THE GARDEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16561, 9 June 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE GARDEN.

Whb the advent of June planting operation! are generally amongst the most important in connection with the garden. In every garden there is always a considerable number of alterations and changes in the distribution of many of the permanent plants. Renewals are in many instances necessary. Some'of the shrubs may have been planted in unsuitable places, and require to be removed, others may have become unsightly, and need replacing, 01 have been discarded with the intention of choosing something different. Change and variety reliove tho sameness, and create a new interest in the garden., Roses should be carefully examined, rooting out those that are in an unhealthy state, and replacing them with healthy, well-rooted, vigorous plants.

Renewing Rose Beds. —Rose beds are often rendered unsightly by retaining misshapen bushes that have become exhausted through age. Some are naturally poor growers, and are not worth the room they occupy. Others, that have been supersede! by newer and bettei sorts, must also be replaced. At the same time it must not be forgotten that many j of the old varieties are still indispensable, and should on no account be omitted when making new plantations.

Roses for Planting. For the amateur it is most important that he should choose varieties that are vigorous growers and free-bloomers. Unfortunately some of tho varieties belonging to the Pernettiana section, notably Rayon d'Or, the most glorious of all yellow roses, is such a poor grower, and a few others have such a bad habit of dying back, that they aro not worth a place.

Flowering shrubs and hedge plants are the first to be chosen in the planting of new grounds.

Selecting Hedge Plants.

Hedges aro indispensable adjunct!! to every garden, and are planted for shelter and ornament, or both combined. Various

shrubs and plants are available to suit the special requirement for which the hedge is intended, and the soil and situa tion. Evergreen hedges are best adapted for our climate, as well as being the most ornamental and affording shelter during all seasons of the vear. In making suitable selections the planter must be guided by circumstances, taking into consideration the character of the soil and situation, and the extent of his grounds, and also , climate, and whether it is intended to cultivate the "and close up to the hedgerow. Hedges and Cultivation. It will be necessary to chooso a variety that will not send out its roots too far on either side, and exhaust and render the ground unfit tor cultivation. In next week's notes the writer will enumerate some of the most ornamental and useful varieties of hedge plants. Clipping hedges composed of m'acrocarpa, Law--Boniana, thujas, and other varieties of conifers may be commenced. This can be done at leisure, and when the soil is unfit for working and treading upon in other portions of the garden. On favourable occasions the planting of hardy seed, lings, including stocks, antirrhinums, penstemons, gallardins, candytufts, wall-' flowers, dimorphotheeas, sphenogyne, and a few others .nay bo done, in order to have flowers coming on. At present there is a greater scarcity of flowers than the writer has ever known at this season.

8 THE VINERY. h ii Most of the latest varieties of grapes, t with the exception perhaps of Gros Col- t man and one or two others, will now have ' f, sufficiently ripened their wood to allow a of their being " pruned with safety. The t advantages of pruning as soon as the sap 1 has returned is that the vines should have t: as long a season of rest as possible while t the wounds caused by the knife will have v ample time to heal before the sap again, 0 becomes active. To make sure that the! a vines are dormant, the safest plan, parti-1 j] tioularly for the amateur, is as soon aa j ti most of the leaves have fallen to- shorten i p back one of the lowest laterals on each j fl j vine. If after a few hours no bleeding' n or exudation of sap takes place the prun-1 n ing can be proceeded with without risk ofi n injury. „ The Spur System of Pruning. j? Most vines grown under glass are v trained on what is termed the spur sys- a ! | tem. The spurs, however, are only, a formed on canes two years old and upwards, and with these the purning consists in cutting the laterals back to within two of the strongest buds at the baea j r of each lateral. The advantage of leav- ti ing two buds is that there is a better j r chance of securing a more even crop, while ft there is less risk of having blind spurs j r should any single bud fail to start or bo b] broken off ill tying to the trellis. It is a ( always an easy matter to shorten back or di remove the weaker lateral after the most cc promising one is determined. With one- bi year-old canes there are no spurs, as the th buds the first season are formed on the es

main cane, so that the laterals require to be cut back to these buds. After pruning remove all the loose bark from the vines. This is necessary on. account of mealy buy and other pests ''that secrete themselves under the 'loose bark. In no case, however, should the vines be scraped so as to Wound or in any way injure the akin of the vine, for this system is most injurious and has been the causa, of many failures with growers.

