Practical Gardening

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

Practical Gardening

. <D IADTTM U S

SWEET PEAS. GROWING IN POTS. ■a Sweet peas are not often grown as pot plants, anyway not in New Zealand, but they are quite a good line, and in England large quantities are grown for winter and early-flowering purposes in this way. If pots are not available deep boxes, such as butter boxes, or even kerosene tins, can be used, although if the latter are used care must be taken to see that the dtainage is good. Slats of wood must be placed underneath the tin to keep it free of the ground, and plenty of hard core should be placed in the bottom before the compost is put in. Good fresh turfy loam from an old pasture, with the addition of some good lime rubble, about the size of peanuts, and a sprinkling of bonedust would give a compost quite suitable. Of course, additional feeding would have to be given later on, but this compost would be quite good enough for the present. Make the soil fairly firm and do not put in fliore than half the compost; the other can be added in the form of topdressing later on. Three or four seeds should be sown in each pot or tin. Any surplus plants can be pulled out and used elsewhere. Although growing in pots, do not cuddle the plants; give them as much of the open air as possible. Of course, shelter from heavy rains or storms or cold winds is advisable, but do not think that, being in pots, they become hothouse plants. For winter flowering seeds should be sown now, and if you .have no room in tlio garden, or the garden is not suitable, try a few boxes or tins of an early-flowering sweet pea; there is sure to l>e some sheltered corner where they can stand. FREESIAS. These should be grown in large quantities, as they are really indispensable and are also general favourites, on account of their lovely perfume. The corms should be ordered at once, as they need potting early to obtain the best results. Seven or eight should be placed in a sin pot, in a light compost of loam, leaf soil and sand, standing the pots in a cold frame, which should be covered with a mat until the growth commences, when they should be grown as sturdily as possible. There are many fine freesias available, but for general purposes, where large quantities are required for entting, none are better than F. refracta var. alba, Purity (a pure white), Buttercup, a glorious yellow, and Golden King, a very fine late yellow variety. ANEMONES. The corms should be lifted before the foliage dies completely, as root action will begin at once should a good soaking of rain come, and lifting is useless thereafter. It seems that these plants cannot be grown successfully for more than one year without transplanting, as one often hears the expression, "Oil, just die out with us," and even if they do survive they give a very poor representation of what a bed of anemones should be when happy.

THINNING GRAPES. A great deal of success in grape cultivation depends greatly on the way the berries are thinned. This work is often thought to be tedious, but with a little experience it becomes interesting, and it is surprising the number of bunches on© is going to leave in each rod. The old rule, and it » a safe one, is to allow lib of grapes to each foot run of rod. That is to say, a rod 12ft long should not be allowed to carry more than 121b of grapes. This weight can be, and often is, exceeded without exhausting th© vines, but it can only safely be done by experienced growers who know how to use highly concentrated manures. Th© inexperienced should rather undercrop than overcrop. A vine that is not overcropped will continue throughout the season to produce sub-laterals. These must,. of course, be removed regularly, or the principal leaves will not have the necessary space to get properly developed. When th© berries are the size of sweet pea seeds the first thinning can be done. The operator will need a pair of scissors with long points, which should be quite clean and sharp. A piece of wire 1 or a thin stick 6in or Bin long is useful for steadying the bunches as the berries are cut. Berries with long foot stalks need not be thinned so severely a« round berries, which have short foot stalks. Black Hamburg may be taken as an example of the former and Gros Colmer the latter. Late kinds must be thinned more frequently than early or mid-season kinds. The centre of the bunches of all late ones should be left fairly open, as that is the part of the bunch that decay generally sets in. Begin at the bottom of the bunch, first removing all small seedless lierries and work upwards to the shoulders, which, if large, should be loo|>ed up with raffia. When the thinning is finished the berries should be about Am apart, so that they have space to swell to their proper size, Gros Colmer and Gros Maroc are large berried kinds and must be left about Jin apart. In about a fortnight's time the bunches should be looked over again in order that any. badly placed berries 'may bo removed, and to secure that perfect balance all round which always shows the properly thinned bunch. In order to preserve the bloom on the berries, the bunches must not be rubbed or twisted in any way. The bloom on the berries is the natural protection against decay, and on no account should the hand come in ■contact with the bunches or the bloom will be destroyed. TYING AND STAKING. The 9© operations constitute a very large part of the work in the garden at present, and their timely performance ensures that all plants will look their best when in flower. Phloxes that are likely to develop large heads should have their growths staked individually. The side shoots of asters, early flowering chrysanthemums and hosts of similar plants should be looped up to prevent their breaking when rain and the autumn winds come to test them.

