THE PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATION.

Auckland Star, Volume LI, Issue 248, 16 October 1920, Page 20

THE PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATION.

IK THE OPEX GARDEN". ' The carnation has always 'been and j still is a favoured flower in the garden. ( There are varices sections, all of which I possess distinctive features and have j admirers. The Perpetual or Tree carna- J tion is usually considered as a section ' that can only he successfully cultivated ' under glass. This is an erroneous idea, •' and whilst many do not possess the form ' of the border type for garden decoration ' and freedom of flowering they are un- s surpassed by any section. Their constitution is quite equal and in many ' cases superior to the border varieties. ' The principal consideration in the culti- ' vation in the garden ie to liavo a well- J drained, light, open situation. Damp- : ness or stagnation of any kind is fatal. ' Cold may check the growtn, but damp- ' nese or a still, close atmosphere will kill the plants. It is an advantage to plant ! in raised beds, this keeping them drier during , the winter. Much of the failure to obtain blooms dur- s ing the autumn, winter, and spring * is due to the use of plants obtained from cuttings taken during the ' cummer months. The time is too limited ] for the plant to build itself up, and so l does not bloom until late spring. The best results are obtained from cuttings ' taken as soon as obtainable in the win- ! ter and very early spring. The cuttings ' taken are the side shoots produced on ! the flowering stem, and are pulled off ] with a heel when about four inches long, ' which is usually the time when the ' bloom commences to show colour. These ' are put into a small frame in sand, and * kept shaded until rooted, which takes ' about cix to eight weeks. They are then ' either potted into smaller pots or put into 1 boxes. The soil for potting should be ' sandy and have a good deal of leaf soil 1 mixed with it. When they have made ' nice roots and commenced "to grow they ' can bo planted out. They should be ' stopped when six inches high, and afrain ! when the new growths are six inches long, the last stopping being done about ' December or January. They will then ; commence to bloom in late autumn, and ! continue, eubject to weather conditions, right on till the following autumn. The ' soil needs to be good, but too much fresh ' stable manure should not be used. If no ' well-rotted stuff i s handy rely on bone- ' dust at planting time and frequent doses of a good artificial manure when the plants are flowering. EDGING PLANTS FOR BEDS. When planting edgings to beds let there ' be a proper balance between the plants in the centre and those forming the edging. One reason why edging plants are inadequate for the proper completion of a bed is because too deep a trench is left between the body of the bed and the edge of the lawn. It is far better to plant the bed of all one thing than have a mean-looking edging. Often the edgin-r plants will be allowed to grow unrestricted, until they are sprawling over the edge of the lawn. The plants should always be kept within bounds, as it adds to the appearance if a well-cut grass edge is seen. >

GROWING SWEET PEAS FOR SEED. According to a Southern paper an arrangement lias been launched for the growing of sweet peas. It states: "There is an unlimited demand in the world's market for choice varieties of s-weet pea seed, and for all standard first-class sorts that can be depended on as absolutely fresh and true to type. California cannot supply all that is asked from that State, and Otago will now step in and j see what she can do. It is an experiment ' that niay mean a great valume of btlsi-1 ness in the course of a few years." The growing of peas in >iew Zealand to sup- j ply the demand for eced has already been proved to be a financial success, j California grows a large quantity of! seed for some English firms, and as thej Auckland climate is similar there is no i reason why seed in large quantities should not be grown and exported. .Most of the novelties are really raised by an i ■amateur —the man who places the love i of flowers above their monetary value. I It doe 3 not follow that the raiser of a [ new variety is the distributor. Auckland j can already lay claim to some tine;; locally raised varieties. Last year Mr.! Dodds, of Ponsonby. exhibited several j of his own raising that were quite equal and in many cases superior to the more widely advertised novelties. PICKING SWEET PEAS. A correspondent, writing to the "Gardening Magazine," supplies a new method of picking sweet -peas. He says: "Although probably I am not the only person to discover this method, yet Jfeel 1 want to pa=s it on, because the results are so satisfactory. First, let mc state my objections to the common methods of picking the flowers. Jn cutting eweet peas with shears, every lateral bud which grows in the axils at the nodes, and directly at the base of tlie flower stem, is left to develop. The result is innumerable lateral branches j with inferior flowers. The top of the vine almost stops growing, wJiile the flowers produced there have shorter and shorter stems with consequent loss ot vitality to the whole plant, especially when warm weather comes on. In other words the poor roots have such a task in providing nourishment for the numerous lateral progeny, that they become discouraged and weakened; then aphis finish the job. Some advise going over the vines at intervals and cutting off these laterals. But who has time to do it? And if one should, it is more than likely to be already too late. Why allow laterals to grow at all, except to replace a broken or injured top? Then someone advised mc to pluck the flower stem from its socket, which usually brings thei fciny lateral 'bud with it. Yes it did, and j sometimes the whole plant too, which | was often jerked off at the roots. And even though the plant were not broken, j this method almost invariably bruised ; or skinned the main vine. It was too, violent. It was b,y accident that 11 found how to pick the flower stem ami ', lateral bud at one operation, and with i no risk of injury to the vine. Steady the vine with the left hand below tho flower. With thumb and finger of right hand grasp 'the flower stem and lateral i bud together firmly and as close as possible to the main vine. Using; this base, and with the fingers as a turning pivot, bend the stem sharply to one side, in direction opposite the side of the lateral bud, until flower stem and main vine arc at least at right angles with each other. Usually this is all that is necessary to give a clean separation to both bud and stem from their socket, without any injury whatever. Should it fail, however, just use the same movement turning them toward the lateral bud side this time. Xo plucking is necessfiry if the thumb and finger are held just as near the base of the stem as it is possible to get. Indeed, with practice the movement seems almost like rubbing them from their sockets. It is a neat little trick and easily learned, and so much faster than the old method of cutting or plucking. With one operation the flower is picked and lateral 'bud removed without the slightest injury to the vines. And this is not the pnly benefit. Under this practice, long stemmed and much larger flowers are produced over an extended season. Fertiliser and water is much more effective because there is not so numerous a progeny to use it up. However, as the strength is directed to the top -of the vines where only quality blooms are producer], they grow much taller, po that additional support must ■be furnished.

