Readers' Problems:—Some Queries Answered

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23339, 6 May 1939, Page 10 (Supplement)

Readers' Problems:—Some Queries Answered

Identification of. Plant.—Would. you ; kindly, name enclosed' ' plant?-—K.A.S.B., ]'MbrrinaTille. , •

Isotorpa axillaris. Native to Australia. Yellow Leaves.-—Enclosed specimen, of leaf from passion vine. The leaves go. yellow and drop off. . Would you kindly advise , how-to treat it?—J.W.,' St Heliers Bay. . . < Foliage .is affected' with leaf spot, Spraying with Bordeaux powder, one ounce to one gallon of water, or lime" sulphur, ,1 in 120, will ' control the : trouble. In spring, give a dressing of sulphate of ammonia.

Horticultural Literature.—Could you Inform me of the name or.. names 'of ;• not too' complicated or technical works on English treesj etc., suitable for. an amateur planter?—r" Oaks," Ohatipo. .

" Roadside Planting," issued - by Country Life, Ltd., London, or "/Shade .Trees," by William Solataroff, Chapirikn &. Hall. London, would: suit * your purpose, -t • Seedling Apples,—Would enclosed seedling apples. : be worth cultivating? The tree is a good bearer and fruit; keeps well.—" Seedling Apple,". Hinuera. : ■<s». The apple is of good quality, .good colour, and if f he keeping qualities are good also, the appleiis certainly worth cultivating. The fruit .sent have been allowed-to Stay on tho tree a trifle too long, with' that the texture has deteriorated slightly.

Shifting Shrubs.—Will you kindly advise the best time to 4 move " Spindleberry," Eragrantissima, and.-.a- ramarama? Also, •when is the best time to move hydrangeas from pots to the open borders, and what can one do to keep them pinkP—M.A.. Cambridge. • The shrubs ran be moved at any time now if you lift with a good ball of" soil attached, to the roots. With a ramarama. the better plan would *be to "cut round with a spade then leave for a few weeks before transplanting. Hydrangeas * can be planted, how. Plentiful supplies of limo or old mortar riibble will help to keep the pink colours, but in some soils the blue predominates in spite of all one- can...d 0:...

Cerbera Blight.—l have a large bed of gerberas,; which were transplanted last winter and have done very well. What'seemS 'toi be a blight has appeared on some of th'ei Iqaves. I keep picking off the blighted leaves; and burning them- Is there any spray which' can be used? Is cow manure suitable for them in large or small doses?—" Now Then,", Te Puke, :. r •-> '■>

Spraying with lime sulphur," 1 in 120, shonld control the trouble,, but the original trouble may be too sappy growth. Cow manure is likely to keep (he soil'too wet in winter and would aggravate the The application. of sulphate of. potash, at the rate of one ounce per square yard, will gtiffeft up the tissues, and render the plants more resistant to disease. ,

Planting intend to plant some apple, orange, lemon, and peach, trees on poor clay/ ground. The site has already been dug. Having -plenty of shells availablbe, would these be of any advantage if-burned and put around the, holes .whore-the trees are to be -planted? (2) Would cow.yard manure be of any useP (3) If shells and cow yard manure ,»re unsuitable, how may'l manure'to improve the soilP (4) Would you al«o advise the manuring for fig.treesP (5) Would fig do wejl on this.clay'soil,.on a hill P—" Amateur," Xaukapakapa. -

(1) The burned;..sholls would "be .excellent for the soil, {.and also for tho fruit, trees., especially the/stone-fruits;, (2)- The cow yard manure should' help to make the" soil. Put a good layer over the. surface of the .soil after planting the trees, but not too close to the stem;?;'(B)r'.Some';bloodr'and. hone,t-dug into the bottom, of- the holes-before planting the trees will help, but place the fertiliser go that it does not come into immediate

> -{■ •' *»? -V ~. contact • with Jhe.'roots.?.(4) ;Manure. the figs as 'other trees.. (5). The figs should do on the clay soil with 'the'raanuring and plenty of moisture during dry periods,, but there must be good drainage during winter. Identification of Apple.^—Will yon kindly identify enclosed cooking apple?—J.M.R., Remuoia. '-r. ' Eaipler. , ,*> ,V --V'-l; - Identification of Apple.—Would you kindly name enclosed apples P—J.A., Bay of Plenty. (1) Winesap. (2) Jonathan., (3) Rainier. .'A Native Plant.—Would you kindly let me know* t|ie name ol enclosed: flower withileaf, .found growing on a dead fern tree. The flower has a very heavy scent.—"Native," Awakino. The plaint is one of . the native orchids, 'Earina antumnalis. ' .

