THE GARDEN

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 74, 22 February 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN

Notes are published under this heading, and readers interested in gardening are invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will be published with the weekly notes

AMONG THE FLOWERS.

Plants raised from seed sown at this time of the year will make good growth during tho autumn and will bloom well in the lat© winter and ©arly spring. Sow cinerarias in boxes of light rich soil, with some manure at the bottom of ©acb box, and as soon as the plants are showing their second pair of leaves tliev can be either pricked out into other boxes or potted up singly into small pots. For a really good show we like the pots best and the plants aro easily transferred to their flowering quarters, which should be deeply dug and heavily manured some time previous to planting. Pansies and violas can be sown in boxes or in the open ground, but in any oase the seed bed must be protected from the hot sun and heavy rain. A covering of scrim is the best for this purpose. Just give enough water to keep tho soil moist and remove the shade as soon as possible after tho plants come up. When large enough to handle, plant them out in beds a foot apart each way. Pansies do best in a heavy soil that has been well worked and manured and a little coarse sand worked in is a great advantage. The surface must be kept well lioed to stop it caking and to allow the air to enter freely. Iceland poppies are well worth growing and a bed of these planted now will begin to flower when flowers are badly wanted. They like a well worked soil. There are some splendid strains of primula matocoides on tho market now and if you have a slightly shaded position we strongly advise you to plant as soon as the young plants are ready. Given a good season, they will produce more cut flowers per giant than any flower we know of. The soil does not need to be very rich as long as it can be kept moist. Now is the time to sow stocks and if a nice bed can be got outside for the seed it is better than sowing under glass and when the young plants are about three inches high they can be planted up in their flowering quarters. Water well to give them a start and then leave them alone except for frequent hoeings. Ijialpiglossis seed sown now will make good strong plants before the winter comes on ana, if they, show any signs of flowering, cut tho flowering stalks out. As long as they do not flower before tho winter, they will begin early in the spring and there is hardly a prettier sight than a good bed of them with their mixed and gorgeous colourings. They are really bi-annuals when treated in this way. All kinds of perennial plants can be raised from seed sown at this time of the year and we have got such a wide selection of really worth while plants to choose from that it seems to be poor economy to waste time over annuals that are here to-day and gone to-morrow.

HOLLYHOCKS. “A Gardener” says: ‘‘Hollyhocks are old-fashioned flowers and perhaps 1 am slightly old-fshioned myself as 1 liko many old-fashioned plants. For all that, tliero are few flowers more gratifying and beautiful than well grown plants of hollyhocks and I appeal to gardeners to give them a trial. Their use in the mixed border relieves the feeling of dwarfness which is caused by the us© of too many dwarfgrowing plants. No doubt many of them are used because of the work entailed in tying the taller ones. I have found that hollyhocks are not so troublesome in this respect because of their deeper rooting system, but, at the same time, if any are exposed I always tie a string round them when they are coming into flower. Perhaps, as cut flowers they are not so good, as they aro not easily arranged, but for floating bowls there are no flowers that equal them. My object in writing for you is to make a plea for their wider cultivation now and because this is the best time of the year to sow the seed. No particular care is necessary in the way of glass as the seed can be sown thinly in a well prepared bed of soil outside and when the plants are large enough to move, run the spado under them in the same way as a nurseryman wrenches plants, and leave them for a week or two before moving. In preparing the soil both for seeds and planting out, I use plenty of lime as I have found from experience that lime is necessary for them in ail stages of growth, and that a sprinkling of sulphur round the plants will help to keep disease away. Rust is the most troublesome pest and for this dust sulphur over and under the leaves. For caterpillars, arsenate of lead must be used and this is the only remedy that is successful. ‘‘There is a greater range of colouring in the singles than in tho doubles, but both are worth a place and a fine double with flowers as large as saucers is a thing that will take a lot of beating. If conditions are what they require one must be prepared for tall plants. I believe that a heavy soil is best for them as they grow very tall in a light sandy soil. Whatever your soil may be, they will not stand stagnant moisture and the drainage must be good. When planting them up I always try to associate them with delphiniums and other tall plants in my garden, not so much for the colour scheme as for the remarkable amount of colour they give and for tho sake of having tall things grouped, bow the seed as soon as you can and give the young plants generous treatment, but do not try to take cuttings as it is only waste of time and you will find that cuttings aro more liable to disease than wollrgrown seedlings when they are well cared for.”

