PRACTICAL GARDENING

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 87, 6 January 1933, Page 3

PRACTICAL GARDENING

Helpful Hints for Rmateur Growers

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“The Hoe”

Anemone Coronaria from Seed Why raise one’s own anemones when tubers are so cheap? Well, oue overwhelming reason is that, though the first blooms may come in a few mouths' time, seedling plants need not be lifted and divided for four years, perhaps not till the fifth season, if they are obviously doing excellently. Then there is the excitement of watching for the rare beautiful colours among hybrids and the “doubling” of some varieties. Then remember culture is easy. Just make a rich, yet sand-lighten-ed bed or border in the open. Sec that it is quite level, and the soil fine on the surface. Mix the woolly seed with sand in plenty, sow as evenly as possible, cover by sifting on just enough compost to hide it, and then throw on a very light covering of moist manure that has been wea-ther-robbed of its richness. Really there is nothing else to do but cut out every weed that shows, and give water through a fine-rosed can if the sky refuses them moisture. Many amateur gardeners sow in October and fail, but success is almost certain from sowings In January and February, so long as the soil is kept from drying up. I find seedlings give wonderful effects in rockeries. Seed is exceedingly plentiful., but gardeners would do well to gather from their own plants that left by the biggest, brightest and best blooms only. Seed sown in Gin. pots, sunk to the rims in cinder beds or the ground, will provide charming ornaments for occasional use in sitting rooms. * * 4> Ways of Watering It is always well to be sure that plants really need moistening before you go to the labour of watering. Very often water is applied to the soil when it is quite moist enough, just because the surface looks dry; if the trouble is taken to lift out a trowelful of soil, however, it may be discovered that au inch or two below it is not suffering from (ack of water and so the surface dryness may be corrected with a refreshing sprinkle. The ground will remain moist a long time if the surface is kept loose by the frequent use of the hoe and fork and if the hose or watering can is brought into use when really needed. W,hen rain has fallen 1 , or the ground has been watered by the gardener, the hoe should be used between the rows of plants a short time afterwards, and the surface soil reduced to a fineness that turns to dust as soon as the sun gets to work upon it, creating a layer which acts as a screen to the moist soil below. To let matters remain thus, however, would be folly, for after a while the sun draws the moisture from the lower soil in spite of the dusty screen, and the dryness gets deeper and deeper. To counteract and even prevent this happening, water should be given, preferably in the evening at frequent intervals during the hot spell; but this application will be practically wasted if the hoe is not applied immediately afterwards. It is next to useless to pour quantities of wafer on the plants. It is far better to pour the water between the rows and on the soil around the plants and afterwards give the ground a good hoeing. After such treatment the growth of vegetables is remarkable, especially if a little soot-water or liquid manure is poured between the rows at short intervals —again, being well hoed in afterwards. Where the hoe can be got between the plants in the flower garden the same process will result in more luxuriant growth and moi-e and larger flowers. * * • Nitrate of Soda Nitrate of soda has long taken its place as one of the most generally useful artificials for top-dressing, though synthetic nitrogenous manures are now competing with it for agricultural purposes, especially on the Continent, but for convenience of use and quick results it seems to be in no immediate danger of being supplanted in the garden. It should contain rather more than 15 per cent, of nitrogen, or about 349 pounds of plant food in a tou of nitrate. When that is compared with some ten to fifteen pounds of nitrogen in a ton of average stable manure, it will be seen what a highly concentrated plant food it is, aud how carefully it needs using. One of the great points in its favour for garden purposes is the control it gives us over plant growth. When left on the surface of a dry soil, a halt'-hour's steady rain will dissolve it and bring it within reach of the roots of most plants, while a whole day's rain would carry some of it beyond the reach of shallow-rooted subjects, unless the soil was very dry. Its strength and its solubility, therefore, determine the. method of its application, which should be on the principle of little and often. This minimises the risk both of loss by drainage and of injury to the delicate roots and leaves of young growing plants. The amount used is important, and this depends upon the nature of the crop and the repetition or otherwise of the dressing. Farmers allow a hundredweight to the acre for corn crops as an only dressing. and two or three applications at this rate for mangolds and beet. Now a hundredweight to the acre is rather less than a pound to forty square yards, or, roughly. a half-ounce to the square yard. When first using these strong manures, it is advisable to weigh and measure, as it is so easy to apply two or three times this amount without knowing it. I saw a novice once putting on basic slag with a trowel so thickly that it hid the ground. Where only one dressing is going to be given in the spring, as. for instance, in the case of a bush fruit plantation, an ounce to the square yard is a fair and safe dressing, but for tender-rooted young growing crops, such as lettuce, spinach, onions, and roots generally, where the dressing should be repeated after two or three weeks if the weather is favourable, half this amount at a time is enough. It is obviously of no use, and may do harm, to repeat a drossing when the first has not btjcn dissolved. With onions, beet, and asparagus, nitrate may be given several times during the season, but with carrots and parsnips the season during which it can bo used is limited by the difficulty of applying it without injuring the leaves. The same applies to beds of annuals, though these, being generally smaller and more accessible, the difficulty can in most cases be got over. * * » Take Shrub Cuttings Many readers may luivp favourite trees or shrubs which they would like to increase by layering or taking cuttings. If but a few are required some 5 or 6-inch pots should be filled with sandy loam or good garden soil to which sand has been added freely. Choose short-jointed, firm cuttings about 8 or 9 inches long, of the present season's growth. These will be found on the lower half of the bush, as those on the upper part are usually Jong-jointed ami sappy and do not root satisfactorily. With a sharp knife sever the shoot from the brunch just below where it started to grow in the spring, as it will then possess a "heel’’ or thin slice of old wood. After removing the leaves from the lower end for about 3 inches, and about 2 inches of the soft lip, the remaining part will be an ideal cutting about 6 inches long, and may then be inserted in pots of soil at 2 inches apart. Water sufficiently to wet the soil through, and place the pots in a shaded frame or box with a glass covering, which should be kept close for about a fortnight unti) Ilin leaves cease to wilt. Large’quantities should be inserted in prepared sandy soil under a frame, where they must remain for a year or thereabouts before being transplanted. Layering shrubs is carried out in much the. same way as layering a carnation, but the layered branch must not lie moved until autumn of the following vettr.

