Practical Gardening

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 208, 3 September 1927, Page 26

Practical Gardening

Corrwoßdeatt win (ready obUxe observing tbe feßowtag rale* tt sending question* for publicatioo la these colmnnt i— _ Bh ? nld J>* In not later than Tuesday to be tu«md tit* MM wee*— addreaeed to Garden Editor. "Star"? Oflfce. tncUui losnllliT" 00 °° e sid * 9t paper, and-cake all cemmonleations as eeaH** a* .^7"F lowt etc *» *ent for naming mast be eent separately, and, 11 possible* 55/35 * n * P D or wooden box—-cardboard boxes are very liable to be broken la tWMIt tod the contents damtgel ' Xhe full name and address ef tbe sender anst always be seat, bat a ao» 4a pinme or initial may be given for. publication.

KEEN (Mt. Albert) nsks the following questions:—(l) Please name the enclosed specimens? (2) Should I get large plants and flowers from Cineraria wed sown now? (3) Is it a suitable time to sow seeds of Arotntin, Orbera. Delphiniums, Perennial Phlox? (4) What is the name of the pretty broom-like yejjow flowering shrub in flower now?- —(1) A Pittospomm Crassifollum; B, Scnecio; C. Anthericum liliastrum variegatum: d! Cuphea ignea; (2) it is too late to sow Cinerarias and expect good results; (3) yes; (4) it is probably Genista canariensis.

J.P\ (Mt. Eden) writes:—l have some lemon trees very bad with borer, and most of the fruit is undeveloped. Would it be ndvisable to cut the trees right back or can you tell me how to treat them? —The best way to treat the trees is to go carefully over them and wherever you discover the trace of a borer or a pole to squirt in some benzine from a small oil feeder, and then plug the hole with clay. Yon will have to go over the trees two or three times. By this means you would get rid of the borer and the trees would recover unless they are very badly affected. W.B.M. (Birkenhead) writes:—(l) Could you tell me what the manurial properties of soot are, and would it be of much use applied to Strawberries and fr'iit trees? (2) The young leaves of a Pear tree turn black and curl up. What would be the correct spray to use for it?— (1) The manurial value of soot Is the nitrogen ij contains. The quality varies very much. Soot from an open fire may contain up to four per cent of nitrogen, but soot or. flue dust from a range or any forced draught would be of very litUe value. It is useful for fruit trees and Strawberries. (2) The trouble with the Pear tree is the Pear Midge, and at present there is no actual method of control known. Your best method is to use lime sulphur solution as a spray. M. (Whangarei) asks for the of the six largest Dahlias and tbelr colours It does not matter what section they belong to?—I do not know whether the following are the six largest, but I am sure they are large enough for most people: Arthur Bouquet, orange scarlet: Mt ; Ev . e , reß U white; Berengaria, orange and gold; Kitty Rogers, pink; Princess Louise, pink; Doris Trayler, deep maroon; Leslie Hancock, deep crimson. 8.8. W. (Broadwood) writes:—l have two Early Richmond Apples about 15 years old, but they set little fruit and ripen none. They are healthy and are growing in drained clay soil. Last year some late blossoms were marked when other Apples were flowering freely, but they did not produce fruit. An Aprleot the same age is equally unproductive!—a should say that the variety of Apple and also the Apricot are unsuitable to your district. If a tree {a healthy and yet will not produce fruit, there la little chance to be able to achieve the object. In the case of the Apple root prunin> might give the tree a cheek and cause it to bear fruit. If a variety is plainly unsuitable the best method Is to head the tree back and graft It over with a more suitable variety. The tree should be headed back now and grafted about the end of the month. °° ut

