. Oruscliki, J. B. Clark, etc., it makes an interesting chango to treat tho strongest growing shoot as a standard. Stake and tie it up, as shown in the illustration, and remove any eideshoots present on the

TO CORRESPONDENTS. XEW Clir.. ir>ii«!imi2ii) writes: ill I bave j iss.. old pencil trees ami I have dug out ' tbe soil nil rouil.l llii-ni iiliolt 1..11 de,-]. and 2ft rroai Ihe trunk. 1 lillesl litis trench ssiih manure, iriimplns li well! ■lon-u, on top of which 1 put iliii of soil. ! 1 lius-o been advised by one e.N|iert to give a gih.il div-sing of lime, and not to do so by another. Whnt do yon Advise 7 i-'i 1 base phiuti..,l several rho.bidenslrons anil fruit trees, and lime given them plenty of niuuure afler covering the roots with soil. Wniibl it :„■ n.is-lsaiile 1.. give thrni n (lressini! of lime? t-**» Would lltne be beiieticial or .othrewise to daffo- I (Ills?— 11l The trees should do all right i seeing llie trouble y.,u have gone to; a handful ..r llaie to the square yuril would be all right. All fruit trees need a cer- ! tain aiiioiint of lime ami it in ueeessarv to keep (lie soil sweet: on the other hand" , If applied directly on stable niuuure, ir c.-iuses the loss of nitrogen. (Lb Never on ! any nccouui give rhododendrons lime in ; any form. It is almost certain death. I •rillt tree . however, need lime. pi) j Utile in small i|iinulllie<<, is henetlelal i» dairmllls h, so much as it correct*"the acidity of Uie soil. A handful or two I to the square yard once every tsso rears ' is sufficient. •B„Ar.Kn__„Y lAiicklandi asks how best to eradicate a patch, about ten yards ; s.inare. ..[ very vigorous blackberries.- i HUH such a patch the best method is to; cut off the tops and then ill. out the ' roots. Uv keeping the itroiin.l continuously worked svith spade and hoe the ! black berries svill soon give up. VERITAS rOnelnin.a).— fl) Planted some i ~.''" Lru potatoes about six weeks nso. . the seed svns not sprouted. As the j potatoes have not appeared bo wishes to know If be should lift tlieui or lelive , them: (2) also a hedge of Christnitis nliuii and V-nu Diemnn iiuincc svero | planted six years ago, but have Hot vet i f.'uited: would it be advisable to root ; them out? —(1) Tho reason of the notatoes I not appearing alx.v.i .round is due to the see,! not being sprouted. 'ITlev will come all right. The ntlviuitnire of sprouting seed potatoes will be obvious after this; time Is gained by spanning the seed. I7i 'Christinas plums ami quinces nre .usually rather long in coming Into bearing, especially planted as yon kiiv hi a hedge or breakwind. 1* should not root them out: as a hedge they are serving tbeir purpose, and -svill probably fruit before long. WAI.VOARO (Parnell).—fl) I liave n lemon eight years old and in fruit. 1 wish to shift it. About two inches sqiiaro of the bark six Inches above the ground was broken oIT. Is It wise to shift It. and what to do -svith the barked trunk— plant It deeper (-) .7 have a hedge which Is said tn be the "palm willow." It has a. scale on It. and the borer Is killing It. I will be cutting it '-ft above ground next week. Whnt else can 1 do with It?— fl) You can shift the lemon, but you will lose the crop of fruit for this season. The probability Is Unit you will lose one season's crop no mat tor when you move it. Paint the barked portion with tar or a coat of white lead paint. On no account plant deeper than necessary, lib Out the hedge dosvn as you suggest, and where the borer Is nt work, cut lower if necessary to pet the insect out. Take what cuttings you require for your new hedge and burn the rest at once so as to destroy borers and scale. IGNORANCE ('Heme Bay).