Gardeners' queries

Press, 26 September 1980, Page 8

Gardeners' queries

Would y oufeHme : wha tis Happening to the ‘tWO, enclosed, samples of tr?eS? -They-are situated on the-fpirly flat part of the side of f a hill in front of . the hospital" at Akaroa. — W. B. (Akaroa) -p;' . It fo' • detect the.jiprpsfehce: of any pathogenic..‘diseases- in either . the sample.rof.,-Pi-units‘.or wnat appears to -be a ; species of Eu- . genia. Both specimens suggest physical damage such as would be’sustained from intense heat, heavily salt laden wind or even ‘ the result of sudden, very cold. ‘ conditions; Sorry, but I cannot'; '■ be more explicit than this.' ’ I've heard that"you can start a new rubber tree, plant by i -cutting a V. in the trunk of the . plant, inserting; , a leaf, and . binding it up with sellotape '-. Which should- make it. root. Is T there something -to put in the ’ ‘ groove or cut to aid the takingci root process? r— M. C. (Chch). . The propagating technique to ■ which you refei- to is known as ■ aerial layering.. The correct i -method of preparing a plant for this form of layering is as f follows. Make a clean upward . cut about half way through the ‘.- stem, preferably just below a

■ leaf anti not more than 0.3 m below the growing tip.- Open the cut (dusting it with a hormone rooting powder) anti insert some ■ damp sphagnum moss. Place a polythene sleeve (130-200 mm long) over the stem, and tie the bottom end of it ■ approximately 75 mm below the cut. Now fill the rest of the sleeve up and around the cut with more well mois--tened moss, and then seal the top end of the polythene sleeve. When the roots are visible through the bag the layefed section can be cut from the parent plant and potted up. Could you please identify this plant which conies from the Arthur's Pass area — it comes from a rather open growing, shrubby looking plant and suggests a type of- conifer. — J. P. (Chch). Your conjecture is correct. The specimen which you have enclosed for identification is that of an endemic conifer, Drcrydium biforme. This alpine tree is slow growing, interesting in that both adult and juvcinile foliage may be rarely seen in private gardens though once readilv obtainable from a leading North Island nursery.