Hydrangea Blooms A word or two about keeping the flowers of hydrangeas after they have been cut for indoor work. As soon as the stalks are cut, drop the whole head into water, covering every part, of the foliage and flower. Leave the biooms in water until early in the morning after the cutting has been done. Then take out each head and shake it to get rid of the free water. After that bruise and crush the stem end, when the very decorative trusses of blossom will be ready for fixing indoor or for sending to friends. ■« » « Save ia Few Flower Seeds It is, of course, quite easy to save the seed of some vegetables and flowers, e.g., broad beaus aud delphiniums, aud lue quantity of seed you can save from oue plant is amazing. It is not, however, so easy to procure the seed of smaller plants, and you have to be very much on the qui vive to harvest them at the right moment, for if you are a day’or two late, you will find the seed-vessels empty, aud the seed gone. As a rule, the spring aud early summer flowers give an abundant.harvest,' for the seeds stand every chance of ripening during the summer months. Wheu, however, the autumn is wet, the seeds of late-flowering plants are difficult to save, and you must be on the look-out to' collect them at the very first opportunity, or wet weather may get in and ruiu them. Here are a few plants from which the seed is easy to harvest, and from which you may expect to get comparatively good results: —Annuals; Leptosyne, Stillmanii, Lavatera, Nigella, Gypsophila. Perennials: Lupin, Antirrhinum, Aquilegia, Sweet William, Foxglove, and Gladiolus and Dahlia, if the autumn is not too wet. The seed should be collected in every case on a dry and preferably suuny day. when the seeds themselves are dry enough to rattle in their seed cases. They may be -placed, when gathered, in a shallow box covered with glass, and put in full sun in the greenhouse, or behind a sunny window. In a week’s time they may be packed in envelopes, which should be labelled clearly and put away in a dry place. Be careful not to collect too much seed of any one variety; it is very easy to do this, and then you will be overwhelmed the following spring by the amount of seed at your disposal. As you harvest the seed, it is worth while noticing the extraordinary variety of receptacles which nature has provided for containing theseed of different plants. * « * Timely Topics Cease stopping the growths of bush chrysanthemums. Overcrowded lettuces will never form good hearts. Now is a good time to lift and divide narcissi, where necessary. Freshness counts for much in exhibiting vegetables. The last sowings of summer lettuces are made during this month. See that late peas do not suffer for want, of water, or they will probably be attacked with mildew. Cut out old wood from rambler roses when they have done blooming, and tie in. the young growths. . Trained fruit trees which are making too vigorous growth may be cured by root-pruning in autumn. ; Plunged -pot plants need less watering than those standing on the soil level, but examine them frequently in dry weather. When the soil is dry enough, following rain or loosen the surface with the hoe. \ I. ~ . No.matter how carefully a lawn was hand-weeded earlier-in . the ..year, a few weeds are sure to appear during summer, and these should be removed as soon as noticed. ■ . The summer pruning of certain fruit trees is beneficial in that it allows of the free admittance'©! sun and air to the fruit and to the growth, and this is not the only benefit. . !The growth of herbaceous perennials in the borders is heavy now, and' rain and wind will play havoc if this is not kept properly supported. -A good! plan is to look around once a week .for'the express purpose of giving an extra support or tie where it is needed. ’ * Small Seedlings Are Worth Keeping When raising a lot of seedlings it is generally felt that the biggest aud most sturdy plants are the best worth keeping. Often if a grower has a large number of strong plants he will keep these and throw the smaller ones away. This is really a mistake. A very good illustration is that of mixed Canterbury Bells; the biggest seedlings usually produce blue flowers. The delicate creams and pinks, which are so much admired, nearly always arise from plants that are somewhat less sturdy. So that if the smaller specimens are thrown away you will be losing some of the best types. The same is true of sweet peas; it is not always the most robust plants that give the best flowers. With petunias, and begonias, too, the least sturdy seedlings usually flower the most freely ; those which are very strong make a lot of leafage with small, and less finely coloured, blooms. It is therefore an excellent plan in a mixed batch of seedlings to take some plants of all sizes aud then one can be sure of getting the best types. Daffodils and Hippeastrums Pick up daffodils and jonquils any time you like after the foliage has dried out. It is a mistake to leave the bulbs in the hot, dry soil from oue year to another. Men who grow daffodils for special show purposes and for sale always lift their goods to force the necessary rest on the bulbs, which are among the easiest as well as the most charming flowers used for show work or for home decorations. Left too long in the same place, the bulbs crowd themselves out and do not flower satisfactorily. All who are making a collection of bippeastrums should now be inquiring about the uew bulbs which they intend planting, states "Red Gum” in the "Sydney Morning Herald.” Once the flowers have fallen and the seed pods are ready for gathering, the large bulbs of the most striking trumpet flower known are about mature enough for lifting and replanting. Early shifting gives the bulbs a chance to make ready the Bowers they should be opening next October or early in November. Buying and planting bippeastrums during the winter as has been the custom for many years is a wasteful method. Try and do better with these most wonderful bulbous plants. . Half a dozen good varieties will provide a fine start in a very pleasurable business. From the first flowering enough seed should be ripened to give 200 or more seedlings which should provide a lot of