— it) Can yon advise mc how to treat my grape vine? It is about six years old and has ibornc ■Small, sweet black grapes, bnt there Is is fearful lot of woody (trowth which I think needs pruning. If 1 dig Ihe soil about the roots will the vine benotit, and will it be easily killed if I chance to cut the roots? (2) ran you tell mc the best way to net good results svith the nspidls'tra-.'— ll) The vine, I suppose, lias never been pruned, and consequently I* 111 n very bail mcs. Yon must cut nil thin, weak growths back to about two eyes or buds from the tnnln stem. Ills round the roots with a fork, not a spade, and yiui will not damage the foot, unnecessarily. Give the ground .previous ■to digging it a dressing ot bonedust, two or three good baiidfuls to a square yard. There Is no fear of killing the vine nulesfi you are very rough with the roots. (2| Aspidistras need a soil consisting of one part leaf-soil ami two parts loam, with enough sand to keep the compost pnroufi. They require abundance of wnlcr. lint at the same 'time need perfect drainage. The rhizomes, of underground stems, from wiilch the leaves spring, should be just below tbe surface. They <lo not need potting ton often, but should be done once the pots are full of roots. When potting, divide them and put ln snflieicnt pieces to make np n good-looking plant, arranging the pieces with this object. The green-leaved variety svill benefit hj- plenty of liquid manure, lint the variegated variety svill require hut little. When dividing and potting, separate the green leaves from the variegated ones and put in separate ,pbts. ity this means yon can retain the variegated form, whereas if left alone the green form gradually overcomes the variegated, uud Uie result Is the whole becomes green. TOVIE (Onehunga.—j(li "What arc the best late varieties of aster? (2) Tlie best early varieties to grow for cut flowers for commercial purposes? (3) How would yousave anemone seed -to keep colour pure? (-1) 'How often should ranunculi be renewed to get the best results?—(l) Ticks Branching, Ostrich Flume. (2) tjueeii of the Market, fll) To save nucinone seed pure the flowers must be covered whilst In tho bud stage, so as to prevent fertilisation by insects. When the pollen Is ready the flowers must bo hand-fertilised. It will be found rather difficult to keep the colours true, as Anemone Ooronarla is so easily fertilised by -Ihe wind as well as by insect agency. If) There is nothing to go on to say how long ranunculi bulbs will remain good. Named varieties have been propagated from division of the bulbs for many years. With seedling varieties, however, the nest way is to raise some each year, and when after two or three years the bulbs show signs of deterioration throw them out. It is easy to keep up a gooil strain from seed by careful selection yearly. X. (Waharoa). —Asks the name of specimen, botanical and common name. ('-') The name of disease attacking Japanese laurel and remedy for same. (3) I have a yellow kowbai: the upper portion of the tree is too weak to remain in an upright position. Can you suggest why it does so. and can it be remedied? (4) Can tlie red kowhal be trained as a climber? When is the time for planting the seeds? Ho they require any special method?— ■ • . _V. a , V n V" sa y (wilhiw-leaved wattle). l-l Black Scale ILccamuni oleae) Snr-iv with red oil 1 part, water 2. p_rts P . Hie rea_.il of the yellow 1.0wh.1 assumiug a drooping position is natural. Few ever make upright, nicely-shaped sped- ! menstjjiey are usually more or less of a ' scaiiflent form. Your only chance of i making a specimen of y our tree is bypruning -hack the drooping branches and forcing them to grow as upright as pos- ' sible (41 The red kowhal can he I trainert against a wall or fence, but it i i will never be a clinibei. The seed can be

