IN THE GARDEN

Northern Advocate, 9 February 1935, Page 6

IN THE GARDEN

[BY “TAINUI”] — -■

The Escallonias. The Escallonias are South American plants found mainly in the mountainous regions. There are about a dozen species. altogether. Although they are well known as*" hedge plants, most of the species make excellent shrubs or i small trees. Probably the best known is Escallonia Macrancha, which like most of the members has rather thick : glossy leaves; it bears heavy clusters of ; crimson flowers at the ends of the branches. Escallonia rubra also has t red flowers, which, however, appear r later in the season. E. Montevidensis l often known as E. floribunda, is more commonly grown as an ornamental t tree. A splendid specimen is at presi ent in flower in a private garden in . Hikurangi. This plant, which is > rather a small tree than a shrub, being . perhaps fifteen feet in height, is a . mass of i white bloom, the flowers . grouped in heavy clusters at the ends L of the branches. A /third member , worth noting is a hybrid derived from ; E. macrantha, called E. langleyensis. . It bears bright carmine-rose flowers; i and it is more graceful and supple than , the other escallonias, and the blooms are borne on the upper sides of the branches —a very attractive plant. It is in flower at present. Propagation is generally by cuttings, taken in early autumn, or by layering. Violets. As soon as the hot weather is over, 1 the violet plants should be given a ■ liberal supply of water, followed by 1 weekly doses of liquid manure. The 1 violet produces numerous seed pods from inconspicuous flowers close to the soil. It is well to remove these as ; they are a drain on the plants.' A mulch of lawn clippings about the roots of the plants during hot weather is advised, otherwise it would be necessary to give the plants weekly waterings. Runners should be pulled off. Polyanthus. Seed pods do not always readily form on polyanthus plants, and in gathering seed, it is necessary to examine the old flowers. If a pod happens to be forming, it can be marked by tying a piece of wool around the stem. When the pods have fully ripened and are showing signs of open- _ ing Jhey should be removed and placed loosely in paper bags to finish ripening. Sow the seed as soon as it is ripe in a box of leaf mould or \very old manure mixed with sand. After sowing, mulch the surface of the soil with sifted moss, and keep in a shaded place until the seedlings are well above the ground. Keep the box moist and do not allow the seedlings to die, but see that they are kept growing. By the autumn they will have grown into strong plants, when they may be planted out permanently. Treated in this way, the seedlings will bloom the following spring. Eel-Worm. These pests are not seen, but their effects are often in evidence. They infest roots of many kinds of shrubs, plants, etc., raising nodules which often seriously interfere with the flpw of sap in the plants. Spraying is of no avail. They are checked by sterilisation of the soil. A satisfactory remedy is hortnap (horticultural napthalene). This should be placed in the soil six weeks before planting. The fumes of this are potent enough to kill any animalculae that may be moving in the soil. Use about 4oz. to the square yard. Eeel Worm readily attacks tomatoes in houses. Cantua Buxifolia. This has been described as one of the choicest of. European greenhouse plants; but here it thrives well outside, and is nearing the end of its flowerling season. It is much branched, and ; reaches about 4ft. in height. It bears 1 small, rather narrow, box-like leaves. 1 The blooms are conspicuous. The fun- 1 nel-shaped corolla is'over 2in. long and red, usually streaked. It is uncommon looking and attractive. J Doubtful Seed. • Some seeds will last for years with- 1 out losing their vitality; others are 1 short lived. To test left-overs,. take a < piece of- blotting paper, and corrugate 1

* OPERATIONS FOR FEBRUARY. t k THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. •♦* V V Sow cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, dwarf beans, lettuce, spinach, X silver beet, carrots, and dwarf peas (at once). & Plant out celery and keep well watered. »|> Turn down onion tops as they soften so as to encourage the bulbs X to ripen off. i * y Take measures against the cabbage fly. Spray with tar-water or formalin/solution, or dust with tobacco powder or hellebore powder. »*. Sow mustard, oats, or other soiling crop for digging in later. X This operation is particularly important on ground that has become exhausted through heavy cropping. X Mulch and well water runner beans. Lift the runners of kumeras to prevent their rooting at the & joints. ' X * | THE FLOWER GARDEN. J i Calendula or pot marigold is a favourite winter flower. Seed may X be sown now in boxes or in the open ground. Many shrubs and perennial plants may be'layered at this season. | Sow seed of Iceland poppy, linaria, antirrhinum, primula mala- ■' X coides, pansies, violas, gaillardias. ?* Bulbs of all kinds should be planted. Leave Iris Tingitana and 2 tulips until later. . % Carnations may be layered, or slips may be put in after the 2 next heavy rain. * % A shovelful of fine soil put over the gehtre of many perennia} V plants will encourage the growth of small pieces from the X base. These are easily pulled off, and may be planted out 2 in late autumn. Lobelia, viola, scabiosa, etc., may be readily ? propagated in this way. % Stake, tie, and thin dahlias. Watch out for caterpillars, and spray X with arsenate of lead. x Collect all garden rubbish and either compost it or burn it. If it 2 is diseased, burn it. X

