GARDENING NOTES

Northern Advocate, 24 September 1927, Page 9

GARDENING NOTES

(BY “TAINUL”

ASTERS. Asters are among our most beautiul flowering annuals, and of late years they have ibeen much improved by selection in both f orrri and' colouring. They are not, however, an unmixed blessing—their periqd'Of flowering is ( short, and they are far from immune against fungoid attacks. But their natural beauty, together with the fact that they ■can be taken up in ample time to prepare the ground for spring flowering bulbs, such as anemones and ranunculi, : ttoust give- them a; place in the flower • Aceessionw ' AsterS, jioiwever, should be left alone unless one is prepared to give them the care and attention they require, for • though' they are hardy enough in res- ' pect to climate, they have several enemies against which measures must be taken. -The worst of these pests .are ■collar-rot, eel-Worm ‘ and broom-rape. The soil for asters should bo in good heart, eleah and well drained. A crop ■of mustard sown on the bed now will supply useful humus and also help to clean the ground. If the soil is already in good condition, a good dressing with lime and soot woiild do much to clean the soil. This dressing should be given too,.if it is inconvenient or impracticable to sow mustard or other soiling crop. ’ If, however, the soil is loan, the ■soot-lime mixture will not tone it up; organic* matter is the only corrective* for such a soil. Also, the soil should in the meantime be kept lightly stirred in order to keep it sweet. As an early preventive against col-lar-rot the seed bed should be covered with a thin layer of clean sand; and of course only the cleanest of soil should be used. This fungoid disease is the worse that asters have to deal with; and it is particularly distressing because the plaints may almost reach maturity before showing signs of affection. \ Then-, with little apparent provocation, they will wilt and die. In regard to broom-rape,- no early , measure can be taken. This is a root parasite that does not show itself until it has done much mischief by sapping the life from the host plant, leaving the latter sickly and depauperated looking. Aster seed should be sown in boxes and the soil kept at as even a teraperaturb as possible, particularly until the plants have become established, extremes of heat and cold may seriously affect germination. SPRING BULBS. Spring bulbs of all kinds have bee* very beautiful this year. The wet August just as they were coming into bloom has been a decided advantage. Soon the'bulbs will all be dying down; then they . will become untidy and troublesome. But they must not be cut down until they have died right off. All spring bulbs always looked their best taken altogether; they do not look well in association with annuals that flower at the same time. Notes should be taken' now and plans blade for ordering and planting bulbs Xmuct year. Deciduous trees ami shrubs Wjjßvlr well carpeted about with small 4 hyacinths; I '-ffeezlas, spa rax is, or polyanthus ami primroses. The new growtn of the trees combined with the colour underneath is truly spring-like. Flowering peaches look beautiful carpeted about with scillas or grade hyacinths. The coloured freezias improve each year, ami some ot the yellow ami blue shades are particularly pretty. These colours do not seem to be as hardy as the red\ Varieties, and are best lifted

