THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13781, 20 June 1908, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN.

The transplanting of roses should be proceeded with at once. General instructions were given in last week's notes as to the preparation and character of the soil best suited for them. Roses are, with few exception!,-, mostly propagated by budding the different varieties upon stocks best suited to their requirements. In planting budded roses they should be inserted in the soil sufficiently deep so that the junction or union of the bud with the stock is level with or slightly below the surface. Too much importance cannot be attached to this detail in planting. Raisers of roses often err in inserting the stocks too deep and budding too high, producing a long stem between the. bud and the root. To plant, such a rose as it should be necessitates burying the roots too deeply and away from the exhilarating effects of the atmosphere, whereas when properly worked there will only be a few inches of stem, and the plantwill be much more easily planted and thrive infinitely better. All newly-trans-planted roses should bo. shortened back at the time of setting, completing the pruning towards the end of next month, The amateur naturally gets bewildered in making his selection from the many hundreds of varieties that are now grown. It is difficult to select from exhibition stands and from flowers that are shown, as some of the best exhibition roses are poor growers, and not i adapted for general cultivation. Strong, vigorous growers should as far as practicable be chosen, and those varieties that give the longest and best display of bloom. The many charming additions to climbing roses, including the new hybrids belonging to the wichuriana section, enable planters to have a very much greater diversity in growth and colours. pruning. ■ The season is again at hand when attention must be given to pruning the various subjects of the orchard. This is an operation that needs to be performed every year if success is to be attained, for although most trees will grow and produce fruit when not pruned at all, there is practically little or no comparison in the quality of a well-formed and cultivated tree to that of the neglected tree; in fact, the contrast is often so marked that it is difficult to distinguish the varieties. Pruning, apart from the advantage of obtaining fully-developed, more juicy, and more richly-flavoured fruit, is the means of keeping the trees well furnished with abundance of healthy fruitbearing wood, the most essential thing in successful fruit culture, and applies to almost every variety of fruit grovyn. With peaches and kindred trees that produce their fruit on wood of the previous season's growth it is of the first importance that this yearly supply of young wood is maintained. I have for years advocated the yearly and comparatively hard pruning of the peach, and it is pleasing to note that the most successful peach-growers are now fully alive to the importance of yearly and judicious pruning and the result* obtained. There can be no hard and fast rule laid down for pruning, as scarcely any two trees need the same treatment. Nearly all young, healthy-growing, trees have a tendency to form dense growth, the branches becoming too thick and irregular, excluding the sun and air that is so essential to the ripening and development of the buds. The result is soft, weakly, unripened wood, and scanty crops of poor-flavoured fruit. If trees have been carefully pruned when young and a good foundation laid, there j

will bd little difficulty in maintaining a shapely: tree, without having recourse _to the saw or very hard pruning. In starting to prum, tho peach and nectarine should bo the irst to receive attention, as these are generally the first to start into growth, to bo followed fry pruning the Japanese plum, Kjropean varieties, cherries, pears, and last ipple*. In bush fruits gooseberries should init receive attention, then currant.*, raspbertiw, loganberries. In dealing with the peiba, the first operation, as with all other trees, is to first remove any dead or damaged branches or branches crossing each other, or growing in a direction not required to form a shapely, well-balanced head. Thi pruning of the peach consists in cutting back about one-half of the previous season's growth, shortening back the leading sh*ots from one-third to one-half, according; o the strength of growth made. To prune successfully, the operator must have some knowledge of the work as well as tho character of the various fruits to be treated. For instance, many varieties (particularly apples) form spurs, from which most of the fruit is produced: others, on the other] hind, produce the fruit, on the terminal growths or end of the shoots, so that if pruned in a haphazard manner most of the fitting buds would be removed. Most varieties of plums' form spurs, from, which the .fruit is borne. This applies to both Japanese and European varieties, although thojJipanese form fruiting buds on tho wood of the previous year, similar to the peach xxi kindred. The object of the person pruning should be to encourage the formation of 'spurs as much as possible throughout th« tree*. By this means a condition of fruit illness is attained. AXS'tvilS TO COBRESPOXTJEXT3. " Tropics.'" Hamilton: Clumps or beds of lily of the vlley need no attention during the winter b<y*nd keeping the ground free from weeds. [(Id beds are benefited by a top-dressing <f manure or rich soil during the autumn. They succeed best in a cool, moist, shady Situation. " .1.A.." Dol-oiport: Aphis sometimes attacks the youkg fruits of Fittospontmerassifolium. A dressing with McDougall's insecticide will aid the plants of aphides. Two or three Applications will be necessary at fortnightly Intervals. The sooty appearance of the" fiflitgo is probably the result of n scale that produces indentations on the leaves. .Apply the same remedy. A good plan is toWasionally give the hedge a good dusting (with freshly-slacked lime. "r'.K.." Ponfiiribv: The proper treatment of newly-imported dahlia bulbs is to plant, them in a box of, singly in pots, just covering the crowns. L Water sparingly, and allow them to gror on naturally in a greenhouse or glass lrime. They will make, sufficient growth! to strengthen the roots to enable them td restart in tho spring. "CD.." Wellington: Re tomato culture under glass, tho (information you desire— namely, cost of erecting glasshouse, probable return from cropland general treatment — would absorb too (much space in these columns. Briefly, a. span-roofed house is the best, as plenty of Itgkt is essential, although a lean-to facing tlib tun answers admirably. Cost would average about 20s per foot. That is, a house 50ft, long would cost £50. The plants may be grown in deep boxes or planted out in brows in the house, arranging them about 2ft- apart.. The mode of training should .be the same as those grown outside, keeping to a single stem, removing all side shoots from tho first. Tomato plants uiuUr glass are subject to the attacks of aphides and'other pests, consequently proper precautions must be taken to keep them in a healthy condition. As to tho probable return from the crop, that, will, of course, depend upon the treatment the'plants receive arid mode of training. . \ • \ Kepos.