THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10110, 18 October 1917, Page 2

THE GARDEN.

THE UORONIA. ••Floral" snys: ''Would you kindly give mo a few hints about growing l boronias. 1 have had several plants, both in pots uiul in the open ground, bub they Invariably die <>ut or eiH> they got straggly unci look unsightly, 1 have bct'li tdld that they grdW Wild in some parts of Australia. 1 know that then arc several kinds, but the two i am most anxious to grow are the sweetscented brown and yellow and lie vellow." The boronias are an \-.:sfrilia; family of plants, and are, said to grow Wild 'ill many plates. They are al. shiubby plants of small stature, and evergreen habit, and generally producing a profusion of very conspicuous and ornamental flowers. The two varieties mentioned above are particularly sweet, - scented. They were first introduced into England about 1794. There nre about 29 distinct varieties given in various booas on Australian plants. The sod that suits them best is sandy peat and u little earth, turfy as a matter ol course. The turf should be what is known a; light peat soil, and it must, either naturally or artificially, have a fair proportion of sand mixed with it. It should be used iu as rough a state a.possible, and a little sifted sod worked to fill tip the crevices. The situation should be as open as possible when they can get plenty of sunlight, but not exposed to heavy winds if you want shapely plants. The greatest cause ol them becoming straggly is the want ot lack of attention that is paid to nip ping them back occasionally. This worl must bo done when the plant is young Nip out the ends of the growing shoot: after they have finished flowering am when the'new shoots break out nip th< tops out of these also. The soi round them should he kept wel worked, not only to keep tin weeds down, but also to con serve moisture, and as long as it if moist do not use water. Jl' yon hav< to water because the soil is 100 dry d it thoroughly, and then leave then alone. Shapely bushes are often spoil by having branches broken out 0 them when they are flowering. A littl weak soot water given to the plant occasionally will give the plants plcnt; of growth and vigour, but before apply ing it see that the ground round then has been well watered. At the best these plants are only short lived, but ; great deal can be done to the work o) renewing them by a judicious nippim of the tops of the branches. A miilcl of leaf mould is a good thing to kcej the roots cool and moist. A CHAT ABOUT.iROSES. j (Contributed.)

Quito recently four or live old ros< growers met together here, and theii conversation was so interesting that i made notes of anything that struck nn fancy. On reading these notes over J thought that perhaps your reader might like to hoar what was said. ■ Tin conversation naturally turned to th Foil, and one man said that.he ha. found that after a rose had been planted six or seven years that it paid bin to take them out and remake the soil using new turf chopped up as finely a; possible for filling into the bottom, am' oir top of this he used a certain amount of farmyard manure. If fresh soil wai not available for filling in the rest ol the bed he would put the old soil bad and add some bonedust to it, but if h< could get new soil lie invariably used that without the aid of any manure other than liquid for the first season Those present quite agreed with his remarks, but one said that if he went t< that amount of trouble he would gel new plants and begin over again, as h< considered that roses that had beei well fed and manured for seven year were past their prime. Then he woulc 1 be in a position to show really first class blooms. However, the genera opinion seemed to be that old bushe well treated were quite equal to, evei if they did not surpass, the younge; ones. 'The want of method in prunin; roses came in for some criticism, am here they were all agreed that prunin; for garden effect and for show flower were one and the same thing. The bes display of blooms was to be got froi a bush that was well cut back eacl year, and what was more to the poin it retained its youth and vigour longer There was a good deal of discussion ah' about the best way to finish off bloom lor showing. It was conceded tha' reeding was necessary in all cases, bu the matter of shading and coverin; blooms came in for a lot of talk. Oni said that his best blooms were openei out in Mason jars inverted and put ove them. If it was a coloured bloom th' glass was shaded, but if a white one n< shade at all was required. Another and to my mind the one who had flu best of the argument, said ' that tin jars as described brought them out to quickly, and that ho had found siinph paper or canvas shades made of win and paper or calico, whichever one fan cied, were the best, because the blooim [were then able to develop naturally. It would sometimes be expedient to lie ja little soft wool round the flowers a day or even two before the show, bill on the whole the flowers treated in this way were the best. Diseases of the rose came next in order, and here there was a general opinion that mildew was the worst thinj that had to lie fought, and that icould only be overcome by beginning - early and spraying every three or low weeks during the season. Whatever remedy was used, and there are plenty of good ones, they must be used regui larly. Lime-sulphur is very efficient when broken down to one in a hundred or even a hundred and twenty according lo the tested strength, which will be found lo vary from 25 per cent, to 33 percent. Black spot, that pest that

