Practical Gardening

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 171, 21 July 1928, Page 6 (Supplement)

Practical Gardening

TO CORRESPONDENTS

IRISES.

Correspondents will greatly oblige bv observing the following rules In sending guehtlons for publication in tlitte columns:— I—Letters should be in not later'than Tuesday to be answered the same week— addressed to Gulden Bdiiur. •"Star" Office, Auckland. - —Write on one siile of the paper, and make all communications as concise as possible. 3—Flowers, etc.. sent for naming must be Bent separately, and. if possible, p.icked in a tiu or wooden ?•>>>- —cardboard boxes are very liable to be broken in transit and the contents damaged. 4—'The full n.itne and address of the sender must always be sent, but a nom de plume or initial may be given for publication.

E.W.A. i City I writes: T have a magnolia fuscata about sis feet high. Can it be cut down to about three feet, as it is too high for the position?— Yes, it can be cut clown. In the future keep it in shape by doing a little cutting every year ami not let it grow until you have 'to cut it half away. If kept properly cut it could easily be kept to a height of about four feet. CONSTANT KKAL»Kii (Whakatane) asks: (1) How mucb of the of rhubarb roots should be left above ground when planting? <2; When would Canterbury Bells and Sweet William plants, that have Just been pricked out in trays, bloom?—ill Leave out the portion of the crown that is covered with old leaf scales. If you look carefully at the crown'j you will see where the old leaves have fallen away. This part should be left out of the ground. In some cases there may be small side crowns which it Is impossible to keep out. In such cases the main crown is taken as the guide. (Hi I cannot say for certain, but 1 should not be surprised if they do not' flower till next year. The best time to sow these plants Is about December. The plants then grow. ' and are strong enough to bloom about the following November. If the sowing is left until winter the plants often miss a season, and it is eighteen months before they bloom. Of course a lot depends npon the growth made from now onwards as to whether yours flower this coming season or not till the following one. ASH (Point Chevalier) asks if wood ashes are any good tor the garden, also If all burnt bones are any good. Would it be useful to mix with sandy soil for sowing seeds?—Woo(jashes contain potash, and are very useful for any and every kind of vegetable. Scatter them over the soil wlien you have them. They ran be applied to onions and potatoes, and can be applied before the crop is planted or dusted along the rows afterwards. Bones are best broken up as small as possible, to burn them Is wasteful, as g<Hne of the most valuable parts are sent off. and all that remains is actually carbon. The bones should be broken up, and can be dug- in at any time. They are harmless to plants, and will gradually become available as plant food. Seed ie best sown in soil without,the addition of any manure. Once the plants are up manure is useful.

ONION (Raetihi) writes: I would like your advice on growing shallots. I have always had success with the brown variety. With tl* white 1 have had trouble through their being slower to mature and poor keepers. I have secured a few of the silver variety, and these, altough large and good croppers, are always Inclined to throw up seed heads. Last season I left a bunch in, and they threw up some nice seed heads, which I have saved. They are like Bmall onions, but smaller than the tree onion. I would like your advice on how and when to plant the seed. I wisti to raise a sample less likely to run to seed.—There is only one shallot, and that is the small brown variety. The other so-called varieties of shallots are nothing but varieties of tree and potato onions. The 7 white variety is always a poor cropper, an<l never seems to actually mature; in fact, it is nearer a variety of the Welsh onion, largely grown and sold as spring onions. This makes a very small bulb, and is always green. The large brown shallot is a variety of potato onion. The silver variety is a new one to me. bnt from your description it appears to be a variety of the Egyptian onion which produces "seed" heads consisting of small bulbs. Tou should sow the small bnlbs now, that iSr early spring, and they will produce some nice bulbs next summer, when, after treating in the usual way, they can be planted out again. J.S.K. (Papakura) asks for advice on gooseberries,' their pruning and general treatment—The gooseberry requires and responds to liberal manuring, and should he treated quite as liberally as vegeThey also benetit by a mulching of manure in the spring. Fish refuse,, blood and hone, guano, pig, cow or horse manure all suit them ; In fact any manure ! will suit them. In regard to pruning the plants, when first put out the lateral shoots should be shortened back to witmn two or three btids of the base. All branches within nine inches or so of tne ground should be cut away so as to leave a clean stem. The lateral branches should be encouraged to grow outwards. In fact, the ideal gooseberry busn is in the shape of a wineglass, with a stem about nine inches long. Shoots pointing inwards should be cut back to wiuiin two or three buds to encourage the formation of short fruiting spurs. There should be four or Ave branches springing from the main stem, and by the cutting back of the sub-laterals to within two or three buds of their base these branches should become a mass of short fruiting spurs. Varieties that are inclined to grciw in a pendant or weeping habit of jrrowth should always be pruned to a bud pointing to the eo.x re of the bush, so as to in a measure counteract the weeping habit. The gooseberry blooms I freely and carries such a large crop or iruit that severe pruning or the thiu- [ umg" of frriit i& Necessary if the berries are to develop to proper size.