' PETUNIAS. Most people raise these from seed every spring, and no doubt with the n single-flowered sorts it is the most con- g venient. The double-flowered varieties, v however, give such a small percentage of s double-flowered plants when raised from f| seed that it does pay to keep the old "3 plants and raise a batch from cuttings . every year. Any last year's plants that have come, through , the winter will now a be sending up shoots that can be used for cuttings. The best cuttings grow . near the base of tbo plants. Do not . take any shoots with flower buds in the J" centre. Take the young growths about , three inches long. Insert them in a light sandy compost, and if a propagating frame is available place tho cutting in it; T if not, put the cuttings into a box and cover with glass. Give the cuttings a . good soaking of water when first put in, but allow tho soil to become fairly dry £ before applying more. Shade the cuttings during the day if they are in the sun. As soon as rooted shading and plass must bo gradually rempved, until tiie cuttings are hardened, when they can i bo potted up and used for greenhouse | work, for which purpose they are very i nice, or they can be used for bedding out ji COLEUSES. ' These are fine decorative plants especially for grcenliouse culture during the summer. • Seed sown now will produce nice plants and some of the best strains I* are very reliable. Especially '' lle !i varieties that have been kept tiirongli; tho winter can be propagated from cuttings. Sow the seed thinly ill pots of very finely sifted, sandy soil. The seed *| is small, and as a rule in quantity as in In size co that care miKt be taken that it J - is sown thinly. After sowing, do not cover ■with soil, but cover the pot with [ a piece of glas«, and shade with paper until the seedlings appear. Colcuses . require warmth and it is useless to sow ( them unless a greenhouse b available, f If there is no such protection, the seed ( . should not be sown until next month, f Plants that "nave been kept through the , I winter will hn tiirowing up young shoots, f and when these are two inches or so i I long they can be taken off as cuttings. < | T'nless, however, the colouring of the I j foliage points out these plants as some- c 1 thing especially fine, it is better to pro- s I cure seed and raise plants, for those c j raised from seed are the strongest. I'llt j the cuttings in sandy soil, and although j it must be kept moist, excess must be warded against, as a chill and dampness , will soon take olf the cuttings. Stand ( j the pots of cuttings in a propagating ( I frame, or a box covered with glass willjt I do. Shade until rooted. Then gradually ,i , harden ofT and pot. For potting soil ( i use loam one-third, leaf soil two-thirds. , ; with plenty of silver sand. • \ GRAPE VINES. ' The young growths on vines are very ' tender, and should on no account be • subjected to the least strain in order to j tie them to the wires. It ie one of the , easiest things in the world to snap off a [ promising young vine shoot at the base, ( trying to force it prematurely into a ( horizontal position. Let the shoots j grow upwards until they arc a foot or j fifteen inches long. Then with a thill , etrand of raffia loop it loosely over the £ end of the shoot and pull it down an v inch or so. As growth continues the ( shoot can 'be gradually drawn down, but c never be in a hurry to complete the { work. Jn the cnsß of a well-furnished i vine one shoot or lateral only should be t •allowed to each spur. If extra space is t to 'be filled it may be sometimes artvis- « j aiblc to leave another one. The young I elioots should be carrying a bunch of t inllorescence somewhere about the ( fourth or fifth joint from the base. As t poon as the growth becomes long enough { the point should 'be pinched out with i the thumb and finger at the second leaf j beyond the young bunch. This opera- t tion will at once induce side shoots or ( sublateralo to pueh rapidly, and these i should be stopi'd just beyond the first c leaf. In vineries it is most imperative i that a humid atmosphere should be \ kept l>y the syringing of the paths, etc. o When the vines are in flower a <lry atmosphere is an advantage for a few ( days whilst they are eetting, but at * other times a moist atmosphere is c necessary. Ventilation of vineries must a also Tjc judiciously carried out. for, t although plenty is necessary, cutting t draughts ir.ust 'be avoided. r

