CARNATIONS

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 148, 19 December 1929, Page 35

CARNATIONS

WHAT TO DO AND WHEN

'ADVICE TO AMATEURS

Most gardens are looking very gay at the present time, and provided we are spared from drying winds, the moisiture iii the soil should tio sufficient to keep the plants in -vigorous growth ;weU over Christmas. The cplendid Tains we have had recently have done much.to give the plants a new lease of life, while seedlings which were put. out recently have hardly felt the move. Many gardeners will be. going away, for the holidays, and it is advisable to endeavour to leave the garden in good shape, especially to destroy weeds, before going, otherwise they may seed .before the gardener returns. Carnations now rank as one of-the most: popular.: subjects grown in the garden, and provided they receive ordinary attention, they are not very difficult plants to manage. The land for. carnations must be properly drained, otherwise they" are not'particular--as'to coil. The position should be unshaded —right out in the open. Wind and lain do them no harm. Carnations do liogood when planted under trees. At $his season it is possible for the gardener to do much to improve the size and even the colour of the flowers. If the plants are growing in very heavy ■oil, they will be greatly benefited by

keeping the surface soil round them constantly stirred and loose. This is fcest done with a' hoe or fork, but care must be taken, not to injure the roots forking should not be deeper than two inches at the most. Carnations are very fond of lime, and applications of this to very heavy soil will help largely to make it more workable, at the Bame time benefiting the plants. AVhen the plants are coming into ■bloom, as they are at the present time, the bloom will be improved and the constitution of the plants be maintained, by the application of liquid manure or other stimulant. Great care must be exercised, however, that the applications are not too strong. It is not desirable to have rank growth, which is very liable to disease. The aim should be to sustain the vigour of the plant during its most difficult period without forcing' it. For this purpose one of the patent carnation foods, blended specially for the purpose,-and sold by all leading horticultural shops, is eminently suitable. As an alternative, liquid manure, made of horse or cow droppings, diluted until very weak, may be used, while soot water is also a good fertiliser, which is said to improve the colour "of ■ the ■ flowers. Whatever is decided upon in the way of liquid manure should be applied while the soil is moist. If powder manure is iisea it should be watered in immediately after application, as most "of these chemicals are very .volatile and Boon loose their efficacy by evaporation it allowed to lie on the surface of the Boil.

_ In the event of a very dry spell lasting for several weeks, it will ba neces-1 sary to give the plants a good watering occasionally, but it should not be overlooked "that carnations like to be kept a little on the dry side. .....: .Disbudding is necessary if fine blooms are desired. This is really the .truest economy even when the flowers are needed only for home use. In any case, When the first flower on a stem 38 fit to. cut, the buds below will only be just showing colour, and so have to be sacrificed. Unless, of course, the leading Woom is cut with a very short stalky which would bo a mistake. By thinning the buds to one on each stem the whole of the energy is thrown into the one good flower, instead of being wasted on useless buds. This does not apply to the Marguerite carnations, which may be allowed to produco as many flpwers as they will. The splittwg.of the calyx is a trouble with some varieties more than others. This may oe remedied to some extent by banding with rubber rings. The rings should be slipped over the buds who? they are sufficiently advanced to be showine ZounZ £ th? P°int- ■ Put the ?^S| rouna the middle of the calyx, leaving plenty of room for the top half to W,?^^ be tied round each bud instead of usmg the rubber rings. There S «?i m iany "I"7 excellent varieties Sh- i Cw? U% Which are not Pone to &W that fc is real)y bctt« to discard the unsatisfactory sorts. The staking of. carnation plants is mother important ' matter, „ tht weight of the blooms brings' them down ©n to the soil, where they sot soilpfl *na often eaten by slugs^and S nal PROPAGATING BY CUTTINGS. Propagation of carnations by cuttings is usually done this month, although it is possible to strike the cuttings at any season of the year Layering is done a little later, in January or February. Propagating by cuttings is siot a difficult business if a frame is (available,-but out in the open ground Ss not so easy, as so much depends upon

proper shading. On bright sunny or wincty days evaporation is very rapid, and the cuttings often suffer if not properly shaded. Every effort should be mado to get the cuttings into the ground prepared for them as booh as possible after removing them from the plants. If they are once allowed to wither it is very doubtful whether they will root. The beat pieces for cuttings are the young side growths about three or four inches long, which should bo pulled off with,a heel. If they come away without a heel they aro too immature, and will not make satisfactory plants even if they root, which is doubtful. After removing the cutting the lower leaves should be removed and the end of the heel be cut off with a sharp knife. Do not split the stem or shorten the grass—this is unnecessary, and in most cases a disadvantage. The cuttings should, be inserted in a prepared bed, which should be made very firm by tramping. On no account should the cutting be inserted more than half an inch deep, .and the base should rest on some sharp sand and be made very firm. . .■■■'.'

After planting water the cuttings in and shade in.some way, as if they once wilt, they will never recover. Avoid frequent waterings until rooted; if thebed was well moistened before planting, and adequate shading is provided, little more water, if any, should be needed until the cuttings have formed roots. Keep tho beds free from weeds and remove any of the cuttings which show signs of disease, or which are obviously not going to survive. The subject of layering will be dealt with in a subsequent article. '