After pruning, and before finally painting, give the vines a good dressing with insecticide to destroy any pests that may still adhere to the wood. It is useless trusting simply to painting to destroy mealy bug and other pests. Destroy these by dressing first and then apply the painting. Any thick material that will adhere to the vines and fill up crevices and form an even surface will answer requirements. A mixture of clay, cow manure, and soot makes a good paint and is quite harmless. The advantage of the soot is that it forms a black surface, so the bug is more easily detected should it make its appearance on the cane. The pruningß and fallen leaves— fact, everything that falls. or is cut from the vinesshould be carefully gathered up and burned. This done, the whole of the house should be thoroughly and effectively cleaned throughout, the whole of the woodwork being washed and every crevice syringed with some strong insecticide. Black leaf is an excellent material for this purpose. Failing this, a strong kerosene emulsion applied as hot as possible will do much to clean the house of pests.

KITCHEN GARDEN. For some time past little could be done in this department beyond hoeing, digging, and using every means to keep down weeds between growing crops. This has been no easy matter; in fact, hoeing has proved almost useless unless the weeds nave been at once removed. While the soil is in its present condition little can be done in the way of sowing. The working of the soil during the wet winter months should be arranged with the view of keeping the soil as dry as possible, so that in preparing beds for sowing onions, carrots, turnips, spinach, lettuce, or other crops the beds should be raised so that they will allow of free drainage. By this means more air and warmth will penetrate the soil and assist root action. With such crops as cabbage, cauliflower, and other coleworts drainage can be provided by earthing up the plants on either side and leaving a full deep trench in the centre. The present is a suitable time to plant potato onions, so that as soon as the soil is in a suitable condition no time should be lost in planting. The harvesting of pumpkins, marrows, and kumaras will give much spare ground that will need preparation for future cropping. Such ground, if well manured and tho-

roughly worked", should do well for the planting of early potatoes. For winter planting select medium sets and avoid deep planting.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Kareatua," Kawhia: The specimen sent is a noxious weed, one of the amaranthus family. It is a summer weed, and seeds so freely that one plant, if allowed to mature, will produce thousands of seedlings the following spring. Seedlings of summer savory are small, and in appear-• ance similar to thyme, and of slow growth. "Novice," Richmond: Re chrysanthemums. The cutting off of 'ho flower stems, lifting the plants and replanting in a sepa" rato bed, applies chiefly to those growing at intervals in the beds and borders, in order to clear the ground and better preserve them from slugs, and to keep them free from weeds. . When growing in rows in separate beds devoted to chrysanthemums only, lifting is not necessary, as they may be carefully tended and weeded where they stand, and cutttings or rooted suckers taken. Propagation is effected by taking off suckers with gome roots attached, 01 from cuttings and striking them in a cool frame without titificial iieat. Expert growers piofer plants struck from cuttings. Inserting cuttings in pots, and afterwards repotting into larger-sized pots, as the plants advance in growth, refers to the growing and .flowering the plants in pots. "Sub-tropical": To transfer your sheltered hillside, ' with running stream at the foot, into a picturesque and indescribably beautiful semi-tropical plantation, can easily be effected by the planting of palms, tree ferns, bamboos, cordylines, musas, cannas, and a great variety of native and exotic trees and plants. For the grandeur and beauty attained by so many of the varieties of palms, and also of tree ferns when thev are judiciously grouped and arranged with the taller species, over-topping those of dwarf growth, and ultimately producing a dense jungle of growth, is a scene to be imagined and not realised. Your conditions are ideal for the production of a plantation such as the above. The hillBides, being already partially covered with native trees and shrubs, would be a natural shelter to the young palms. The nature of the soil being friable loam, with a moist sandstone substrata, is eminently adapted to palm-growing. Tc further assist you the writer suggests a visit to the Wragge Institute and grounds j it Birkenhead, where actual results are already in evidence. Kepos.

Celery " leaf-spot" was first observed in the United States in 1891, and since that date has repeatedly proved exceedingly destructive. Caused by a parasitic fungus, Phyllosticta Apii, its presence is indicated by the appearance of large blotches on the leaves. These blotches are at first dull brown, but afterwards paler, dry, and studded with black points, each containing numerous very minute spores, by which further leaves are infested, also the ground, the spread of the trouble being especially rapid during dull, damp weather. Preventive measures require to be adopted at a Sufficiently early stage. On the first appearance of the blotches, the plants should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, made at the rate >of 101b of sulphate of copper and 51b of quicklime to 100 gallons of water. Three applications at intervals of i week usually prove effective, but a careful watch should be kept, more especially in. districts where the fungus js prevalent,