DISBUDDING CARNATIONS. If large blooms are required attention must ,i>e paid to disbudding. Many growers only allow the top bud to develop, that is drastic treatment for strong, healthy plants, and should only be practised on weak varieties or those having a long thin bud. As a rule this denotes a flower that does not possess a number of petals, but this is not a failing, as many of our highest quality ', carnations are what some call "thin." On the other hand, those which produce a large fat bud, if disbudded too severely, usually produce a flower with far too many petals, and the calyx bursts. In that case it i= advisable to retain, in addition to the top bud, those which grow from the fourth and fifth joints; this will leave the top flower ."with a stem nine inches or more in length, which is long enough lor most purpose-;. If the plants have-been severely disbudded to obtain large specimen blooms it is reasonable to expert tliateome will epl't the calyx. In most caries this can be. provented by placing a ring of thin wire round the calyx iiliout two-thirds up the bud. These should not be puton till the bud is showing rolour. An average size biul takes seven to ten days before the flower is at its best, the large tsize buds requiring ten to fourteen days to develop after showing colour. PLANTING SHADY BORDERS. In the majority of gardens there are shady borders, which oficn cause a lot of trouble and anxiety to owners. Some kinds of plants are better suited than others. The fact that in such positions the ]>la;its do not make sucli sturdy growtli makes it imperative that they should be grown a< hardy as possible. Tuberous begonia- are excellent for growing in sluulc' The blooms are not dam-iigt-d by <lri;> from the overhanging i branches of tree-. Amongst annuals that , succeed are godelias, larkspurs. Virginian j stock, mignonette, candytuft, j Collin-ia, linarias, sweet sultan, cornflowers. Amongst perennials are herbaceous phlox, delphiniums, pyrethrume, fuchsias. The soil iv such borders is usually damp and compacted, and therefore plenty of manure, decaying vegetable matter, and any material that will loosen or help to keep it dry, should be added. In fart, more often tbati not it is the condition of the soil that is the'eauso of shady borders being so difficult to cultivate. BRUSSELS SPROUTS. There arc few more popular winter vegetables than Brussel sprouts, and they are. certainly one of the mos; productive that can be grown, for they continue to <;ive a supply, for several months. They must have a long season of growth, and for that reason the seed should be sown early. This is a good time to sow. An , in shallow drills and. as soon as the seedlings are large enough, they should be picked out into a nursery bud, putting the plants about four inches apart. The seed-bed and young plants must be protected from birds and slugs, or they'll have them f before they are many days through the ground. Brut-eel sprouts are of sufficient importance to have a piece of ground to themselves, and if such is the case, it should be prepared as = oon as possible, for they do better wlitn the ground is linn. The soil t-hould be good, but do not add any fresh stable manure, as it encourages a too sappy growth, and what is required is ii firm stocky plant. Ground that was manured for potatoes or celery last season would do without the addition of any. further manure. If a piece of ground cannot be spared for them, the next het-t plan is to plant ill the furrows between potatoes. Seed sown now will produce plants tihat will be ready for putting out about the time the main crop of potatoes are earthed up. If the weather is dry at planting time, give the bed a good watering an hour or so previous to lifting. Lilt ■e.ith as luucli earth a.-: possible, and plant with a trowel. Put the plants twenty-four inches apart, and it' planting on a piece of ground to themselves allow thirty incites between the rows; in the caso'of planting between potatoes they | must be put in the furrows, which will be about this distance apart. The ground should be kept hoed and weeded. As the lower leaves turn yellow and decay they should be removed to allow air and light to get to the stems. When commencing to gather, start at the base and continue upwards. Do not remove the lop until the end of the season. By this means the plants will> continue to grow and will give a succession of nice firm "buttons."