FIXING NEW VARIETIES OF ANNUALS. .Mr. IT. C. Davidson, writing in "Carden Life," says: "According to Mr Alfred Watkiiia it tnkes six or seven years tn 'fix' a new variety of annual. In the ease of the nasturtium Queen of Tom Thumbs, Which has variegated white and green leaves, the starting point \ms' k ii single plant with these characters. In the first year half the plants had variegated leaves, in the second year about two-thirds, and in the third about fourfifths. It was not until the sixth year that it came fairly true from seed,"and even then live per cent of the secdlinjrs were green-loftved. It took him seven years to 'fix' the esclloltzia IntUs roscus, coloured deep rose inside the petals as well as outside, and in the following year the same variety was introduced by two other growers working independently, one in this Country and the other in America. .So, apart from the trouble, there is always the risk of being forestalled." "Mr. WatkillS grew a new and fine variety of pea for six years, and had then 'a hundred bushels of seed ready to put on the market, when the 'barn in which it was stored ca-ight fire and the whole was 'burned. The seed grower's life, like the policemall's, is not always a happy one.

Ji' _____ ______ [ BITTER ROT OF FRUIT TREES. ■ It often happens that small, brown, >' shrivelled apples—mummified, ns they ■ are. often called —may still bo seen bangin" on some trees. They have been : allowed to remain through ignorance or , carelessness; they should be picked oil 1 nnd burned, for they are the carriers ot i the disease known as bitter rot. The first symptom of thedisease is a small 1 brown spot on. or rather under, tlie akin - ot" the fruit. Other spots appear and 1 increase in size, and eventually become i sunken pits, each characterised by circles •of black specks. Many of the fruits > drop, 'but others remain .hanging in a 1 mummified condition, as stated. The • fungus, which causes the disease, liosv- • ever, does not confine itself to them. It attacks the spurs and smaller branches producing cankerous wounds. I'.esides picking ofi* and burning all infected fruit, the. trees should he sprayed with Rori (lea 11 x or lime sulphur when -the buds • begin t<l burst, 11 gain just before the - blossoms open, again directly after the ' petals have dropped, and again a week later, and then every three weeks 1 throughout the season. These, remarks ' apply equally to peaches, nectarines, ' plums, etc.

YELLOW-FLOWERED GLADIOLI Any of our readers who contemplate planting gladioli are reminded of the' fact that there are some very lovely shades of yellow in this charming race. I'ntil recent years thin colour was not represented by any noteworthy varieties, but owing to the zeal of growers and hybridists this much-desired colour is becoming more prominent year by year. Probably the most promising of" all is (ilmli..lns pritiiulitiits, which was introdileed from the Zambesi. Tlie hooded (lowers'arc of .1 clear soft yellow, and are sweetly scented. There are already hybrids of this species which bid fair to become very popular, owing to their rich colouring ami sweet scent and their utility for cutting and decorative purposes. DAFFODIL SHOW. The Auckland Horticultural Society is holding its daH'odil ..how on September Id and 11, in St. Sepulchre's Mall, Khyber I'a-s. and if the season is any criterion then: should be a good display. :h' there is one llosver that has adapted itself to Auckland and can In: grown equally well by rich and poor it is the daffodil. Diseases tire lew and are really of no account, as they affect but few. it can be grown without, artificial watering, and is in every way one of the easiest of jllowers.to manage. With the return of j more settled limes the "queen of spring lloucrs*' should bring an increased iniiiiI ber of exhibitors at the show next mouth. GROWING PEAS. j A thorough preparation of the ground is nl paramount importance, for upon it ultimate success depends. Select an ] open position, preferably one where I manure has been liberally applied for a previous crop. Dig v "trench a. for celery, and 111 the .bottom work in a I good layer—six inches or so -of halfrolled turf, dead leaser,, manure, or any decaying vegetable mailer. A. the soil .is Ml,el in upon this it is also given a dressing of line wood ashes, nnd i_ then trodden tolerably linn, leaving a foot or sn to be filled up. which is completed ssith a mixture of soot with the soil, ii-ing a good handful of soot to about two feet of surface. The ground is allowed to settle for a week or so before sowing, and then trodden gently. when the soil is dry. so that the tnp of the trench is about two inches below the grogr.mtid level. S,,w the seed two inches deep, and allow about the came between the seeds. As to whether it is better to sow tall or dwarf varieties is a mutter for personal consideration. The tall varieties jiive the larger crop, but where there is any difficulty in obtaining stick or other supports, it is best to grow the dwarf varieties. j Richard Peddon ami Sherwood are good dwarfs. Uradtis Daisy, The Pilot, and tho old but reliable Stratagem are medium, whilst Quite Content, Duke of Albany. Yorkshire Hero and Veitch's Perfection are amongst the -best of the tall varieties. ! HOW. TO GROW EXHIBITION PARSNIPS. They may bo sown now nt any time that the soil i 9 in a suitable condition. .lake holes two or three feet deep with a crowbar.

THINNING THE BRANCHES OF FRUIT TREES. It is of the greatest importance that the branches of fruit trees should be sufficiently wide apart one from another, otherwise the innermost spurs will be gradually suppressed owing to insufficient light and air. It is very common to find brunches too close together, but most uncommon to find them too open. There should be no hesitation in cutting out any which prevent free access of sunlight, or which are useless for carrying fruit. CUTTING OUT DEAD WOOD OF FRUIT TREES. This most important work is almost entirely neglected, especially in the small garden. It is excused for want of time, and other things, but is usually a glaring proof of indifference and ignorance. Dead wood is a common means whereby some of the worst diseases, such as fire blight, banker, scab, silver blight, and others are carried over from year to year, and spread throughout the country. In fact, if more attention were paid to dead wood less spraying would be necessary. It should also be gathered up and burnt at once, and never left lying on the ground. During the dormant season it is difficult for the novice to know exactly what is and what is not dead wood, but at the present when the buds aro swelling and bursting dead twigs are us plain as possible, and to cut out at once and burn them means the end of innumerable fungus spores.