THE GARDEN.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 252, 21 September 1934, Page 12

THE GARDEN.

Notes are published under this beading, and readers interested in gardening are inviW to send in questions relating to matters upon wtucn they wish expert advice: answers will be published with the weekly noK«

THE FLOWER . GARDEN

In the flower garden there are so many things thufc require doing at once that, one is often at a loss to know which to do first. However, anyone who is growing chrysanthemums for large flowers will find that it is worth while to attend to the plants now. Pot up all well-rooted cuttings into threeinch pots and pot firmly. Make no error about this because you must leave the plants strong and sturdy, and loosely potted plants are always liable to be soft and flabby. As soon as they have taken hold of the soil, stand the pots outside within easy reach of water, which should only be used when required. When this has been done proceed to get the bed ready by working up plenty of well-rotted turf. No manure is wanted if this can be got, because this can be given when tho plants are coming to the blooming stage by means of liquid made to suit the season and the plants. The old question of tubers versus green plants crops up' every year in reference to dahlias and we can safely assure growers that there is very little difference between them. Tubers can be planted up earlier than green plants, and if this is done they will, probably bloom earlier; but that is about the only advantage we know of. Those who are growing from tubers can put the old shoots in boxes of sand and start the plants growing in a frame if they have one. Do not cut the tubers up until you can see where the eyes are going to come from. Dahlias are not like potatoes which send out a shoot from every indentation in the skin, but they have eyes near the crown of the plant which will send out a number of shoots when growth is excited. If a tuber can be got with one eye near the top then you have a good set to plant. The bed for dahlias should be prepared in advance of planting time because it needs time to consolidate. If manure is being worked into the soil, work it in well down. The roots will find it in spite of the fact that they are largely surface feeders. Practically all kinds of seeds can be sown now to provide plants for setting out in the garden next month and the following one. As soon as those plants that are being grown under glass can be put out in the sun the better it will be for them. Plants that are hardy and strong are much better than those tall lanky ones that look well in a seedling box, but which take a long time to come on when they are planted out. Zinnias are wonderful autumn flowers, and if they can be grown in large beds by themselves they will be all the better for it; but they should not be grown too often in the same kind of soil or the same place. Those who do this are only making trouble for themselves. Dahlias are about the only plants we know of that can be grown in the same bed year after year, but even for these plants it is better to sow the. ground down with a cover crop and dig it in. THE GLADIOLUS.

During the last few years gladioli are flowers that have, risen in the public estimation with great rapidity. One tiling that has made them so popular is the ease with which they can be raised from seed. There are gardens all over the country where seedlings are to be found and many of them are as good as some of the named varieties on the market. We were asked by one grower if it was possible to get them to bloom the first year and have no hesitation in saying that this can be done. The only thing that is wanted is to sow. the seed early in the season in well-prepared and manured ground and to_ keep the plants growing freely by using water when the weather becomes hot and dry. All of the plants raised will not flower, but many of them will and the flowers are splendid for decorative purposes. Those who are growing gladioli for show purposes can time their plants to flower within a few days of the time they are wanted. Most of them take from 90 to 120 days from the time of planting and therefore corms planted in October should come into bloom shortly after the New Year, when most of the shows are held.’ The main thing is to plant good healthy corms, and, if there are anv with ‘black spots on them, to treat them with formalin, a solution of which is made up at the rate of one part of the formalin to three hundred parts of water. Dig the soil deeply and work some manure in at least six inches from the surface so that the corms do not come in contact with it when they are first planted. QUESTION.

“Anxious” says; “Would you kindly tell me something about growing Chinese gooseberries, I have had two plants for about four years and have never seen a sign of fruit on them. I am particularly fond of the fruit of these plants and I want to grow some for my own household. During the last two years the plants have not made much extra growth. They are growing on a trellis in heavy soil and are about six feet apart. I was told when I got them that two were required to make certain of pollinisation.” When you get plants of the Chinese gooseberry it is necessary to get selected pairs that flower at the same time, From seed it is quite possible to get plants that flower at different times and it is also necessary to get plants of different sexes. One plant will only have male flowers and the other, which bears the fruit, will have the female flowers. As far as _ wo know there is no way of determining the sexes until they flower, when the difference can be seen in the flowers themselves. These plants like good, deep cultivation, with plenty of manure and water in the growing seaam. If they have this there is no reason why you cannot succeed with them. We have often thought that a system of pruning could be evolved which would induce the formation of fruit spurs, and which would thin out much of the unnecessary growths that form in a good growing season. “Dahlia” says: “I am anxious to grow dahlias well, but so far I have had no special luck with them. When

