IN THE GARDEN

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21088, 13 February 1934, Page 5

IN THE GARDEN

.^ — WORK FOR THE WEEK (specially written foe the trees.) fßy J. T. SIXCLAIK.} ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS Sorrell—Tlio plant sent is an oxalis, and is » bad weed to get rid o£. If you drench tho roaei bed with sodium chlorate you would spoil the rose bushes. Tho host plan would be to remove (he top soil and replace it with clean. You can try smothering the weed with grass cuttings, but as you. would have to pot enough on to ferment, you must keep it away from the stems of tho roses or the bark will become soft and probably decay. CM.—lt sometimes happens at this time that young peas will not pus); up through Iho soil when the surface is hot and dry, even when growth has begun underground. Jt is a good plan to keep the surface moist until the seedlings are ihrough. This can be accomplished by the use of the watering can or hose after the heat of the day has passed. If semishade, in Ihe form of branches off evergreen shrubs, is given it would bo iin advantage. Moisture at tho roots must he given in abundance. The aim must be to give a* cool a> condition as it is possible to give. I'ruito—Your apricot frees have brown rot. Spray them in late August with the winter' formula of Bordeaux mixture, and again when tho buds show a tinge of colour. Usa the summer formula of lime-sulphur when tho flowers have dropped and again at thrc 1 weeks' intervals. One or two sprayings are not sufficient to combat this disease. The spraying must bo dono thoroughly and frequently. C.J.F.A.—The besl time to plant lily of the valley is in Hay. It is not best In I plant it in clumps, but tho crowns should bo planted singly. Sand is not a good I rooting medium. Good soil is necessary. I and tho best manure is leaf soil. Howto p'ant them will be given in this column in due season.

CURRENT WORK Plenty of water must be given to peas at this season, or the pods will not fill. If late peas are r.ot mulched an effort should be made to do it now, as then there will not be so much water needed. If young onions are wanted during winter to use as a salad, seed may be sown now, either in drills or broadcast. As soon as winter vegetables have a good grip of the soil, run the Dutch hoc through the rows in which the plants are set. The earliest planted lots will need earthing up. As soon as they can be handled, thm rhe early-sown endive plants to a distance of about 10 inches. Make a sowing of yellow-fleshed turnips to give a supply of young roots during winter. Extra care should be taken in gathering early apples and pears. Early varieties of both these fruits should be gathered before they are quite ripe. Early pear trees should be frequently examined. It is a mistake to gather all the fruits at once. It can easily be ascertained which fruits are ready for gathering, for u carefully lifted to one side, a ripe fruit parts freely lrorn the wood.

As soon as the raspberry crop is gathered, cut down all the old fruiting canes and loop up to the supports, as a protection against' aarnage by rough winds, a few more than will be sufficient of the strongest of the voung ones to take their place. Afterwards cut out all surplus suckers, pull up any weeds that may be seen, and give the plot a general clean up. See that violets are kept free from runners and keep them well supplied with water during hot weather. Sweet peas must not be overlooked and constant removal of seed pods will do much to induce them to continue flowering.

