THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 307, 25 November 1932, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

Notos are published undor this head are invited to send in questions relat expert advice; answers will ho publishc

THE HOSE SHOW. The committee of tho Horticultural Society are certainly to be congratulated on the success of their Summer Show last Saturday, and. ive heartily endorse the remarks made by Mr E. J. Nathan in his opening address that ho thought it was tho best show the society had ever held. In fact, we would go further and say that all the shows that have been held during this financial yea.r have been successful. A willing band of workers and an energetic secretary are a necessary part of a show organisation at any time, but they cannot do much without the liberal co-operation of flower lovers and gardeners generally, and. last Saturday they had both. The whole ol the dowers exhibited were good and it would be very hard to pick out on< section which was beteer than tin others. The ladies, perhaps, deserv. special mention for the beautiful ex hibits which they put up in the decorative class. These exhibits were exceptionally well done and added a great deal to the beauty of the show. On the opposite side of the hall there were the cut flower classes, and we are. sure that a better lot of well grown stuff has never been set up here. One special class that deserves mention was that for pansies. These were ad exceptionally well grown and showed that the exhibitors had become masters of their subject. The rose section was a very strong ono and some splendid blooms were shown, many of the exhibits being so close that it was very hard to see where the difference came in. In this section there was a considerable amount of careless staging which is a thing that should be avoided as much as possible. It spoils the exhibit and. makes the judge’s work considerably harder. QUESTIONS.

“A.R.” says: “Would you kindly tell mo what the enclosed flower is? J have seen a plant of it about two feet high and covered with bloom. If it is hardy it would make a good plant in the herbaceous border.”—The flowers enclosed with the above note were from a plant of calceolaria violacea, a native of Chili. It will stand a certain amount of frost, but unless it was protected during the winter we do not think it would stand in an herbaceous border. It is a plant that will grow freely enough in a fairly dry situation and is certainly free blooming when it becomes properly established. Theso plants will grow to a height of three feet or more and the same through. “Dahlia” says: “1 have about a dozen dahlias which I planted last year and some of them are about three feet high now. A gardening friend tells me that they will not flower in the autumn and will not be any good for showing. I want to show some so kindly tell me what to do.”—Dig the plants up and cut them up so that each one has one shoot left; this can be cut off close to the tuber and then replant that piece of tuber. It will soon send up a new shoot or. perhaps, two or three. Pull out or cut off all except one and stake this one. The rest of the tubers can be thrown away or planted up in tlie same way. By following the above plan you should be able to get plenty of flowers in the autumn. Show flowers are grown by disbudding and giving liquid manure at the proper time.

BOOKS ABOUT ROSES,

A correspondent says that he wishes to get a good book about roses and wants to know what we would recommend. There are so many books published about this particular subject that it is very hard to say which is the best, but “Modern Roses in Australasia,” by B. V. Rossi, is a book that should be in the hands of all rose growers. It treats of all aspects, of rose growing, and besides that is written for tho Australian climate, which is as near our own as possible. In places that are so close together as Australia and New Zealand there is more than a common bond in rose growing, and a book like this one will be found to give hints that are both useful and welcome. The Book of the Rose by Dean Hole is a classic and should be in every rose grower’s library, and the Rose Book by Foster-Melliar is also a good one to have on hand for reference. Another book that we have seen and like very much is one by that great American rose grower, Mr Horace J. McFarland. This is the seventeenth edition and has been considerably enlarged and brought up-to-date. The conditions in America are quite opposed to our own, but for all that one can

mg, and reader sinterested in gardening ing to matters upon which they wish :d with the weekly notes.

glean much useful information. We wonder what our golfers would say if his ideas were carried out in bordering the sides of a fairway with them. Evidently they would not be regarded as a hazard, but we have no doubt that some players would find them an obstruction. Tho chapter on dwarf polyanthus is a very fine one and points out possibilities that would not be thought possible a few' years ago. However, it does not matter where tho book is printed, tho instructions for preparing a hed are the same all tho world over and nothing can be accomplished without a certain amount of work in pieparing tho ground. The value of cow manure is rated as highly in Australia and England as it is in America and here. THE NEWER BROOMS. One of the latest family of plants to pome undor the hybridist eye iB that of the genistas, or brooms, and some remarkably. "" fine things have been evolved. Donards Seedling has been particularly fine this year and has been a. mass of bright pink and yellow flowers. One bush grown as a standard flowered so heavily that the branches could not bo seen. Dorothy Walpole, a riot of crimson and gold with pink on the insides of the standards, is a wonderful sight, and is one that should be in every garden. Lilac Time, a. variety raised in Australia, is a wonderful doer and flowers so freely that it is a mass of colour for six weeks or more. Aurea is a creamy yellow with very large individual flowers and one of the f reest bloomers of the whole family. All who have seen this variety remark upon its splendid habit and are decidely pleased with it.. Lord Lambourne has also done well and although not long established, has flowered freely. Firefly, as far as we can see, is something like Andraeana, too much so to be given a separate name. It did not flower as freely as that good old sort. Dalmoreana is a deep rose and is a decided break into a new colour. It is free growing and will be wanted as it becomes better known. The pruning of brooms should bo done as soon as they have finished flowering as this will give them the chance to make new wood for next year’s flowers. If they are not pruned, they will grow straggly and untidy. They are plants that can be grown in the driest of soils and will flourish on clay banks where little else will grow. CLEMATIS FROM SEED.

