SPRING BULBS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 73, 27 March 1930, Page 24

SPRING BULBS

TIME FOR PLANTING

;geowth already started

'.. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. ->1.5.." Upper Hutt.—(l) Tlio geranium learos ■ sent arc attacked by what is known as pel- '■ ■"': argonlum spot. This disease, which is com- • .mon on most outdoor -grown geraniums and pelargoniums, lias not been definitely traced, [ understand, up to the present time. The ''only way to treat tlio plants is to spray ■' witii weak Bordeaux mixture as a preventa- ' tlvc measure. Ilesearch has failed to discover the nature of tlie disease, and conse- : .nuontly nothing is known definitely as to how to combat it. (2) Your best course with the "hard patch of soil would be to dig it over i now, leaving it in a rough state. Give it a. •■' good dressing of lline, and leave it for the winter. The frosts, of which .you get fairly : severe ones in your district, and the winter weather generally will do much to break ' down the lumps. Then in the spring It may ; be dug over again and worked down into a ."■ flne tilth. With such ground great care must ''.be taken not to attempt any working on it " .while it is at all wet or waterlogged, other- ■ .wise it will always remain unworkable. Liberal Quantities of strawy manure or other ■ fibrous matter is also a great help in light- . suing up heavy soils, as they tend to keep 1 the' particles open, thus allowing the free ' circulation of air.

= The rain last Friday evening did inueh to relieve tlio situation in gardens, especially in seaside districts where, the ground being light and Bandy, the."soil fails to hold moisture. As an, immediate result of the good yetting, growth will immediately start in all spring bulbs which are already planted. It is advisablo to push on

jwith .the y work of bulb planting, as anuch of the success depends upon, the liulbs making good roots before top growth, commences, Where- the bulbs ■were left ia the ground, many of them are already showing, and it will be necessary to keep them free from -weeds. Care must be taken,, however, ■while working among them, as most of them are very brittle and easily dainiaged by the careless use of the hoe. Chrysanthemums are' rapidly forinang buds, and these should -be reduced an number if worth-while blooms, are ;to be had. Nearly all varieties produce far more buds than the plants can- deyelop properly, and it more than relays for the labour, to thin out the' ■buds to not more than three at the most to each stem. Better blooms will i-esult if the buds are., all taken off except one, even for decorative purposes. At this season of the year grubs- and caterpillars do a dreadful amount of larm to the tiny buds, and the only way to- deal with these satisfactorily/is to go over the plants at frequent intervals, and wherever it.. is noticed that the, leaves are gummed together, ikill the grub by squeezing the folded leaf between finger and thumb. Spraying the plants with arsena'te of lead ■will help to keep the grubs away, but once they are safely rolled away in a leaf no spray reaches them. CASCADE CHRYSANTHEMUMS. A new method of training and growing the small-flowered single chrysanthemums has obtained considerable popularity in Japan. The plants are raised in the ordinary way from the strongest sucker growths, and by repeated stopping of the growths, plants which are bushy at the base are obtained. As the branches grow they are fastened to bamboo stakes set at an angle of 45 degrees, and when long enough wires are twisted round the stems, which are gradually bent into the desired direction. For this method of cultivation it is necessary, of course, to grow the plants in pots where they require the maximum of care in the matter of compost aiid feeding, etc. The varieties of chrysanthemums used for this method of culture is generally hardier than the large-flowered varieties, and anyone who has a glasshouse anight well give the method a trial, if only for the novelty. The accompanying illustration gives some idea of the {results which may be obtained. SOWING DOWN NEW LAWNS. The sowing down pf new lawns is a Jvork to be undertaken at the present time. The ground should have been well worked to a good depth. It is a jnistake to imagine that a good, lawn jean be had if the surface is merely scratched over to a depth of a few inches. It is also necessary (or at least very desirable) that the ground should fae free from, weed seed, otherwise much trouble may bo occasioned in getting out the weeds later,' to the necessary detriment of the young grass. Another very important point is to have the lawn properly drained. Grass never does well on ground which gets waterlogged in the wet season. Once the seed is sown and the lawn formed it is impossible to put in drains without damaging the sward, so precautionary measures should be taken when (preparing the site. Having got the land thoroughly worked, cleaned, and drained, tho next thing is to get the levels correct, and for this purpose it is essential that the surface be uniformly firm. This can only be done by repeated rolling and raking. It may foe as well to remind readers that rolling should only be done- while the- surface is dry, or in such a state that it Will not stick to the roller. If this work is done while the soil contains tnuch water the results will be a hard, jerusted surface, in which it will be almost impossible for grass seed to germinate. Having got the plot well .nrmed and levelled, the surface should be loosened up with the rake before the i-ced is sown. .It never pays to sow jnfcriur grass

seed for a lawn. The best lawn mixture obtainable should be procured, the cost will bo very little extra for any moderate sized lawn, and will be more than repaid by the results. Scsc shouM be sown fairly thickly and as evenly as possible. Sow on a calm day, first scattering the seed from end to end, then from side to side to ensure even distribution. After sowing, rake the- seed well in, and again roll the surface. To prevent birds from taking the seed and making holes in the surface it is a good plan to have | some sort of bird scare erected or to stretch black cottons over the surface. Cutting for the first time or two should be done with a scythe, as a machine is liable to pull out the young plants. New lawns will stand quite a lot of rolling, which tends to mako the grass stool out and give a better covering; but this must never be done except when the soil is dry enough to be walked over without doing damage. Any weeds which appear are best taken out while quite small, and, although* this is a tedious job, it is well worth while, as in that stage they have very little root/and may be pulled out with a minimum of damage to the grass. AMONG THE VEGETABLES. Now that the ground has once more become moist every effort should be made to plant cabbages and cauliflowers. It is not wise, however, to buy plants which are badly affected 'with fly, as they seldom properly recover. As soon as clean plants are available get them planted so that they may make a good start while the soil is still warm. Tomatoes are ripening up outdoors, and the dry weather has saved them from blight to a great extent. Caterpillars are now numerous and very do- i structive unless kept in check by spray- ] ing the plants with arsenate of lead, j All superfluous growths should be removed, and the foliage may with advantage be reduced, as this assists ripening by allowing the sun to got to the fruit more freely. Occasional doses of liquid manure will assist in the development of the fruit.