SPRING FLOWERING BULBS.

The time for planting spring flowering bulbs is here again ana as the weather and soil conditions are good this work should be pushed on as fast as possible. There are few gardens where there are not some of them anil there are many gardens where they are a special feature of the early months of spring. Tho average free, welldrained garden soil is all that is wanted and if it can be trenched or dug two feet deep so much the better. Never use fresh manure on any consideration, but if 6ome well-rotted stuff can he worked into the lower spits it will be of benefit, but it must never bo allowed to come in contact with the bulbs. We believe in having beds for each kind of bulb, but in the case of the narcissus all the spare bulbs can be worked into grass land and will do wonderfully well. Even if the grass land is used for stock grazing the bulbs will not take any harm as stock do not touch them. Tulips can be safely kept out of tho soil until April if required. It docs not seem to do them any harm if they are planted after they begin to shoot, as long as care is taken not to destroy the new growths. When putting these bulbs out, put a good handful of sand beneath each one if the soil is on the heavy side. QUESTIONS. ‘‘Enquirer” says: “Please could you give us some ndvice regarding bush marrows? Do they need plenty of water and what would he the causo of tome small marrows forming about three inches or more in length and rotting off?”—The trouble with your bush marrows is that they have prpbablv had too much water and that the flowers have been imperfectly fertilised on account of the damp weather. We think that you will find that they will come better now that the pollen has been properly ripened, but withhold the water as much as you can. Bush marrows are more prone to this than the long trailing varieties. “Amateur” says: “This year, for the first time, 1 am endeavouring to grow Brussels sprouts. I have a row of healthy plants over three feet high, but lately the large lea-ves have been perforated and on examination I find numerous cocoons under them and hundreds of tiny caterpillars which are also destroying the sprouts, and a small dark moth is flitting about them. Can you advise me what to do ? It would be most difficult to spray under the leaves. Also can you tell me how to know when a marrow is fit to cut for keeping, as last year about half a dozen rotted ? —The trouble with the Brussels sprouts is that they are attacked with the young of the diamondbackel moth or cabbage fly as it is sometimes called. There is no remedy we know of except spraying with arsenate of lead, which must be mixed with something that will make it adhesive. New milk is one of the best things to mix it with. Tar sprays are good but they are inclined to clog the sprayer and therefore we do not recommend them. The plants will come on well enough when tho cold weather comes, hut it would help them if you were to check this pest. Any sprayer with a good nozzle will spray beiow tho leaves. Try it. We think you will be satisfied. Marrows must he quite ripe when they are stored. The skin will be hard and will not leave a nailmark on it. Store in a dry place away from frosts. This vegetable must be handled carefully so as not to bruise it in any way. Leave the stalks on. “Aster Enthusiast” says: “Could you tell me what has happened to my aster plants? They have ail withered and died. A month ago they were looking very well and almost as tad as cabbages. The ground they were planted in was very stony, perhaps this accounts for it. Do you know what kinds of flowers would grow in this soil?” —Tour asters have evidently got the aster liseate, which is a disease that attacks them at the surface of the ground and is often referred to as “collar rot.” Large plants will suddenly wilt and die away with this disease and when once it gets into a bed it cannot bo stopped. Last season we gave some notes of experiments carried out with sulphur and White Island product. Sulphur worked into the ground round each plant gave the best results, but the White Island stuff was rjuite good and only three plants were lost out of 50. It is important that the ground should be treated before tho seed is sown and some growers also dip their seed in a four per cent, solution of formalin for ten minutes and then dry them before sowing. We have used permanganate of potash for tho same purpose and find it quite effective. Tho solution the seeds were dipped in was strong enough to stain the hands very badly so it must have been fairly strong. Your strong soil has nothing to do with, the failure. Heavily manured ground is more liable to attacks than that which has not been manured. The kind of plants that would suit stony soils are gaillardias, both tho perennial and the annual varieties. The seed of both varieties can be sown at any time now. Try some of the annual variety called Bremen or Indian Chief. Both are good. The dwarf growing antirrhinums would also be quite suitable. You probably have a soil that would suit the bearded irises if you gave it a good dressing of lime. The perennial lupins would also grow well in it with 'lime. These plants aro slow in coming into favour, but those who know them and grow them have something worth while.