The rose garden must not be neglected now, and blooms should be picked off as they fade. Hoe and rake the beds and attend to any plants which are mildewed, them with flowers of sulphur or spray them with lime sulphur. Give attention to climbers on trellises and fences, but do not tie them in too severely, " much of their beauty will be lost. Such bedding subjects as mescmbryanthemums, verbena, and annual phlox, must be kept regulated and pegged down, and the beds kept fresh and free from weeds. Pot the last batch of winter [lowering carnations and take cuttings as soon as possible for next year's stock. Cuttings struck in the autumn are better than weakly ones in spring. Pot on begonias of the winter flowering section and keep them in a clean and growing atmosphere. FLOWERS Chrysanthemums 'selecting the budsj—-This is perhaps the most important point of all the details connected with chrysanthemum culture, because if the right bud is not chosen it is impossible to obtain a perfect bloom. Where large flowers of the May i exhibition kinds are desired, now is i the time to secure or make sure of the ( I buds to produce them. During May complaints reach nn 1 that flowers which have hard, green centres do not develop, and throw out their petals in an irregular manner. Among growers there is a common term employed of "taking the bud.'' When a bud is forming at the point of a shoot, growth will cease for a day or two and again push into activity by the production of numerous growths on the same shoot. As a rule, shoots will spring first from the nodes below the flower bed. In seme instances, as many as 10 will push. In all cases, the three top shoots grow much the faster, owing their strength to being at the apex of the plant. When these shoots are an inch long, the flower bud will then bo sufficiently formed to allow 1 the cultivator to judge whether its lorm is perfect. Sometimes, owing to an attack of an insect pest, or a bruise, the bud does not present a perfect shape—round and clean. If this is so. it is useless to allow it to remain and expect a penect bloom. Presuming, then, that the bud is all right, the side growth should be removed to concentrate the whole of the energy of the plant into the bud selected. The best time for taking the buds or removing the shoots is early in the morning, or in the evening, when the dew is on the plants. The shoots at that time are more brittle. If the stem is held secure in the lefthand, and the young growths which are intended for removal are bent suddenly down one at a time, they snap off. After a little practice this method of taking off superfluous shoots is more expeditious than cutting them off with a knife, but if the operation is effected during the middle of the day, when it is hot and dry, the shoots are quite tough, and the risk of damaging the flower bud is much increased. If the side shoots have reached a length of from three to six inches it is too late to remove them to the advantage of the bud. In such a case it is open to the grower to secure s few fairly large blooms, or eight to 1U moderate-sized ones. For the former select the strongest side shoots on each stem and cut off all the others. This will then grow away vigorously as a continuation of the mam stem, and later vield a crop of buds at its apex which should be reduced to one only. Should another "crown" bud appear—that is, a single bud surrounded by shoots as explained above, secure this at once by removing the new side shoots as already detailed. For a larger number of blooms select three or four of the best shoots now developing and remove the remainder. Treat these as just advised when tney show buds. If a plant has now three main stems, these in their turn to carry tnree secondary stems, the result will be nine good blooms, or four mam stems carrying four secondary ones will vield 16 blooms. A dozen flowers

is a good number for a strong plant Vhave* explained at some length the method to be adopted to "take the buds. Readers will be anxious now to know when this all-important work is to be carried out, Mucn depends upon the variety of circumstances. Fur instance, one variety will nsed to ? a its flower buds half a n'?;;' 1 than another; still, both will bioom at ! the same time. This is one of the details which experience of each alone can teach. From the middle to the end oi February is *.he tim to select buds of Japanese varieties to carry large blooms and beginning to the middle of Maich fu the Chinese section. Trapping Earwigs A correspondent at Ashburton asks for a few hints on trapping earwigs, and other sufferers from trie depravations will probably be glad of a few ; hints. The following hints do not deal with sprays. At this season the flowers the uurwigs most favour ai e danlias chrysanthemums, and carnations, but'the/may be found amongst any dry rubbish, such as shrivelled lea\ es of Michaelmas daisies pcremualphiox, sunflowers, and the like, which cling round the stem and iorm an «.cJlent shelter. All such harbourage should be removed, together witn an* othei , dry rubbish. Dead rose and dedn a blooms unshaltered are sure mding places. Of traps, the farmUai flower pot on the top of a tall stase is well known. The pot should contain hay or crumpled paper or loose ot the types referred to above■ Ano.nti good trap is prepared uom de-d broad bean stems. Remove die J leaves . and twigs and cut the stems into five : or six-inch lengths, and lay dic-n among the branches of the plants. The : Ss* should be hollow tlircughout Lengths of bamboo stems and pieces ■ of old rubber hose can ba similarly i u'-ed Match boxes containing moments of dry, dead leaves are like- -• wise efTective. The box r should be ' opened a quarter of an men for cgie,. | and a hook inserted nt the other end 1 for suspending the trap by. The : hooks are easily made from th.n \uie ( or hairpins. The traps should be examined every morning and nc contents cither shaken out where, low3s can turn them to account or into ■ vessel of water into whica a spoonliU or so oC kerosene has been poured. The contents of bean stalks, namboos, > and pieces of hose are best ejected bv I blowing vigorously through loom with L the mouth. Crumpled and looselyfolded paper make good trap., but ' when used outdoors they must be 1 weighted at one end so that they do not blow awav. The curds of caun- , flowers and burst hearts of cabbages ' are favourite haunt" of the earwig m - vegetable garden*. The hollow articles - above mentioned make good traps i among these.