Gardeners’ Queries

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31018, 25 March 1966, Page 6

Gardeners’ Queries

Would you pleaso toll m« the name of the Celmisla to which the enclosed leaf belongs. Also the Anlsotome? — B. W. (Akaroa). Celmisla armstrongil; Anisotome intermediate complex. One of my Michaelmas daisies is badly affected by a white covering on the leaves and seems to be withering the Rowors. Some of tho others have odd leaves similarly affected.— . .E. K. (Fairlie). Powdery mildew Is responsible for the sickly appearance of your asters. Spray with the specific chemical control for this disease—karathane, or apply captan or dithane. Plant for identification found on a tramping trip and causing us to wonder whether It Is a beech or not.—M. D. (Christchurch). Yes, it is the Mountain beech, Nothofagus solandri cllffortiodes. Could you Identify the enclosed? We found It growing at Tai Tapu just beside the foot bridge leading to Chlrstchurch. The leaves come from a fairly tall tree with weeping branches. Is it a native and could you give both common and botanical names? Please do not think that I am In the habit of taking flowers or plants from reserves and hope that you will forgive this instance. —E. C. (Rangiora). The leaves and flowers belong

to a native tree, the common Lace Bark, Houhere—Hoherla populfiea. It is an offence to remove any plants or foliage from reserves and it is easy enough to appreciate the reason for this, because if everyone who entered these areas took just one sample the frontage would rapidly be denuded. Could you tell me the name of the peach and apple both of which are self sown. —“Self Sown" (Grey Valley).

As a general rule fruit trees raised from seed very rarely come true to type. That is to say, the fruit borne by the seedling is usually different from the parent from which the seed originated. Peaches and plums are inclined to be more true to type, while apples are the direct opposite.

I would like to raise some pink-Rowered chestnut trees and would be grateful if you could tell me whether I can grow these from the nuts and If so whether special treatment Is necessary?— W. W. (Ashburton). The “nuts’’ to which you allude are the seed, although the red horse chestnut is a hybrid, it does come fairly true from seed, which should be sown as soon as it has matured. It can be planted outside In the garden beneath about one inch of soil and the germination rate Is usually good. Alternatively, budding could be contemplated now on to a common horse chestnut stock using the smallest buds at the base of the bud stick.

With all th« fusi concerning the use of D.D.T., is It permissible to use in the process of sowing down a lawn and if so how would you apply It?—“Wondering" (Christchurch)

D.D.T, can certainly be used on lawns, its restrictive form of use applying to farm land used for grazing fattening stock. Superphosphate containing D.D.T. can be purchased obviating the necessity of having to add It oneself. It 1b highly recommended for initial topdresslng when sowing down a lawn. Can broad beans be sown In the same place for several years or not? This question Is asked because we had a lot of brown marks all over ours last time and we were told that It was a disease. Also the part of the garden for sowing same Is just in a handy position.—M. S. (Kalapol). It is highly probable that the disease you are referring to is chocolate spot, a most frequent invader of broad beans. This fungus disease can be carried over on infected crop refuse which may have been used to supplement the compost heap or buried in the very area that carried the crop. For this reason, quite apart from the desirability to practise rotation, it would be advisable to select another spot for this year's bean sowing. Having on occasions been faced with a similar problem of possessing a particularly suitable area for a certain vegetable, I can commiserate with you on the magnitude of the issue.