TCI (Remuera) writes: I have a frM on the south side of the house, and should be glad if you could offer any suggestions as to what would succeed in such a position. I should like something thajt would make a good show and not too high growing.—Pansies, violas, polyanthus, and primroses would do well in such- a position. R. G. (Epsom) asks for fall directions for growing sweet sultans and annual statice. also the best liquid manure for perpetual carnations. —Sweet sultans are easily grown where the soil and position suit them, but they are very difficult to manage under some conditions. Dampness or excess of moisture In any way Is fatal to them, and they suffer -very badly from a disease something like black stem or wilt In asters. The seed Is best sown In autumn, and the soil must be well drained, and although the soil should be good, no manure should be added. One essential is lime. Lime and plenty of it iu the soil they must have. They are not. good subjects to transplant, and should be sown where they are to flower. They can be transplanted if moved as very young seedlings, but otherwise they are a failure, either not growing at all or hanging on for a time and going off. Their chief need is a deep, well-drained ■oil, containing plenty or lime. The annual statice are not difficult to manage. Sow the seeds In autumn. The seed as sold consists of old flower heads pulled to pieces, and may contain one or more seeds. The plants transplant easily, so that If more than one come up they can be lifted and transplanted. The best way is to sow the ".seeds" where the plants are to flower, put them about nine inches apart, and any blanks can be filled up from the places where more than one comes up. A well-drained, rich soil does them best, but they are not very particular as to Boil or manure so long as there is sufficient. There is no best stimulant for perpetual carnations, and except for a little liquid manure made from sheep and cow manure it is not advisable to do much else. A little bonedust or blood and hone. scattered on the surface of the -soil and gently scratched in can be given, but the best method is to have the soil good enough when the plants arc put out. Too much stimulants and forcing manures are the cause of lots of failures in carnations. *

Already the beautiful little Iris stylosa is in bloom. Day after day the dainty pale-blue buds may be seen pushing their way up from amidst a tangle of gladio-lus-like leaves. One wonders sometimes how the delicate petals escape being bruiaed during the process. Before the sun has been long over the horizon the exquisite flowers open in response to its warmth. If the flowers are out in the morning just before they open, they will last in water for two or three days. They look especially beautiful if arranged in a rather 41at clear glass bowl, with their own foliage. Their ecent is similar to that of the primrose. Both have the same delicate fragrance. These delightful little irises are the first of a long procession of irises. Before they have finished flowering, purple and white flag irises will be out in bloom. These are followed by the beautiful Spanish irises. Then come the English irises, and last of all the wonderfully rich coloured irises of Japan. Iris stylosa should be planted during spring, after the flowering is over. They do well in light, sandy soil in a sunny position. Japanese irises should be planted this month or next. Like all other irises they like plenty of sand in their soil. The position they like best is a sunny one, with a cool root run. Therefore, the sunny side of a stream or pond suits them well. Those who have neither stream nor pond should prepare the ground for irises very carefully. The sub-soil should be well broken up, and should have mixed with it decayed vegetable matter and coarse sand. Root moisture may be encouraged during the flowering time by thorough watering and mulching.

BOUVARDJAS. Get rid of any old bouvardias that have done little or no good during the past season. Worn out plants mak£ poor growth and carry little or no flowers. With care and extra manuring they can be brought round, but are they worth it? The best way is to throw them out and get a new stock. No planting should be done before October. The bouvardia does not like wet, cold soil, and plants put out now would not do any good till late in the season. A rich, light soil in a position that gets the morning sun but is shaded during the mid-day suits them.