MIGNONETTE. Mignonette may be sown now to bloom during the winter months. Two methods are pursued in the cultivation of this fragrant flower. A simple way is to sow thinly in six-inch pots, and to thin out the seedlings leaving the most vigorous. Another way is to sow

a pinch of seeds tliinlv in the centre of tlnimb pots, and to pull out all but the best plants when vet quite small. Tliey should be repotted into larger sizes as they grow. A compost may be made of loam, loaf-mould, and sand, with some lime rubble. GENERAL WORK DC THE FLOWER GARDEN. Seeds of weeds have come up very freely since tJie rain, and also seeds that have fallen from plants such as antirrhinums, larkspurs, godetias, poppies, dimorphotliecas, coreopsis and others. Some of these seedlings may be saved to grow on and flower by thinning them out to the required distances apart, or by transplanting them when they are large enough. The soil is now moist enough and in good condition for sowing a few varieties of hardy annuals. Layers of carnations that were put down early in the year will greatly benefit by the recent rains and should soon start to root and l>e ready to take <>fT. Zinnias should have spent flowers cut off. I his greatly prolongs flowering jMM'iod and produces more sliapelv plants. The same applies to African and French marigolds. The whole of the beds and borders should be hoed over to kill the numerous seedling and other weeds that have appeared in such numbers; hand weeding among the plants must be done, for it is surprising how quickly the weeds grow. Cutting back and regulating the growth of several of the plants is necessary. This enables them to make good growth for autumn flowering. Dahlias and chrysanthemums require some of the superfluous shoots cut out and their growth regulated. They should be tied to their supports. Bedding plants, such as iresines, alterhartheras. etc.. require to be gone over and stopped to keep them dwarf and bushy. Verbenas should have the straggling shoots and old flower heads cut back. Petunias also need trimming. All varieties of pelargoniums may be cut back—new growth will start, and dwarf, bushy plants will be produced to flower towards the end of the autumn. Weeds must be got rid of by hoeing and weeding and by forking out sorrel, convolvulus and other deep and running rooted kinds.