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August than to plant when the ground is sodden. For the nest three or four weeks Roses can be planted with every chance of success, and any grower* who have been held back should order at ouoe and get the plants in tip ground. By all accounts the nurserymen are still balding first-class stocks of strong, sturdy plant#, and possibly the ltae plantings will in many cases be better than the earlier ones. When planting at this! season prune the hush hard at the time of planting. The pruning should mean cutting back to about three or /our dormant eyes, and when done and the Rose, planted only an inch or so will appear above the soil. Thia nay Mem drastic, but irrespective of what section the Rose may belong to, hard pruning when first planted is essential to /nture success. Finn planting is also necessary so that the roots can at once get hold of the soil. Do not use any fresh manure, let the plant start growing, then, if .necessary you can either mulsh or give liquid manure or even both. Roses cut hard back and planted in October have done excellently, the only result being that the blooms were later and were at their best about the middle of December. The above advice with the exception of pruning applies to shrubs; in fact, evergreen shrubs and citrus fruits are best planted in September and October. One would hear of fewer citrus fruits losing their foliage, the foliage turniug yellow or the plants becoming stuhted when young, if people were not so anxious to plant early. In this country most evergreen plants are sent out from the nursery balled and wrapped in sacking. The roots were previously wrenched, or should have been, and the result is the plant is practically independent and so long as the ball of soil is never allowed to dry planting can be successfully done almost into the summer. One point to remember is on no account allow the roots to dry. Should the ball of soil or the roots appear to be dry stand the plant in a tub of water and let it thoroughly soak. Again, when planting balled shrubs or trees do not remove the sacking. Get the hole ready, stand the shrub in the right position and when all is ready simply eut any ties round the collar or stem of the plant, All in the soil and make firm by treading. For the next week or so most gardeners should be busy planting trees, shrubs. Roses, ete. and making up the leeway lost during the past few weeks.

ROSES. The beet flowering wood for next! season ia the stoutest cane yoq can find | among the last growths. It is not difficult to find this kind of rose stalk- Most of the plants will be well covered with ripened shoots that are either carrying peed pods or have been eropped back when the blossoms were cut away. These are the shoots you look for when selecting terminals for next year*# work. The age of the ro#e bush, its elm*?, aijd the purpose for which it is being pruned; must all be taken into account when the shortening of the canes is begun. A big shrubby plant can be left with many outlets, something with only two or three Stalks might a« well be shortened back to within two-thirds of the point from when the last growth began. Cutshorter for exhibition flowers. Restricting the number of eyes all helps the flower quality. Remember this, the larger the plant the. more outlet you have. -All'dead wood, whether it be thin or thick, must come off. A dead limb or a dead stalk of any sort is only a disfigurement, to say nothing of it being a menace to the plant it hangs on. Cut every bit away, and cut each section off closa to the live stalk. DAHUAO. Bo not forget that Dahlia seed should be sown this month. Anyone who is making a beginning with Dahlias should start growing a few plants from seed. In this way you learn more about the plant in one season than you would in a couple of yeaia if only tuber plants are handled. Here is the Kfe of the Dahlia. Start the seed in a box holding about three or four indies of soil. Place the seeds an inch apart. This will allow the future plants room for development. When the seedlings are a couple or three inches high, transplant them into their flowering quarters. There is no harm in transplanting so young a Dahlia. The plant is a hot weather subject, that only asks a little water and attention to pull through after a move. Put in a stake for supporting a big plant at the time the young Dahlia is placed in its new quarters. Then mulch round about the small thing to help it along. In a very short time the seedling will push its way upwards. Three months or less after planting you have a fully grown flowering plant that will bloom before it is much older. If you are handling tubers get your plants started before the end of September. Waiting for November, as is the custom of the enthusiast who looks for highclass flowers during March, is to waste lather much time. Plant earlier and have a longer run wiCh the blossoms. In colder districts, planting must be started earlier because their season is a shorter one, and should start planting Dahkas about the first week in October. The weather is generally well settled by that time, Grow the plants in a era4 tlf ■ oil > «nd» if possible, under the lee of a projecting fence, house, or hank of trees. Too much r *, nder " plants liable to be Padly handled by the wind. If possihle, pUnt a lot of Dahli M together. It is better to do that than to let the •PP e «r here and there all over . garden. So much thinning-out, watering, and moMriug is necessary during the summer, that it is best to have the planta handy one to another. root clumps which were dug out ° fthe pound some weeks ago, and give each a thorough good squirting with the to get rid of all the dirt that bangs between the tubers. Then place the clumps in a ehady corner until the | shoots appear.