/pLferri-ius*

THE FIG

To be successful in the cultivation of figs it is necessary to keep the trees furnished with sturdy, short-jointed growths. Well-developed young trees will not need pruning the first year, and all that is necessary later on is to remove those growths that would cause overcrowding. Old trees often present more difficulties, especially if they have been neglected. The object is to keep all parts of the tree furnished with young fruit-bearing wood. When pruning, which should be done early in spring, cut away any old fruiting wood that can be spared, and lay in young growths in its place. Always encourage a certain number of young growths from the base of the shoots. Whqn growth has commenced remove any young shoots that are not required for the furnishing of the trees. As a general rule it 5s not necessary to stop the growths of figs during the summer, but when the trees are inclined to be very rank in growth it is advisable to pinch out the points when the shoots are 15in in length. The growths should not be shortened back at the winter pruning, and those that are removed should be cut out close to the branch from which they grow. Figs when they are carrying full crops should have dilute liquid manure and the ground should be mulched to keep the roots moist. When the trees fail to bear fruit root pruning during winter will check growth and induce them to bear. Failure to bear, however, is often due to the fact that a small fly peculiar to the fig is necessary to procure fertilisation of the flowers, and unless this fly is present no fruit sets. Once the fly is introduced to a tree, however, it remains there, carrying over from one season to another by nYeans of the small green ligs which appear before the crop is ready. The best means of introducing this "lly"' to a tree is to procure a branch, of a tree bearing ripe figs and to hang it in the non-bearing tree, allow it to remain until the fruit has decaved.

THE LIFE OF A LEAF. When we look at a large tree such as we see in fpaeious parks where the individual tree is entirely free from competition with its fellows and extends its crown and wide-spreading branches

upwards and outwards untrammelled beauty, wq are inclined to regard its leaves as mere appendages of secondary importance which derive their support from the great root system underground, instead of being as they are, the essential builders of the entire fabric. We may indeed, liken these leaves to the individuals of a community, each one with a life of its own and duties to perform, which consist, as with those of human individuals, in gathering material from their environment, and working this up, not only to their support, but also as a contributor to the construction, maintenance, and extension of a great ramifying system of thoroughfares and channels akin >n functions to those of a great city. Each leaf, we may consider as having been born within a bud, which represents the offspring of its progenitor, the leaf of the previous season, since it is tue province of the leaf in the late summer to devote part of the material at }ts command to fashion at its base, where its stalk is attached to the stem, the bud in question, so that when its individual life ceases it may leave a successor, ready when the growing season recurs, and the warm sun and genial showers of September and October exercise their revivifying influence, to wake up, or rather to be born, like its parental leaf, for another career on like lines. Not only, however, has this parent leaf provided thus for its immediate offspring, but during all its career, it has been busily absorbing, from the air around it carbonic acid gas therein present in a small proportion. By its own vigorous cell growth it has also set up a drain upon the root system far below by absorbing from cell to cell as they grow and multiply, and thus, through a continuous chain of other cells in twig, branch, and trunk, transmitting this absorbtive pressure right down to the roots. This done, by transpiring what they do not need into'the air, there is thus induced a continuous upward stream of sap. The roots, however, are by no means the source of the sap, but only collectors and contributors of part of its materials, viz., the all essential water and such salts as may be solubie therein, and thus transmitting in solution to the leaves above. It is the leaf, which, utilising this solution and uniting it iu combination with the carbon extracted from the air, while completing its own structure of veins cellular growth, digests this mixture and by a reflex current returns it aa perfected

!-a[>, to build tip, not only its own particular twig in the immediate vicinity but, also to send its contribution to strengthen the general rabric by enveloping the trunk secondary brandies and twigs with the annual ling of newwood. It also provides for an independent generation of the tree itself bv contributing to the formation first of the ilowers and then of the seed which are entirely dependent on leaf industry exercised under the benelieent influence and stimulus of the sun. FRUIT TREE PRUNING; The best time for pruning fruit trees is as soon as the leaves have fallen. The gains by early pruning are at least twofold. It gives the wounds ample time to heal before the sap rises in the spring, and it leaves the trees ready to be dealt with as regards spraying, digging and cleaning the ground, and one's hands are free for dealing with other important work in early spring. In pruning young and newly-planted trees it is necessary to prune hard, especially apples and pears. It will be found on examination that many of the young trees are only rods with perhaps a few thin shoots on top. On no consideration should these be left. They should be-headed back to about twelve inches from the ground to force strong growth for the formation of the future frame-work of the tree. Short §teins possess many advantages over tall leggy ones. If they are at all do not hesitate for a moment to cut them hard back at the first pruning. They will then, if well cared for,- send out strong shoots. Even if they arrive with good head formation they must be hard pruned the first year of planting. l The previous year's growth should be cut back to about six inches—a little! more if the growth is very strong. When the same sized tree js planted this season it should be cut back to the fourth eye. or about four inches in length, and always to an outside eye excepting in the case of straggling growers or those which throw out shoots horizontally or something- like the hawthornedean, in which case they should be cut to an inner eye, this having a tendency to keep the trees growing upward. In any case, pruning must be done according to the growth of the tree and the angle it forms.

