PRACTICAL GARDENING

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 105, 27 January 1933, Page 3

PRACTICAL GARDENING

Helpful Hints for Amateur Growers

By

“The Hoe"

Timely Topics Most plants not in bloom appreciate a shower bath in the evening after a very hot day. ■ . .* Holyliocks have had rather a better time than usual. This year the plants have kept fairly free of the rust which for so long has made growing the plants rather difficult. There are many places where' the tall, stately plants can disport themselves to advantage. As soon ast the seed is ripe enough to sow is the time to begin work for the next show of hollyhocks. Making Cosmos Bloom Here is a simple plan which will make your cosmos plants hurry into bloom. Take your garden fork, drive it under the roots and lift slightly upwards. That has the effect of loosening the. root-hold. Thus the roots are checked and tbe plants, insteading of continuing to make more stem and leaf growth, turn to the business of pro-ducing-flowers as quickly as they can. •. • • Next Year’s Gaillardias Gaillardia grandiflora is commonly called the Blanket Flower. It is very effective in the border and charming as a‘ cut flower in the dwelling-house, especially in tall vases placed on old oak or mahogany tables. It Is not too late to sow seeds, but sowing should be done at this season in boxes or in a bed in a cold frame. Raise the young plants in a mixture of loam and Ibaf-soll in equal proportions, with a good amount of coarse, sand added. Get young plants as strong as possible before winter sets in, then they will grow freely the following spring. The ideal position is an open one where tbe soil is neither too heavy nor too sandy. Allow a space of 18 inches between the plants each way. * . * * Rose Budding Made Easy The season for rose budding is now here, and soon many amateurs will be increasing, their stocks by this means. In connection with the actual removal of the scion from the rose shoot the usual practice is to cut off the leaf, leaving the footstalk, and, starting about half an inch below the bud, to make an upward cut, passing beneath the bud, and coming out the same distance above. A small piece of wood will be found adhering to the underside of the resulting shield, which must be carefully removed with the point of the knife. This is a delicate operation, for often the base of the bud is pulled away with the wood, rendering it useless. Here is an alternative method, which is easier and surer than that usually advocated. Take the prepared rose shoot, and from a point about half an inch below the bud, make a curved cut in the bark to a point about half tn inch' above it. Now make a similar cut, passing on the other side of the bud and joining the ends of the first cut. ' The shield thus formed is next given gentle upward pressure on one side with the knife blade, meanwhile being Steadied on tbe opposite side with the thumb, when it will readily part from the stem, complete with base of bud and minus any wood whatever. Tlie bud is then inserted in the T-shaped, incision in the stock and tied up with damp, raffia in the usual manner. > ■ ■ ■’ The presence of the base of the bud, and the absence of wood from the underside of the shield are the mo.-.t Important' items in the whole procedure of .budding, and by following tbe directions outlined above, a much greater proportion of buds, perfect in detail, will be obtained—and it is this attention to small details which spells the difference between success aud failure. Dahlia Troubles • The more a flower is developed, the more exacting do its requirements become aud the more liable, is it to various troubles. No flower has been more highly developed than the dahlia—hence its troubles are many. There is the very small flower, for instance, a mere shadow of what it should be. You may have allowed too many buds, thus spreading the strength of the plant too much. You simply can’t have big cactus, decorative and show dahlias unless the buds on each stem are reduced to one. In addition, all side-shoots from the four to six main growths must be removed. Then you may not have treated your soil generously enough. You must also feed regularly after the buds show; otherwise this rather greedy plant fails at flowering time. Occasionally the shoots of dahlias wilt suddenly, and there is nothing you can do to save them. They have been attacked by a small fungus known as Botrytis. Immediately you see a willing shoot, cut it off promptly and burn it. Spray the, plant and those surrounding it with a rose-red solution of permanganate of potash, to kill the spores or seeds that are sure Io be about. This disease is frequently introduced on the tree branches that are used as stakes. In the interests of good health you .should always use painted stakes. if the buds turn yellow just when they should unfold, it is a.sign that they have been fed when tbe soil was dry. AU varieties in the large-flowered sections are lialile to show rotting in the centre of tlie bloom. For a time, tbe trouble is unsuspected, but ultimately develops so far as to cause the petals to fall out. leaving a very sorry spectacle. Invariably this trouble is caused by placing layers of solid manure in the trenches. The roots don t usually reach them until flowering time, aud, when they enter them, tbe balance is completely upset. The collars of a good many collarette sorts have been deformed this season, being made up of little twisted, tubular petals. Tbe deformity is due to lack of potash, and will pass away if you d>ie the plants Joz. of sulphate of potash weekly from the time the buds form until the end of the season. Each application must be watered in.