Specially written for "Standard.") NotKB are published weekly under this heading, and renders interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will bo published with the W«*V aoteo '

seems to fttifiel? the new group of roses, Perenstiana, so (jflflljr can be controlled to a certain extent by ti»>rtg Bordeaux I mixture at a strength of S-4-40, but if any leaves become affected they Jfttost be immediately removed. The best way to grow them was in a bed by themselves itwa.v from all other varieties. Green fly was not considered as a very troublesome pest, and any spray would wash it off. Kei'OHCiie emulsion properly made was as effective us anything, but the simplest plan was to gently squeeze the fly between the finger and thumb. A great many shoots can be •leaned in this way in ;1 very short time and if done in the early morning the sun will help to do the rest. THE FLOWEK GARDEN,

The hoe should be used as often as possible amongst shrubs and plants in the garden borders, not so much to keep down woods as to keep the soil well aerated and to act as a mulch. This work cannot be overdone. Any ground that is to bo prepared for seedsowing should be dug over with a fork before it is prepared. The forking will break up any lumps that may be in the soil, and will also open it up to allow the air to get in. With all seeds it is important thai the soil they are sown in should be line but firm; that is to say, after it has been well broken up it can be rolled down firm again as long as it is not wet. Wet soil should never be worked up for seeds, as it is likely to run together directly alter it has been finished. As soon as seedlings that have been grown n boxes are ready they can be put outside. The greatest 'mistake with them is planting too close together. Nothing will flourish and flower well that has neither got branching nor root room. As soon as seedling weeds begin to appear on the paths, give them a coating of weed-killer. If is better and cheaper than hoeing tinpaths, and besides that after a low applications the paths will not need much attention. Care must be taken to stop the stuff from getting on plants or grass edges. CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

i Chrysanthemums for show purposes I 'an be planted any time now. There I ire a great many people who look upon ■ Jieso flowers as monstrosities, and yet ohey envy the people who have them' in their gardens. Until one has tried | to grow them the purest pleasure ot'| I gardening has never been unfolded to ) ;hem. To select a plant and to watch ] |over it carefully, tying it up to its i allotted stakes and pinching out shoots, ' .vatching for insect or fungoid pests 1 and fighting them when they do make ' their appearance, and then to select a 'bud and seo it grow day by day until 'it finally opens out into a huge bloom, is not only a work of patience, but also a work of art. Nothing teaches patience like gardening, and there is very little in gardening that can sur- ■■ pass the work of growing show chrysanthemum blooms. The plants must jnot be neglected, and at the same time 'they should never be coddled. From the first they must be healthy and kept healthy during the whole of their lives. There are many pests that attack them, but" they can all be overcome by one means or another, and to beat these and finally see one or more largo blooms on a plant is something to be proud of. Anyone can do the work if they really wish to. The main thing is to begin with healthy plants and to put them in soil -that will suit thorn and where the wind does not strike them too strongly. Any soil will suit them as long as it has been well worked and has plenty of fibre in it. Old beds can be renewed by leaving trenches dug across them where the plants are to .no, and some Rood turv.es from an old grass paddock that is free from I the grass grub put in them. These burves should be chopped up as finely as possible, and a little of the old soil worked in amongst them. They can then bo covered over with some two or three inches of soil and the plants set out on top. Eighteen inches apart is the best distance to grow them, as it allows room for the blooms when they are opening to expand without touching one another. If the plants arrive before the ground is ready, pot them up into five or six-inch pots, and they will keep until the pots get full of. roots if they arc watered and \ looked after carefully. They can be grown altogether in pots if one has time to attend to them, but they are more likely to suffer from want of water during the dry weather than if " planted in the ground. VEGETABLES. Those who have put out a lot of French beans and other tender vegetables have not been Inning a very happy time of it lately, owing to the late frosts. Potatoes in some situations have suffered severely, but in most cases they will soon recover and very little damage is likely to result. Continue lo plant peas for succession. It, is a good plan to sow thinly now so as to give each plant plenty of room. Stake all peas as soon as they are about six inches high. Seeds ol any sort may be sown now. This is a good time to sow the main crop ol carrots, parsnips, beet, lettuces, and to plant out marrow and pumpkin plants. The latter like plenty of decaying vegetation to feed on, and if sown on the compost heap they arc very useful to hide it and other unsightly objects. Some of the Kuglish gardening papers are advocating growing marrows and cucumbers on poles to economise space. As long as some means can be found to support the : fruit this is a very good idea; but if! the fruit is left to bang by itself il i often K { 'ts bruised and unsightly, ami the poles are liable to get broken unless they are very stout ones. !