“Clematis” says: “Could you tell me how to raise clematis from seed. A friend of mine has a lot of plants he lias raised in this way and some of them are the best I have ever,seen. They vary in colour from deep mauve and blue to whites and some have a decided red stripe down the N middle of the petals. Any information that you can give will be gratefully, received by gardeners here. My friend says that the seeds drop on the ground and grow naturally, but I have had no success in this way. Is it necessary to soak them and when should they be planted?”—Seed from clematis plants should be sown as soon, as they are ripe in a nice compost of loam, coarse sand and leaf mould. An earthenware pan about four inches deep is tho best thing to sow in, and stand it on a bed oi sand which can be kept moist the whole time the seeds are germinating. Freshly sown seed will germinate in about two months, or even less, but old seed may take upwards of two years before it shows any signs of sprouting, and even then the seedlings will bo weak. As soon as the young seedlings are strong enough to handle, pot them up singly into four inch pots and keep them growing in a glasshouse or frame until they are strong enough to tie up to sticks when they can be hardened off preparatory to planting out in a nursery bed, where they can be grown until they flower. The first flower may give an indication of the colour, but not size or form, so they must be grown for a year or two to prove them out. Some of the plants will not flower until they are four or five years old. Try and get seeds from your friend’s plant because it takes a loug time to find out'whether a plant will give good seedlings.or not and a proved plant is valuable in this respect.

TOMATOES. A Grower' says:—“l am interested in tomato growing and have always read any notes that I could get on the subject. Last year I came across a plan which 1 decided to try out. The tomatoes are planted in the ordinary way eighteen inches to two feet apart and are grown on the single stem system, but the stakes, instead of being upright, aro put in diagonally and each one is tied to a single wire at tire top. This wire is strained between two pasts and other supports are put in every twelve feet. This wire should be about four feet above the ground and the stakes long enough to be pushed into the soil at an angle of forty-five degrees. Ido not clapn to lie the originator of this method, but I do claim that better crops" are obtained by using it. The fruit have better and are easier to see and pick. I only tried this plan last season for the first time, but I lrad a row of the same variety alongside growing on upright stakes, and the difference in the crop obtained from the twenty-four plants was most marked. The row of upright plants gave an average of a little over seven pounds, while the others gave me ten pounds per plant. When-the fruit has set, liquid manure can be given once a week to advantage. Superphosphate and potash are very good to use in limited quantities and these oan be sown on the soil, allowing about one ounce per plant. Cultivation is essential at all times, and tomatoes will respond as readily as cabbages and potatoes to a good hoeing. Spraying is also necessary and should begin with the first setting of fruit' and continue every three weeks until the end of February. THE VEGETABLE GAEDEN.

There is a great deal of work that has to be done amongst vegetables at this time of the year, and on doing that work in a systematic manner depends the success or otherwise of the crop. Untidy, methods reflect themselves in the produce. As soon as one crop is over, see that there is another of a different nature to take its place. Never allow the soil to rest and become a home for weeds and vermin. If you have no crops that you wish to grow, put in something that can bo turned under and made into manuro. Weeds should never be tolerated and the hoe must be kept going the whole time. One hoeing is not enough, If there are weeds to be cleared away, hoe them and leave them on the surface to dry and then in a day or two go over the ground again. Thinning plants can be done while the hoeing is in progress. When the potato crop is about six inches or more in height it is ready for its first earthing up. We have iound that it is better to do this work two or even more times as it helps to koep weeds down and to give the potatoes that mulching which all plants require in the dry weather. There are many other crops such as cabbages, cauliflowers, peas and beans which receive a lot of benefit from being earthed up. It is not necessary to earth them up as high as potatoes, but some Boil drawn up to their stalks will

be very helpful. If you have not already sown leek seed, get it in at once in well, manured soil. These plants have to bo grown fairly quickly to get the best from them, but during the hot weather they make very slow progress unless they can bo kept moist with water. However, when the cool weather comes on, they, make good growth and as they are’ looked upon as a winter crop they are not required until then. Keep up successional sowings of lettuce right through the season and have a barrel of water standing ready to give them a good drenching when they require it. Water from the mains only retard progress, but rain water, or that which has been standing in the sun for a few days, is good. French beans can be sown as soon as the last seed put in is about two inches high, and peas are treated in the same way. Celery trenches can be got ready now by taking out the soil to a depth of a foot or more and putting about six inches of manure in the bottom, and covering this with three inches of soil. If the sides of the trenches are liable to fall in, put some boards along each side and these can be taken out when the celery is being earthed up. Marrows, pumpkins, cucumbers, and pie melon seed can be sown in the open ground norv on well manured plots of ground, and as soon as the plants are large enough hoe them well and draw some earth up to the stems. Tomatoes have been making good growth lately and should havo stakes provided for tying them to. This is work that must be dono as soon as possible, because a crop is easily spoiled by being allowed to lie on the ground. The first tie should be made when they are about a foot in height and then as often as required. When the first bunch of fruit sets, spray the plants and then give them a dressing of superphosphate and later on about one ounce of sulphate of potash per plant. ROSE SHOW. DISPLAY AT WELLINGTON. The display of blooms at tho annual rose show of the Wellington Horticultural Society was generally conceded to be a record in point of quality, as well as a record in respect to numbers of entries. Although primarily a roso show, there wero other noticeable features—a collection of 500 hydrangens, hybrid lupins, pansies and novelties. The champion bloom went to Mr G. W. Cairns, while Eastern Suburbs. (Miramar) was the suburban society gaining the most points in all classes with the exception of children’s classes.