THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 246, 16 September 1932, Page 4

THE GARDEN.

Notes arc published under this hoading, and reader sintorcsted in gardening; aro invited to send in questions relating to matters upon which they wish expert advice; answers will bo published with the weekly notes.

THE PROPAGATION OF FERNS. “F.R.D.” says: “I think I have a kuitable place to grow ferns in. It is a bank which is always moist and part of it can bo covered with glass. I would liko to know how to go about tlie work. Would you give me a suitable soil for potting them into.” Ferns can bo propagated either by division of tho crown or by moans of spores, which aro tho seeds of these plants. To increase by division, the work can bo done now. A suitable soil for this work can be made by collecting some surface soil from beneath native bush, which is full of leaf mould and to which can bo added a quantity of well broken brick and coarse sand. This can be put into pots with plenty of drainage and tho divisions potted into this. One thing is necessary —that is not to uso pots that are too large. For most young plants a four-inch pot is quite largo enough. Stand tho pots in tho shade and see that tho soil is kept moist. Spores of ferns can be sown whenever they can be obtained, but the late autumn is the general time for this work. The spores are then ripe and they are laid on tho soil either in a pot or on a ledge of the bank. If the bank should happen to be a mixture of sand and clay you will find no difficulty in raising the spores, but if it is hard clay it would he better to make some pockets in it and fill these with some of the compost advised for potting. Germination of the spores is very variable and may only take a week, but

in other cases it may mean months before anything begins to show. The firsh signs of growth look like a mossy slime, which are both female and male organs, and from these gradually emerge small plants. They can then be pricked off into other places or left to grow in situ. Ferns always attract attention and a well-filled bank, even with tho commonest kinds, should look well. CHRYSANTHEMUMS.

Chrysanthemum growers will be busy now getting their beds in order to plant out next month. If tli© plants aro boing grown for exhibition purposes they are often gro.wn under a frame over which calico or somo such coverings are put when tlio plants begin to show colour. Being under these skeleton structures, it is easier to move the soil than it is to move tho structure, and fresh soil should be put in every year. Tho best soil that can he got is sod from an old pasture, and if you can get this do not trouble to remove tire grass, as it will soon rot. Take out a trench about fifteen inches wido whore the row is to go and about nine inches deep; in the bottom of this plnce the turf grass side down and fill up the rest of tho trench with tho loose and broken bits. It should he a little higlror than the surrounding soil, as it will sink. When finished, give tho surfaco a coating of lime and leave it alone for a while. It can bo worked up with tho soil later when you are ready to plant. Where turf cannot be got, replace with soil

from some part of tho garden where theso plants have not been grown before, using tho soil taken out of tho trenches to fill up tho holes made elsewhere. If the garden soil has been manured there will he no need to add more to it, hut in tho case of worked out soils some well-rotted cow manure will do a lot of good and can lie mixed in with the fresh soil as the trench is filled. Decorative plants can be grown in soil prepared in the snmo way and will be easier to manage when they aro grown in beds by themselves than when they are scattered about the garden.

PANSIES

A correspondent sends some pansies and asks for criticism. Ho. says: “I have raised these plants from seed I have saved myself, and would liko to know what faults they have. Ido not know the special points of a pansy for showing, and if you could give theso it would be of great vnlue to myself and several friends who are taking up the cult under my help. I have numbered the blooms and shall be able to check your remarks.”

The blooms came to hand quite fresh and are very good for a beginning. No. 1 is a large bloom with a good, wide yellow border which has run a bit. The bottom petal is not straight enough across and tho petals aro rather flimsy. No. 2 is a fine dark pansy and very largo; it lias good strength of petal and the lower petal is fine and broad. In this bloom you have a very fine plant to go on with. No 3 is rather smaller, hut has a splendid ring of yellow round the petals without any blemish. The lower petal is strong and good. No. 4 is not a pansy but takes after tho violas. The centre is rayed and this is not worth keeping. No. 5 is a fairly good bloom with dark blue colouring on a white ground. Tho petals are strong and although the bloom is not perfect in shape it may give some good seedlings. No. 6 is a poor bloom and not worth keeping with the other good ones. A perfect pansy should he round, or circular in shape. The petals must have plenty of substance and tho colour of the centre should not run into the border. The lower petals must he strong and out straight across. The whole bloom should be quite flat. However' you have made a good beginning and there is no reason why you should not do better from your own seed. MANURING SHRUBS.

AVe were watching a gardener manuring some trees in his garden recently and were rather surprised to see him wasting good stuff oil the hole of the tree. Some gardeners do not seem to realiso that trees do not feed at the trunk, hut out beyond the greatest spread of the branches. If you want to manure a tree do not tip a harrowful of manure round the stem, but dig the ground beyond its branches and place the manure there. That is where the small feeding roots will he found and it is from theso small roots that tho small hairs which suck up the food will be found, and this is why it is always recommended to keep the whole of the ground in an orchard cultivated. If the alleyways between the trees was to he carefully examined roots would he found there from both rows of trees. Even if there is a j>oor section of land near the trees wiilr no manure in it and it is given some manure, roots will find their way to it. They seem to know by a kind of instinct where to go. As an instance oi this we were shown how an apple tree in a neighbour's garden had found its wav into the next garden and right under the coinpost heap. The distance it had travelled in less than two years was exactly 34 feet and the root had branched out into several sub-roots. This is not a solitary o»tse. as anyone will find if they go to the trouble to follow out roots of trees. Willows are notorious for tho distance they will travel in search of food and wattle roots have been found over a chain away from a tree that was only two or three years old.

