CORRESPONDENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 56, 3 September 1936, Page 26

CORRESPONDENCE

J.E.H.—The paragraph dealing with Portugal cabbage was sent in by a reader and published as received. I have no personal knowledge of this vegetable. So far as I can discover the seed is not on the market locally, but you would probably be able to get it from Yates and Co., Auckland. ... Information dealing with the longevity of pea seeds is culled from; various sources and apparently authorities differ. From personal experience I always advocate fresh seed as better results will nearly always be obtained from such. I was shown some seedlings of the blue lace flower the other day, the seed from which they were grown being 13 years old When sown, but I should not be tempted to keep my seed for that length of time. LABURNUM FAILING TO FLOWER. "Laburnum." —These trees take a few years to come to flower. If yours is not making satisfactory growth you would be well advised to remove some of the soil round it.and replace with I bush soil if obtainable. Two or three handfuls of blood and bone might be mixed with the new soil with advantage. ■ ' ; SLIPPER ORCHID. C. McL—From your statement that the blooms were small and rotted off this season the indications are that you have over-watered the plant. Pot plants require very little watering during the winter. The cypripediums should be placed in the warmest position possible and would .benefit by an application of Clay's fertiliser—about a teaspoonful lightly pricked into the surface of the pot. The plants should not be disturbed unnecessarily, but if crowded they may be tipped out and divided or repotted into a larger-sized pot., ...'.''