Stout and strong growing kinds should not be pruned so hard as weak growing kinds. Each tree must be primed according to the strength of each shoot or branch to maintain an evenly-bal-anced tree. Many young trees will send out one or two strong shoots quite out of proportion to the rest. To prune all these side shoots alike would be aggravating and increasing the trouble. Where weak growth occurs and it is desired to get up a strong shoot to fill up a weak side or a space, prune back I main arms fairly hard the second season of the pruning. By doing this, if the | to two eyes and leave the stout shoots to perhaps about six inches to twelve inches. The weaker the growth the harder the pruning, and the stouter the growth the lighter the pruning. To secure the continued stability of the tree it is necessary to prune the trees have done well, they will begin to show numerous fruit spurs, from which a small quantity of fruit may be taken, but the tree will advance more rapidly if all the fruit be removed. -'-i The third and following seasons' pruning should not be so hard unless the growth be weak. From this onwards numerous laterals will be forming- after j each pruning. PERPETUAL FLOWERING CARNATIONS. In order to secure suitable plants of these for blooming next autumn and winter, no better time could be selected for cuttings than the present. Cuttings raised at this time of the year are much hardier than those raised in the spring and a further advantage gained by striking the cuttings at t.hi* time, is that they make more roots and less growth than when put in later. The best cuttings are secured from the side-shoots on the main branches. These can be torn off with a little "'heel" of the main stem on their base, as they will strike all the easier when this La present. Only a few of the bottom leaves need be removed, but this must be done with a sharp knife. Four cuttings may be placed in a four-inch pot in sandy soil, consisting of loam, brick, rubble and sand. If this i.s made fairly firm, the cuttings will soon strike. If the pots are taken to the greenhouse and placed in a box covered with glass the cuttings will strike quite readily.

GOOSEBERRIES AND CURRANTS. The ground should be dug two feet deep and manured 'before planting currants and gooseberries. There is no need to be in too great a hurry, even if the plants do arrive before the ground is quite ready, because they can be laid thickly in a trench and their roots

covered with soil. They arc often planted too thickly, with the result that they become overcrowded in the course of three or four years. The regulation distance is five feet apart each "way, while the bushes should alternate. Their size should be taken into consideration when pruning. If they consist of a stem with three. shoots it is clear they are too few for the foundation of a good bush. All the three shoots should be cut back half their length, and they will give rise to nine or more shoots next year, when they may be allowed to fruit. MUSTARD AND CRESS. The seeds of mustard and cress should not be covered, but simply sown thickly over a prepared surface of fine soil. Water it first, then sift fine material over it and sow tne seed.

POINTS IN SOWING MUSTARD AND CRESfa. t THE ROCKERY. The rockery should be cleared of all fallen leaves, not merely for the sake of appearance, but for the health and safety of the plants, many of which may damp off as a result of the foliage being hidden. Light and air are essential to the welfare of the plant. Slugs and snails hide under heaps of leaves, and do much damage in mild weather. THE BLADDER NUT TREE. Staphylea colchica, one of the bladder nuts, is a deciduous shrub quite worthy of a place in any garden. It i 3 quite hardy and makes a bush three to five feet high. Any fairly light soil will suit it; heavy soils should have a liberal dressing of ,leaf mould added. The flowers are white and are carried in terminal spikes. The flowers are borne on the wood made the previous summer. Consequently any pruning necessary should be left till after flowering. ORNAMENTAZi VINES. Ornamental vines usually grow so rampantly that it is necessary to prune them every year after the leaves have fallen. This is easily done if the rods are regulated and fastened up from the first. All that is requisite then is a sharp knife to out back the hanging shoots to one or two buds, to supply the growth for the following year. They can also be planted now.