CALCEOLARIAS

Ma ny people would lie astonished to know that there are a hundred or more sjieoies of calceolarias. They are distributed all over the world and even New Zealand can boast of two which belong; to her. However interesting the history may he, these fine plants that have been sent out by florists during recent years are well worth a place in our gardens. One thing about them which makes them so valuable is that they will grow under trees and shrubs in the winter tir.ie where hardly anything else will survive. To get a start with those plants it is necessary to sow the seed in the summer so that good strong plants are available for planting out in tho autumn. They are not absolutely hardy, hut where grown under tho shade of trees they will withstand fairly heavy frosts. When pricking out the young plants never discard the weakly seedlings, as it is these that generally give the best show of blooms in the season. The seed is verv fine and when it is sown it should lie simply pressed into the soil and a sheet of glass and a piece of paper put over the pot or box to keep the seed moist." 7f watering is necessary before the plants are large enough to handle, put the pot or box into water and let it soak up enough. As soon as the young seeds

The first principles in horticulture are deep digging, drainage and manuring and there is another item which is very important and that is pest destruction. Lime, in spite of what is written and said about it, is, unfortunately, only too often left out of our gardens. One would have thought that the continued advocacy of lime in tho garden would have wrought some change in its usef hut as far as- 1 know thero is no more limo being used now than there was twenty years ago. Now, lime is not only a useful article to break down soils but it also helps to keep infectious diseases at hay. Take club-root in cabbages as an example. You will never find this in well-limed soils. .Many gardeners seem to think that lime has manorial value, hut this is not so. At the same time it has a mechanical action on the soil which sets free an otherwise unavailable plant food. Freshly-burned lime is caustic and has power to extract moisture from the air or anything else it may come in contact with. Never use lime on manure that has been freshly dug into the yard: rather wait for a month or so and then it can be put on the soil and hoed in. The reason why lime is useful on manured soil is because there are certain acids which plants do not require and which are injurious, hut lime will stop this acidity and the plant will he healthier for it. AYlien you see foliage of plants thin and yellow looking, you may be perfectly certain that lime is required, and. although it does not act immediately, it acts in the end. Caustic lime will destroy insect pests and fungi that infest the soils of our gardens.

THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

The vegetable garden has been a very busy place for some time now and* will continue 1o he. as long as tho weather holds fine. There is generally so much to he done m a limited time that the gardener has to pass over other work which can ho left- for a while.

A gardener who is renowned for his early vegetable marrows says: “I have just finished making six box frames for marrows and cucumbers and I shall put some seeds in next week. 1 have made six mounds with plenty of manure underneath, and as soon ns they coni down enough 1 shall sow the seed where it is to grow. I have always found this to ho better than transplanting, even from pots, and can recommend it to your readers. Last Monday I picked my first heads of asparagus and there are a lot more that will soon he ready. This bed has never been salted, but a small one alongside that lias been salted has no crowns

germinate the glass- and paper must bo removed or they will damp oil'. Stand tho young plants where they will be shaded from direct sunlight until they have begun to grow, when they can ho hardened off for planting out. A correspondent says:—“l liavo grown roses for years, hut I do not think 1 have ever seen them looking l>etter than they do at the present time and I am anxious to know what other growers think of the prospects for the coming season. I have about a dozen different climbing roses of the larger kinds and they were pruned and tied in about the middle of July, and I can safely sav 1 have never seen better or cleaner foliage. Every shoot on some of them has a hud on it and they should ho ready about tho beginning of November. I have never studied roses from an exhibitor’s point of view, but feel that I shall do so this year. The bedding roses are coming on well and are sending up strong dark shoots from the ground. Some plants that have not done this for several years aro reviving themselves and it will be possible to cut away a lot of old wood next season. I appreciate your notes, ami they are eagerly looked forward to each week, hut I wish some of your otlrer readers would give their experiences with the different flowers they grow. lam a great admirer of pansies, which 1 grow round the lose beds, but have never had anything very choice as they are only ordinary bedding kinds and are not named. lam going to try my hand at raising plants from seed and shall save this seed from the varieties I admire most amongst my collection. I suppose the same can bo done with violas, some of which equal the pansies in beauty. lam sending a cutting about the value of limo in the garden.” THE VALUE OF LIME.

showing. Rhubarb is coining on well and will be ready next week. Early cabbages aro making wonderful growth and the late broccoli are just beginning to turn in, and yet on every hand I hear it is a late season. 1 do not think so, and advise all gardeners to get on with their work as fast as they can.” . Lettuces can be planted out in raised beds, and as soon as they begin to show signs of sturdy growth give them a light dressing of nitrate of soda at the rate of one ounce to four square yards. If it does not rain soon afterwards give the ground a good watering and wash the stuff down. Liquid manure once or twice a week well help.