GARDENING NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 18 May 1928, Page 8

GARDENING NOTES.

(By “Waratah.”)

boot-pruning fruit trees.

Fruit trees frequently make very vigorous grow till, butt produce few blooms or fruit. A common error madia with such; trees is to prune the top growth severely in the winter. Lin result of this treatment is that the growth becomes even more vigorous the following season. The only way to check excessive top growth is to prune the roots'. By severing the thick fleshy roots the formation of fibrous root .s n encouraged. It has been .proved by experience that trees possessing plenty or fibrous roots bear well, a .ways provided the blossoms are fertilised Rootpruning is best done m April or May, when the soil still retains much of the warmth of summer. The tree then starts making fresh roots immediate!?, and before frosts set in will have made rrood progress. Young trees that haiv been planted only two or three years should be lifted and replanted, hist cuhtincr away any top noots and coarse roots without fibres, any roots bruised or damaged! should also be cut back to a sound portion. Older trees should be treated' by taking out a trench, round the tree.' The width of the- circle depends upon the size of the tice. h a has a wide .spread, three, feet from the trunk will not be. too much, and with ai large tree it may be necessary to make it wider. All strong, thick roots shorn! lie cut through with a saw on the side of 'the trench near the trunk and af (rewards paired smooth with a sharp knife To get at the tap-root a hole must be dug under the tree and the root severed with , the spade. YAdien the work is finished the trench should be filled with some good soil and trodden in very firmly. With old-established trees .it is advisable to do the work in two seasons, taking: out a. half-circle one year and the other half next- year. AUTUMN LEAVES. To preserve tinted leaves for decorative purposes the out branches should be tied into small bundles and hung up in a dry, airy shed or room. Keep the stalks uppermost, so that the sap can run clown into the leaves. 1 After about, two days take them _ down and clip them into a -weak solution of size and water, and hang them up again until quite dry. ERICAb. The ericas or heaths cannot be too highly recommended, their neat, bright green appearance at all times, amd their beautiful flowers, produced in such abundance- (on some varieties throughout the entire year) entitle them to a place in the smallest garden. The majority are. dwarf in habit, growing from two to four’feet high, and are therefore particularly suited to gardens where space is l limited. When planting do not add any manure to the soil, as these plants do- not'like stable manure, lime, or honedust; and do not plant them near larger growing shrubs. Some of the best of the heaths are: A'litumnalis. —Deep rose, flowering late in autumn, three feet. Cavendishiana. — Waxv golden yellow. tubular flowers, three feet. Cruenta.—Deep red, strong grower, three, feet; useful for cutting. Hy b ride. —Fi n c spi Ice s , sea riel, three feet. Afultiflorn Daviesii.—White, tinted mauve-pink, three feet. Melon them. —Very profuse bloomer, pale mauve, useful for cutting, four feet. Pyrnmidalis gracilis.—Small white belts, winter flowering, six feet. Veniix eoccinea.—Very beautiful, aprjeot bells in great profusion, one and a half feet. Webbleyana.—Large tubular flowers, satin rose, three feet. Wilmoreana..—Strong glower, pink and white, tubular flowers, three feet. ROUTINE WORK. Earth up late celery and leelcs. Plant roses and all icinds of hardy fruit, flowering and ornamental trees and shrubs. Manure winter rhubarb. Divide overgrown perennial plants, ■and replant in manured soil in a fresh position. Plant new hedges. Plant early-flowering gladioli. Lift and divide old rhubarb and seakale roots. (Plant out cabbage and cauliflower plants. Cut down tops of asparagus as soon as the foliage' has turned yellow, fork over the bed being careful not to damage the crowns while doing so. Sow broad beans. Carrots and spinach may still lie sown in frames or a sunny sheltered position. Sow cabbage and cauliflower in frames or in boxes placed in a sunny sheltered position. Pot plants in the house or conservatory should be carefully watered now, if kept too moist the soil will become sour, plants do not require much moisture in winter when growth is dormant.