Passing of a Garden Lover One of England’s most notable gardeners, Miss Gertrude Jekyll, V.M.H.. died recently. Eighty-nine years of age at the time of her death, she spent the greater part of her life in the care and cultivation of flowers. In addition to gaining the Victorian Medal of Honour, the Royal Horticultural Society also conferred upon her the Veitehian Gold Medal, with £5O. She was a wellknown writer on gardening matters. Lawn Tips Dandelions and other weeds creep into the best lawn, and are so tenacious that only by cutting out each plant with an'old table knife can you hope to get rid of them. Even then you cannot extract the whole of the tap root, which will sepd up a more vigorous second;)ly plant unless you drop on to the wounded part a pinch of sulphate of ammonia. This will deal instant death. To do the work systematically, mark off. with a line, a yard-wide strip at one end of tbe lawn. Extract all the weeds from it before moving tbe line to the next strip. Where there are big masses of clover on a lawn, these may be treated with a mixture of 3 parts sulphate of ammonia and 2 parts sulphate of iron crystals.... One ounce per square yard of clover is the rate of application. Apply in showery weather and, to be on the safe side, al.so water in the application. Where big patches are killed out it will obviously be necessary to sow grass seed, to re-cover the bare parts. Sow at the rate of loz. i>er square yard. ‘ i Make Cut Flowers Last * When gathering flowers, don't hold them in the hand, but plunge them in a jug of water or place them in a basket and cover them with a cloth. This preparation is especially necessary during hot weather. When arranging the flowers in vases, remove the lower leaves, as these, if allowed to remain, will decay under the water and turn it sour. Cut flowers fade quickly if placed in the direct draught from a window, door, or ventilator, or in a hot, dry room. In a cool, shaded corner they last twice as long. When cutting roses and other plants with hard woody stems, the bark should be peeled away from the lower part of the stem to assist them to draw up the water more freely. Change the water frequently before it has a chance to turn sour, and snip off about an inch of the stem each time it is changed, because the ends soop become sealed. This should be done under water to prevent air from entering and retarding the flow of water. Flowers which are drooping through being out of water can be revived by dropping an aspirin tablet into the vase before arranging them.

Raising New Sweet Peas

Amateurs often ask for particulars of the method of gross-fertilisation of sweet peas. The actual process of crossfertilisation is very easy, and does not take more than a few seconds to do. It is the subsequent treatment and seleetion of seedlings that is more intricate. There is now such a wide range of colour among sweet peas, and improvements in existing varieties are so difficult to obtain; that the ambitious amateur should not think there is a potential fortune in every .seed pod that ripens. Still, there is a fascination in crossing any kind of flower and a natural pride in possessing something that is of one’s own raising, and perhaps a greater pride in knowing that one is doing his or her share in helping in the progress of gardening. If you have the ambition, the time, and the space co try your hand at crossing, by all means do so. The sweet pea is so constructed that it is self-fertilised. If you examine a bloom, either half open or fully developed. you will find that the pollen or yellow dust is scattered inside the flower. Any 1 loom that is at such a stage when

the pollen sacs have burst is too old for crossing. You must select a spike on which the, (lowers are in the bud stage. Examine the bottom bloom, and if the polleu sacs have not burst, then this bloom and tbe one immediately above it can lie used. Open the keel (the lower part of tbe flower) and you will see the interior. With a pair of tweezers take off the anthers, or polleu sacs, taking care not to damage the stigma in doing so. Tbe stigma is slightly viscid (sticky) and it is upon this that pollen from another flower is placed.’ Select a fully developed flower Its ii pollen-bearer parent. The pollen in ibis flower will be dusty. Open the Hower and rub some of the pollen on the stigma of the other bloom from which the pollen sacs have been taken. Simply rub it along tlie stigma There is no need to use a camel-hair Brush.

Repeat the process with the bloom above, using (be same pollen-bearing Hower for both blooms on the spike. Pinch off the two top blooms. Pull the standard (or top part of the flower) over Uh’ stigma after tlie latter has been dusted with pollen and close up tbe wings and keel. In other words, shut up tbe bloom again. This keeps the pollen dry.