i OPERATIONS FOR SEPTEMBER i‘ \ | THE VEGETABLE GABDEN I I Sowings of practically all vegetables may be made. Sowings | I . should in no case be delayed. Tbe soil temperature is ris- | I ing and the soil holds more moisture now than it probably \ | will later. Present sowings will cojne through into a warm | | congenial sun and make rapid headway. I | With gross feeding plants like marrows and pumpkins, don’t \ | forget to prepare a rich bed; Rotted stable manure with a j liberal dusting of superphosphate mixed in with the soil i I Will serve to retain useful moisture through the summer | months, and also to supply food for the vines. I Tomato plants should not be given too rich a compost about I their roots. Gross growing sappy plants are* too readily i attacked by fungoid diseases. Excess of nitrogenous manI ure, such as animal manure should be substituted with a I Nation of sulphate of potash, or if it is at hand, with wood I ..(ashes. Do not put animal manure on the ground abou,t I the plants. Keep the soil lightly stirred, and water o^ly I when absolutely necessary. Lastly, give the plants as much 1 fresh air as possible, shelter from prevailing winds, and * j . full exposure to the sun. The drainage, of course, should | I be good. I Keep the soil lightly stirred between growing rows. 1 ■ ■■ „ ’ : j THE PLOWER GABDEN !. Sow seeds of phlox Drummondii, dahlia, salpiglossis, gypsophila, | sweet sultan, dianthus, scabiosa, aster, petunia, zinnia, I French* and African marigolds, and sunflowers; also mina I lobata. •• I The present is a good time for planting tender climbing, rock- I j r ery, herbaceous, or shrubby plants. i j Slips of chrysanthemums may be' put in now. The side shoots | may be pulled off the old plants; or the top growths may be I i taken off and rooted in boxes for later planting out. | Gannas may be divided and planted now. Old portions of the I : roots should be discarded. I Dahlias should be covered with soil in order to encourage growth, j when they have , made about 6 inches of growth, they may I j be lifted, the growth cut off with tuberous root attached, J j and planted out. . | I The following may be grown from slips of short young growth | | ■ put in now: Salvias, geraniums, perpetual carnations, alon- I I soas, agathea, ageratum, and daisies of all kinds. I I Tuberous, begonias may be started now. Put in a box of sandy f | soil, and keep moist but not wet. Keep indoors until growth | | has commenced. | | Plants of alternanthera, so useful for edging or for carpet-bed- | I ding may be divided and set in - I | colouredi foliage. , • | I Seed of kochia may be sown. This plant has lately come into | | favour. It keeps neat, and is bright green all summer, | I turning crimson in autumn., when it flowers and dies. Spacer I | plants 2 feet or 3 feet apart. | | Seeds of the following perennial plants may be sown now: Ane- j I mone, ranunculus, polyanthus, cyclamen, aetuilegia. I

after they have died down, Toeing planted again in the autumn. Narcissi should be lifted and transplanted every second or third year. Anemones and ranunculi are generally not worth keeping after they have had a good flowering season. ■Cyclamen seedlings should be kept growing well through the summer. The old eorms should be allowed to dry off. but they should not be taken out of the soil or to become baked during swinmer. Keep them as cool as possible.,, 'perennials FROM SEED. Many herbaceous plants, shrubs, climbers and rockery plants may' be grown from seed sown now. Provided ■they aro looked after and hurried along as well as possible, they would make good plants for .planting out next autumn; and they would be better able to withstand the winter cold than those ■sown in autumn. Many of these plants would bloom next spring, ■Seed of polyanthus, cyclamen and aqtfilegia are not ripe yet, but if last season's seed is obtainable it should be sown now, the plants being set into good rich soil in the autumn. These would make good flowering, plants for next spring. Anemones and ranunculi are particularly good from seed, which should be sown either in boxes or in the open 'ground as soon as ripe. The young plants should be shaded with fern or tea-tree during the hot weather; and they should be given plenty of water and an occasional dusting with super during summer. 'Coloured freezias may be grown from seed sown as soon as ripe, SHRUBS FROM SEED. Shrubs, as well as herbaceous plants, may be propagated from seed. With our native plants, since seedlings can be readily obtained this method of propagation is seldom used, since a longer time is taken for the plants to reach a serviceable size. In propagating shrubs from seed, the following basic facts should be noted:— Fresh seed only should be used. It is true that a number of seeds keep their vitality over a number of years, but it is equally true that either this is not so, or that germination is seldom as certain with old seed. It is better then to be on the safe side. With New Zealand native seeds, that generally ripen, during the autumn, these should bo sown the following spring, that is, the first sowing season after ripening. The seed bed should be kept moist but not sodden. A sheet of glass placed over the box or pot will help to retain moisture, or a little fine moss spread over the bed will serve the same purpose by arresting evaporation. Do not sow too deep; more seeds are lost through sowing too deep than by shallow sowing. Uso a suitable soil. The soil of the seed bed must be retentive, that is, it must be able to hold moisture; but at the same time it must- bo sufficiently free to allow of the percolation of wafer. Such a soil may be developed by mixing in with the garden soil a quantity of leaf mould or thoroughly rotted animal manure or compost. Keep the temperature uniform during germination, and make every effort to keep the soil warm, even for such hardy seeds as alpines. Very hard seeds may frequently be aided by steeping in hot water, after which, however, they should be cooled : gradually before sowing.