it so that it will fit into a flat dish. Line the bottom of the dish with sandy moisten it, and place the blotting paper on the wet sand. Sprinkle a kpown i number of the seeds in the furrows : and place aside. Take care that the • blotting paper does not dry out. 80 ‘ . per cent, gerhninatibn is satisfactory, i but under that, percentage the sowing : value may be doubtful. SPRAYS IN COMMON USE. > The following list of the more gener- < i ally used sprays is given in the Jour- : nal of Agriculture by Dr. G. H. Curij ningham, mycologist. . It should serve > as ah interesting reminder to readers. I “The sprays in current employment . are (1) Lime-sulphur, (2) Colloidal L sulphur, (3) Lead arsenate, (4) Bors deaux (or Burgundy) mixture, (5) f Nicotine, or nicotine sulphate, (6) i Petroleum oils. 5 Lime-sulphur is employed' as a 5 fungicide, and to a lesser extent, as an ■ insecticide. A 1 per cent, concentrai tion is moderately effective (though . inferior to petroleum oil) as a controi- ; lant of scale insects when applied dur- „ ing the dormant' season. It is princi- ; pally employed as a summer fungi- . cide, being applied to pome fruits, ; stone fruits, vegetables, etc., at con1, centrations of from 0.083 per cent, to ' 0.1 per cent, (the former concentration for less tolerant varieties) for control of black spot of apples, and leaf rust , and brown rot of peaches, etc. The i spray is also of value in combating - soft-bodied insects, though seldom > used alone for this purpose. , i Colloidal sulphur is the most effeci tive fungicide to employ against mili dews. It is also effective against leaf . rust and brown rot of stone fruit, and i tomato leaf mould. The spray is applied in the orchard at the concentra- . tion of 41bs. of the paste to 100 gallons of water; under glass 21bs. gives comparable results. Bordeaux mixture is the most efficient fungicide for the control of fungi other than mildews. Two concentrations are employed, 5-4-50 at green tip on pome fruits and bud movement on some fruits; 3-4-50 for summer applications to pears, tomatoes, and other small fruits, potatoes and other vegetables. Lead arsenate is astomach jpoison used to'combat chewing insects such as codling moth, leaf-roller caterpillar, bronze beetle, and cherry slug. The standard concentration , employed in the Dominion is 1J lbs. powder or 31b. paste per 100 gallons of water. It may be applied with safety to pome fruits, small fruits, potatoes, and* most garden vegetables and flowers; but is unsafe to use on stone fruits other than English plum. Nicotine, or nicotine sulphate may be employed during the growing season on most plants without risk of injury, to combat soft-bodied insects, such as aphides, leaf-hopper, mealy-bug, and red mite. The standard concentration recommended is 0.05 per cent, nicotine. Petroleum oil is employed to destroy insect eggs during the dormant season, and against soft-bodied insects during the growing period. For dormant applications, winter oil is applied at a concentration of 4 per cent, against San Jose scale and 3 per cent, against other scales. Summer oils are applied at concentrations of 2 per cent, on citrus, and from 1.0 to 1.5 - per cent, on pome and stone fruits. Answers Kaikohe: The grass is Isachne Australis. It is common in swamps in North Auckland, and is relished by stock. Buchanan, in his “indigenous Grasses,” says: “So valuable a grass is Worthy of attention. . . . Many of our most valuable indigenous grasses have a very limited distribution, while their cultivation is much neglected, preference being given to exotic species. . . . Cultivation, chiefly for the sale of /seed would certainly prove remunerative.” Whangarei: The inflated, prickly fruit is the pod of Sutherlandia frutescens, var. tomentosa. ' It belongs to the pea family, and is sometimes called the duck plant, from a resemblance of the pod to a duck, particularly when floated on water.