I get plants they come by post and are very small things. What is the best thing to do with them? Also, the ground I am growing to grow them in has been manured for potatoes and I am wondering if it would require any more now or when the plants are put out. Which are the beet to grow, green plants or tubers? I have a number or tubers of good varieties and will replant these if they are as good as green plants.” . _ When young green plants are-taken out of the box they should be uursca for a few days. Take them out or th box and pot them up and water them well. After a week or so they will b strong and sturdy and quite ht plant out. Tubers are quite good; but do not plant up the old stool. Cut on tuber away from it with an eye o shoot and plant this. One stem to a plant is quite enough. If more than on comes up, pull them out. Your groun should be alright and no more manure need be put on it at present When the plants are about a foot high, tor some manure into the ground rolu l them. The subsequent waterings wii wash the plant food down to the roots. If animal manure cannot be got, use sulphate of potash at the rate ot two ounces to the square yard and, later on, superphosphate at the same_rate. These manures are good, even it an - mal manure lias been forked in. PRUNING TREES AND SHRUBS.

There are many kinds of trees and shrubs that can be pruned m the spring after they have finished flowering. In some cases the main object is to regulate the growth so that shapely specimens can be enjoyed, but in others the object of pruning is to get plenty of small and fresh branches which will flower profusely. One ot the most important things with conifers and trees of that kind is to see that they only have one main stem or bole, and to prune them in such a way that they can be kept to one stem, it is not always advisable to cut the growth out which is going to be suppressed, but simply cut out a tew inches at the top of it, and allow the one that is to be retained to go ahead. The one that has had the top nipped out may make a new shoot in time, but it is easy enough to watch this and suppress it at the proper time. Ine main stem will get away and will help to keep the other in check. v\ hen pruning to improve the shape ot a plant it is often a matter of only nipping a branch here and there, bhrubs which bear flowers on the current year’s wood are generally pruned in the winter and are therefore beyond the time for cutting. Those that flower freely on the previous year s growth should be pruned when they are ready, which is generally as soon as the petals have fallen. Study the habits of a plant before you cut it. In cases it may be necessary to cut right back to the ground to get the desired shape or where it is crowding some other valued plant. DAFFODILS. Spring is here, at least the daffodils think so, but the weather has not been at all kind to them and those we have seen look as though they had been having rather a rough time, it the flowers were picked when they are first beginning to open and put in vases in a cool dark room they would open slowly and be much better for exhibition purposes than those which are left on the plants until they are wanted. The trumpet section is the only one that this method suits. There are some gardeners who, cut the foliage from their plants as soon as blooming is over. This is a very bad way to treat the bulbs. It stops the bulb from ripening properly and will spoil next season’s crop of flowers. The leaves of the plant are there for the purpose of providing the bulbs with the proper amount of nutriment and if they are removed the crop next season is impaired. The question is often asked whether bulbs can be moved when they are in flower. To this we say that they can. The only precaution necessary is to take the bulbs up with a good ball of earth, to keep the roots intact and to plant them again as soon as possible and at the same depth as they were growing before being lifted. One grower relating his experiences in this matter said that bulbs which he lifted two years ago and placed in a box with the soil round the roots, and removed to his new home a hundred miles away, did just as well the next season as some he had planted that year. It is often necessary to lift some bulbs out of a lot to make sure they are true, and this can be done safely. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Tomato seed can be sown now under glass. It takes from ten to fourteen days to come up, and when the plants are getting their third and fourth leaves they can be pricked out into other boxes where they will have room to develop. A good tip to those who are sowing pumpkin, marrow, and cucumber seed is to start the seed in damp sawdust and as soon as each one sends out a shoot plant it up carefully in a paper pot and stand side by side in a box. When the time comes for planting, pot and all can be put in the ground and the plant will go on growing without any check. These plants will give an early lot of fruit. The main crop can be sown in the open ground later on. Sow lettuce in the open ground and thin the young plants out as soon as they can lie handled. If they are left in a crowded state they become tall and spindly and will not be as good as those that have plenty of room to de* velop in. Carrots and parsnips can be sown for the main crop next month. The soil for parsnips must be deep and well worked, but carrots can be the short, stump-rooted varieties which will grow well in almost any kind of soil. Keep sowing peas for succession and do not sow more than can be staked. Keeping these plants off the ground means that the crop will be better, anti it is certainly easier to pick. When red beet is well above tlie ground, sow a little salt along the row. It will make a lot of difference to the crop.