GARDEN' NOTES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 92, 12 January 1929, Page 28

GARDEN' NOTES

(By

“Kowhai.”)

t VERBENAS. t 2 Verbena plants are very free from mildew this season, for they have not yet 3 bad much chauce of becoming thoroughly 3 dry at the roots. Later on, when dry, hoi ? weather sets in, the plants should be tbor--1 oughly watered at least once a week, and s iu between waterings the soil should be f well stirred. Frequent insufficient waterings are really harmful, for they cause plants to produce their roots just under 1 the surface of the soil, so that they may ! reach the moisture from these slight 1 waterings, and when the soil dries, as it • quickly does, they have scant protection 1 from hot sun. Thorough watering, followed by a good loosening of the surface • soil, encourages plants to make their roots deeper down, where ft is cool and ’ moist, and the loose surface soil prevents the evaporation of that moisture. i Verbenas revel in sunshine, and can ■ stand great heat, but they must have suf- > fleieqt root moisture, or the leaves quick- ’■ ly become white with mildew. It is a safe i plan to dust the plants with flowers of sulphur occasionally, if a layer of grass clippings or well-decayed garden rubbish is tucked iu under the growths, it helps : to keep the roots moist. The plants should have a thorough watering first, and if a little dry fowl manure can be sprinkled > on the ground before the mulch is spread, there will be rapid healthy new growth, and a constant succession of good blooms. The flowers are so wonderfully gay, and are so freely produced when" the plants are well cared for that verbenas make one of our most attractive borders. The long growths should be pegged dowu to keep the plants tidy. The young growths that are to be found on plants just now make splendid cuttings. They should be taken when they are about two inches long, and if they are planted firmly in sandy soil and kept moist, they very soon form roots. The growths that are pegged down, too, make roots where they touch the ground, and if new plants are wanted, some of these may be lifted ' and cut away from the parent plant. YELLOW ARUMS (CALLA ELLIOTIANA.) People are often disappointed with their yellow arums after the first season, for they find that they do not flower well, and in some cases do not even show up after their dormant time. I think that one of the secrets of good flowering is to lift the tubers directly the foliage dies down, aud to store them In a dry place for the winter. If the soil is at all heavy, the tubers are apt to rot during winter, and even where it is not heavy, and plants send up new leaves later, the chill of the winter soil seems to prevent flower buds being formed. The plants like a warm sunny position, and deeply-dug, well-drained, rather rich soil. When the tubers become too large, they may be divided up. Dust charcoal over the cut places, and then leave the tubers on a sjielf for a couple of days before planting them. Water should be supplied at flowering time if the weather is dry. ALYSSUM SAXATILE. Cuttings from young shoots taken directly after flowering root quickly if they are planted firmly in sandy soil in a shady place, and kept moist. They may be planted out in the autumu, and form nice little flowering plants by the spring. Alyssum saxatile is one of the brightest of rock garden plants, for each one becomes literally covered with its tiny golden or lemon flowers. It likes a fairly dry sunny situation. . FLOWERING SHRUBS. Where spring-flowering shrubs, such as forsythias, weigelias, abelias, flowering currants, etc., have not yet been pruned, the work should be done without delay. Cut back branches that have flowered to a strong young shoot. LASIANDRA. Lasiandra bushes should be cut hard back to within about five feet of tile grqund. Afterwards fork over the ground round the shrubs, work in a little bonedust or a sprinkling of dry fowl manure, and spread about an inch of good soil from a garden rubbish heap round each one. NEPETA (CATMINT), Now that its first blooming is over, catmint looks rather shabby, but if faded flower stalks are cut back a little, new flowering shoots soon push out. It is a help to the plants to have the soil about their roots stirred, and a little quickacting fertiliser such as superphosphate or dry fowl or fish manure sprinkled over the surface. If new borders are to be planted in the autumn, plants should be propagated from cuttings now. Strong young shoots may be taken from the centre of a plant, and planted in a nursery bed. As soon as they begin to make growth, the tips should be nipped off. If they are kept growing steadily they should be, by April, nice little bushy plants ready for planting out. ROSES. Rose bushes are very willing workers where they are properly looked after, aud keep us supplied with a constant succes-

siou of beautiful blooms. It stands to reason that plants that keep making so much new growth soon impoverish the ground, and regular feeding is necessary. After the first great flowering, a mulch of well-rotted stable manure is very acceptable, but it is, alas, becoming a difficult thing to get. The next best thing is to sprinkle dry fowl manure, or a very little sulphate of ammonia round the bushes, and to top-dress with a little good humus-y soil. If sulphate of ammonia is being used, it should be crushed to a powder, and care should be taken to keep it off any foliage. When the roses are being hosed for greenfly, the water dissolves and washes the stimulant into the soil, and the bushes soon show the benefit of it.

As soon as a flower fades, it should be cut off with a good length of stem. The ground about the roses should be wellforked over frequently, and the bushes should be watched lest they become loosened by wind, for plants that are allowed to sway about keep breaking their feeding roots, and thus suffer from starvation regardless of good food in the soil. VEGETABLES. TOMATOES. Tomatoes are gross feeders, and once fruit has set, food should be literally poured into the plants. Some growers mix animal manure and good soil in equal parts, and give a good top-dressing of this. Liquid manure should be given once a week after a good watering, but if animal manure has been used for top-dressing, liquid manure will not be needed for two or three weeks. Keep the plants well tied to their stakes, and laterals pinched out. Cauliflower and cabbage plants that have been put out recently must be kept well-watered, for if they are allowed to suffer from drought they are liable to bolt. Cauliflowers that are beginning to flower need plenty of water aud weak liquid manure to make the heads big. Half an ounce of nitrate of soda in one gallon of water may be supplied freely. Never apply liquid manure strong, and apply it to wet, not dry. ground. Cabbages must be watched for aphis. Regular syringing of the leaves, especially the undersides, helps to keep it away. Quick growth, attained by means of the frequent use of the hoe, and by weekly closes of weak liquid manure also helps to keep blights away.