PANSIES AND VIOLAS. POINTS FOR EXHIBITION. Inquiries are often made as to what are the points and differences between pansies and violas. The pansy is divided into two sections, show and fancy; the show section is again divided into white, yellow and dark selfs. It must be distinctly understood that flowers which come up to exhibition standard are not raised by hundreds from seed. Some of the modern strains of seed produce some wonderfully fine flowers, large, and to the ordinary individual unsurpassable, but to the strict pansy fancier they lack those points of refinement that distinguish a firstclass show bloom. Fancy Pansy. —The form of a pansy should be round, i.e., as near a complete circle as possible. The blotches must be dense, circular and clear cut, not running into the edging, and may be one or a combination of colours, but must be distinct from the blotches and of equal breadth all round. Tl>: side petals should meet close above the eye, the under petal should be straight across, level with the eye and reach the entire width of* the side petals. Top petals may be of one or more colours, the eye should be exactly in the centre of the flower, distinct and without rays; the size should not be under two inches and a half in diameter. The flower when placed on a stand for competition should not lie flat, but be higher in the centre, giving it a convex or arched appearance. Show Pansies.—The form and petals should be similar as in fancy pansies, and the sise not less than one and threequarter inches in diaifceter. The flower must be of good substance, with a clean cut eye in the centre. Dark selfs must be of one colour throughout. White and yellow selfs must be of one colour, except the blotches, which should be well defined and dense, the lacing to be of equal breadth all round and of one colour. Violas.—The flowers may be of one or more colours, should be of good texture, with or without rays from the eye, as nearly round as possible, and not under one inch and a half in diameter. It will be seen from the above that in the case of the pansy, large, nearly circular blooms, well defined colours, large broad petals of a thick, velvety texture, with a clear eye, without rays, are required. The viola, on the other hand, can be a smaller, more oblong flower. The chief requirements are that the flower be firm, petals thick, colour distinct; existence of rays is not a disadvantage. The following are the points allotted: Pansy, Show (belted or margined blooms). Points 6. (a) Form of flower circularity and smoothness of petal and edge, 1 point; (b) stoutness and quality of texture, 1 point; (c) clearness of ground colour, 1 point; (d) denseness and solidity of blotch, 1 point; (e) similarity of tint, evenness and regularity of belting, 1 point; (f) brilliancy and freshness, 1 point. Pansy, Show (self blooms).—Points 6. The "show" pansy is quite distinct for exhibition purposes from the "fancy," and has three distinct sections, viz., yellow ground, white ground and eelfa. (a) Circularity, petals smooth, edge not serrated, 11 points; (b) texture thick, velvety, flat, 1 point; (c) belting on the | white and yellow grounds, regular, colour decided, 1J points; (d) dense, solid eve, 1 point; (e) brilliant colours and freshj ness, 1 point. Pansy, Fancy (show blooms).—Points 6. (a) Circularity, smoothness of petal and edge, 1J points; (b) texture thick, velvety, fiat, A point; (c) harmonious colours without confusion, } point; (e) Size combined with other qualities 1J points; (f) brilliancy and freshness, 1 point. Viola. Points 6. (a) Good outline and stoutness of petal, 1 point; (b) smoothness of petal and ed«e 1 point; (c) in selfs, well defined colours' 1 point; (d) in belted and blotched flowers, harmony without confusion, 2 points; ( C ) erect, stout stems, blooms facing well to the front, 1 point. TO CORRESPONDENTS. R.B.F. (Auckland) writes: Some of mv tomatoes have their foliage mottled with ,lat . is the cause and c ur. - I hp tomato plant is nffected with i virn- dls '"'. ,se : ".' e cns,,al organism being ■i urns. ( ontrol measures against this disease are: <1, The removal ami de* 1,7 "" hy tire of all affected plants- <-> the eradication of all insect rests more especially 11, rips and other Bu?Uns" lln.fr' 1 * • al "' <") the eradication of oth.-r host plants, e.g.. tobacco. E m'.w| ( . , r arn, '"l ) I Wri,PS: 1 P»t down two mushroom beds. After i pilt in thp ro',l km ill r° . " ,0t ° f lU,le *"*<*<••« «ike red spiders. I was anxious to know i» they would destroy the spawn or mushrooms and if so. what remedy would be best.—Spraying with one of the pvretliruin extracts, or using derris powder would he satisfactory. If i n too great a number they would damage the mushharniful aS " rUle the> ' are not very 08. (Mount Eden) asks: The best position, indoors or outdoors, and the decree of watering required for a dwarfed tig tree just received from Japan, at present keeping fairly dry ?—They are quite nardy and do outdoors the same as other trees, but care must be taken to look after them. They are best kept in vases or pots and stood on verandahs or beside stone steps, etc. They can be kept Just moist, as is usual, and a little liquid sheep manure will keep them a good colour. Planted out they are lost or out of place, and as root restriction is the secret of dwarfing it will he understood that when planted out. should the roots get away the dwarfing habit can he overcome. I'uis or vases with a restricted root ruu and liquid manure in small quantities to give sufficient food are the secrets of keeping them dwarf Even potting and topdrossing is advisable. Regarding water, they must have enough to keep the plant plump, in fact the amount of water must be equal to what any growing plant requires. It is. as said above, a restricted root run and not a restricted water supplv, that must he considered. Of course, anything approaching stagnant moisture or" sour soil is fatal. G.IT.S. (Auckland) asks: What is the cause of the tomato fruits decaying at the end where the flowers were.—The tomato fruits are affected with blossom end rot. a physiological disease which is induced by an insufficient amount of soil moisture at the critical period when the fruits are swelling and by an excessive amount of nitrogenous matter in the compost. This trouble may arise when the root system is small in comparison with the amount of foliage and fruits, so that the Picreased demand for water can- I not be met. I