enjoyment. Seeds germinate freely when scattered on the soil surface and lightly covered with a little sandy loam and leaf mould well rubbed over. A cherry box would be almost large enough for a trial with hippeastrum seedlings. Something larger and deeper would, perhaps, be better, as the soil would not dry out so quickly. By the spring the plants, which are not unlike flat-leaved onions, ought to be ready for bedding out in the open like young leeks or onions. .Do not put them out to flower until they have done two summer seasons in the nursery beds. Men and women with limited grounds could make a splendid show with hippeastrums in tins or pots. When the plants are not flowering they can be kept in a half-sunny corner with the rims of the pots down to about the ground line, where the soil will not dry out too readily. * « * Watch for Rose Suckers Garden roses are seldom grown “on their own roots”; in other words, from cuttings or layers. They are budded on a wild rose of some kind, the shoots of which are finally entirely cut away, Often the roots of the wild rose manage to produce a bud and eventually a branch; this branch is a wild rose, entirely different from the named variety, and, coming as it does from the roots, ft Is called a “sucker.” Such suckers are, from a gardener’s point of view, worthless, and, unless they are removed, will quickly assert themselves, choke out the tine variety, aud completely ruin It.. They are kuowu by robust growth and by the leaf being different from the leaf of the true rose; usually they possess more leaflets. Suckers must not simply be cut, otherwise they will grow again from below this point; they must be removed entirely fr.om the point where they start. If this is above ground, as in the case of a standard, so much the better: if below soil level, hoe away the soil until the union of the sucker and the root is exposed. Frequently the sucker may then be removed without damaging the bush, by bending it back and pulling; if it refuses to come easily,' bend it and cut it clean away with a sharp knife. Carefully removed in this way; it will give no further trouble. Remove

suckers at once, as they undoubtedly divert the energy of the rose from blossoming. How Aphids Multiply Aphids winter in eggs which hatch about the time that apple buds show silvery, aud at this time are most easily destroyed, usually with nicotine sulphate, which is most effectively applied before the leaves come out, either by spray or dip. The method o£ propagation is most unusual and quite interesting. Those hatching in the spring and summer are all females which give birth to living young. Late in the summer a partial brood of males appear, aud breeding precedes the laying of the eggs which winter over and give rise in the spring to the early broods or females which in turn, bear living young. Their propagation is the most rapid known in the plant or. animal kingdom, and if unmolested by their natural enemies and disease they would soon cover the face of the earth. A very interesting sidelight on their life history is the part played by the large black ants, which are sometimes • spoken of as the nurses of the plant lice (aphids). The latter are sometimes spoken of as the ants’ milk cows. The aphids, especially under favourable conditions, suck more plant juice than they can make use of, and the overflow exudes through little hollow projections from the rear of their bodies. This is a sweet substance commonly called honey-dew, and may be seen dropping from infested trees. This seems to be quite a delicacy to the ants, which in turn transport the aphids to tender tips of other growing plants and thus spread the pest. Ants sometimes take the aphids underground to winter over. This is an example of mutual co-operation in the insect world; and is not encouraging to the complete destruction of the pest Once they become infested with aphides roses are easily ruined if prompt measures are not taken against the pests.