MAKE A MORAINE

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 168, 12 April 1935, Page 18

MAKE A MORAINE

For Alpine Plants Nowadays nearly every garden owner is sure to have a rock garden of some kind, which is generally planted with the commoner and more easilygrown rock plants. The pleasure provided by the beauty of these accommodating. little flowers is certain to arouse the gardener’s interest in alpingr plants, and the desire to grow some of the more uncommon ones will follow. A moraine, or screen bed, of any size is the short cut to success in their cultivation. The first thing to be done is to excavate the site to a depth of 3 feet, then fill in the bottom to a depth of 12 inches, with large, rough stones, broken bricks, or any clean, hard material available. This first bedding with rough stones is important, as it ensures good drainage, and thorough drainage is essential in making a moraine. On top of this drainage bed put a layer about,, 6 inches deep of smaller stones or pieces of brick; these should average roughly about 2 inches in diameter, and their object is to prevent the true moraine-mixture of fine chips and soil from working down between the large stones, aud clogging the free drainage of the bed. A satisfactory mixture for the last U feet of the moraine is composed of 5 parts fine stone chips' and 1 part good leafmould. The chips required are those used so much at present for surfacing roads. Sandstone or limestone chips are reputed to give best results, but the nature of the stone does not appear to matter very much in actual practice. After the bed is filled with tlie above mixture, large stones should be put in it to act as stepping stones and to give an effect of naturalness to its appearance. Do not place the stones too regularly and make sure that they are perfectly firm. If the bases of these stones are sunk deeply in the stony soil, they help the growth of many plants, roots of which run under them, in search of coolness and moisture in summer, and for protection from cold and damp in winter. LUPINS FROM CUTTINGS Many people who obtain lupins of particularly fine colours, grown from seed, and wish they could have more of them, take great care of the seed pods and in due time sow the seed, hoping for a fine display of blooms of the same colour. Having gone to all the care and waited for results, they find that many come different colours. “After they have finished flowering, I just cut off the old flowers, leaving the main stem growing,” writes a correspondent in an English journal. “A few small flowers will come for a time, then there will be small growths which will not flower this season. I cut these small growths from the main stein, with a little ‘heel’ (a piece of old stem), put them in a cold frame, and treat in the same way as Calceolarias and pentstenions for the winter. This is done iu March. “When September comes I plant,"them out in clumps of three or four, about a foot apart.” CHINESE LANTERNS Harvest Pods Now Harvest the coloured pods of the Chinese lantern (Physalis Franchettii), as soon as they arc well coloured. Bunch them, and hang them, heads downwards, in a cool place until the stalks have stiffened. They should be .ready to cut by March, and must not be left until frosts cause the stems to rot. The fruits, although attractive in colour and edible, are not very pleasing. To obtain fine pods'the plants should be given a sunny position, in rich, well drained soil, changing the spot in which they are grown every few years. TONIC FOR FERNS Guano for Maidenhair Guano water is a splendid tonic for maidenhair ferns in winter. It helps the plants to maintain their vitality during a very trying period when they are liable to be exposed to draughts anc other harmful influences. The guano water will also prevent the fronds of the ferns from turning brown and dying off. Do not give strong guano water, and do not treat the plants very often. A strong solution of it diluted with 12 to 15 times its bulk of water is about right. Give a small quantity of the dilute guano water to the soil in which the ferns are growing about once a fortnight. Be sure you do not allow the guano water to touch the fronds themselves and only just moisten the soil. POLYANTHA ROSES Several varieties of Polyantha Roses make weak shoots which arise at about the same level as fhe flower stems aud often after the first flowers fall. These shoots cannot ripen and the winter will almost certainly kill them. Cut them out entirely, therefore, using the secateurs. While you have the secateurs out cut back the flowered stems to the first good leaf. By doing so you will give the sun an opportunity to ripen the wood of this year’s strong basal growths—a forerunner of future fine displays of bloom. Root Your Pledge Clippings

Did you know that the clippings from many hedge plants can easily be rooted at this time of the year? The present, when many hedges are receiving their last clipping of the season, provides, therefore, an excellent opportunity for raising new plants.

You can either increase your stock of any subjects you already have in your garden or, perhaps, you can add some new specimens by begging a few trimmings from a friend. Both the golden aud green privet may be rooted in this way. Also, the increasingly popular evergreen Lonicera nitida and Ciipressus maerocarpa. Pieces of rosemary which may have to be cut off now to improve the plant’s 1 shape will root too.