Shifting Daphne.—Will;you kindly adviso ; when-1-could transplant; two daphne trees which are too large for their positions?— E.D., Waikato. " . * ■ The daphnes can? be shifted; at any time ,no'w. The.sooner the .undertaken the better, while the soil is still warm. Early Jonquils.—l have three bunches of blooms of jonquils, the earliest I have ever known them to flower. I thought it might be interesting to publish the fact of tho nearness of spring. After the exceptionally dry summer." I think it is remarkable, and an interesting fact to let your readers know. — E.81A., Katikati. When May comes in there are usually a few jonquils around the Auckland district, but, however, it is early for bulbs. Pear Scab.—(l) Could you advise the cause of Beurre Diel pears cracking? (2) What could I put on old loaves and rubbisu to kill insects and diseases, and so form manure? (3) Being an old garden, the soil is full of those white insects, also collar rot. Clarkias all died this year. Could you account >for that? (4) Would ground lime be of any use in the garden ( and how is it applied? . (s):Would lime be of any use in clearing out insects?—" To Wpi." (1; Caused,'by , pear,.scab. Spray before the buds open with Bordeaux mixture. 64 —50; when blossoms show, but are not [ yet open, at a strength of 4—4—40, with after~the fruit has set. (2) Any diseased rubbish should be burned, as the spores persist in the' matter when rotted flown! The'addition .of-sulphate of ammonia, or one of the proprietary compounds obtainable ,at*,seed shops, will assist tho rotting ,downi process. The heap should bo turned over at > not- ]qss 'than 14-day .intervals. Sprinkling with najithaleno will'get rid of the insects. This .'can be-done at the turning ovor. (3) Clarkias are; subject "to collar rot, especially if v! transplanted. The best way is to sow -where required, then thin out the seedlings. Treating ■ the soil l with Cheshunt Compound will lessen the risk of collar rot. (4) Ground lime cati^bo-'applied "in autumn, at tho rnlo 0f,,-one' pound per'square yard. (5) Lime is ■not of much value control, but when , digging the; ground, apply a mixturo of lime, four, 'parts, to nanthalpne, ono part. Di(? ln-.at ; -orice, so that .tho fumes penetrate -the soiU ,Apply at the rate of four ounces per-square yard, y * iv;„ '' Monkey Puzzle Seeds.—Enclosed are some very curious seeds. They i Como from a monkey pujjzle Irec planted about'2l years ago. J was observing ;a strange growth on ono side near ■the top, something like a : largo coconut. As the seeds ripen they fall to the ground. I would like to grow some of them, so would you kindly give me some directions?—B.B., Ngaruawahia.^

The monkey puzzle belongs to the pine family, and the large growth is the cone. Collect and. dry the peedsjind sow in spring in boxes of sandy soil, about August. If you have a warm .well-drained- border out of doors the seeds may .be" sown thero.

i Bowlng, Anemone • a"n<J Ranunculus.—Could yoii. gtve ;me'some'-information on .the raising of anemone and ranunculus from seed to obtain corms for the following season? Can the

seeds sown now and should they: be raised in boxes or in the open ground?—LAV.. Devonport. v. Ihis being an abnormal season, It would ndt v be too late to sow anemone and ranunculus, providing the job is undertaken at once. Sowing in the open ground is the best way. Make narrow beds about three feet wide, then sow the- seeds thinly in drills about six to nine inches apart across the beds. The seedlings remain untouched in the beds until ripened off in December. The corms can then be lifted. A well drained position is necessary. Sumach Falling.—-(1) Could you tell me if there is anything the matter with enclosed sumach leaves and the treatment required? It looks like curly blight. (2) You advised me to plant a purplo sage now, but two shops say they will not be in until June or July. What is the best variety?—B„ Devonport. (1) There is no apparent trouble with the leaves. Something has cut off the supply of sap. It would be advisable to examine the wood lower down.and round the base to see what is the matter. The state of the leaves is an effect, not a cause. (2) Why not visit one .of the nurseries advertising in our columns and select what you require, if tho shops will not supply you. There are so many varieties of salvia, more commonly called sage, that one cannot'say which is the best, as each: has its own season of flowering. < ■ GeFnnium Leaves Eaten.—(l) Will you kindly adviso treatment for geranium leaves? Tho one most riddled is a large delicate pink bloom, and I,would not like to lose it. I noticed a kind of green maggot crawling on the leaf. (2) Beetroot dug up only three weeks ago aro beginning to show signs of mildew. Would it have been an advantage to have left them in tho ground?—" Geranium Pest," Ngaruawahia.

(1) Spritying the foliage with arsenate of lead half an ounce to ono gallon of water will disoose of the leaf-eating caterpillars. (2) If the beetroot were fully grown, they would bo best dug up. but should be stored in clamps or in sand. Make a heap of tho roots in tho garden, covering each layer of roots with soil, finally banking up with. soil. Treated in this manner the roots should keep good for a considerable timo. Identification of Apples.—Will you kindly identify enclosed apples?—M.E.G.., Pukekoho East.

(1) Rome Beauty. (2) Stayman Winesap. Eradicating Buffalo Grass.—l may say that I havo successfully eradicated buffalo grass on more than one occasion by simplo turfing. Tho grass is surface roofed —at least, tho lower thrcad-liko roots aro killed by removing tile rhizomes on tho surface—and if a turf about two inches thick is removed, that is'tho end of tho grass. On farm land, I would suggest'skim ploughing and tine harrowing—then either burning or composting.—"St. Hellers." Thanks for the information. Tho correspondent's troublo was in grassland.

Tomato Footrot.—Enclosed tomato root and; part of stem. The plant-collapsed, but there was no outward sign of disease whatever. I will be glad if you can let me know if you discover anything in the root or stem which would account for it? —"Avondale."

Tlic trouble is footrot. The water conducting tissues at the base of the stem aro very discoloured. When tho stem is completely girdled, tho plant collapses. Before putting in another plant whero a diseased ono is pulled out. sterilise tho soil with Cheshunt Compound. If there is much of the trouble tho soil will need sterilising. Mild cases can sometimes be overcome by moulding up tho plants so that fresh root is made above the infected portion. Renovating Tennis Lawn.—What would you suggest should be done to a tennis lawn, to got it ready for next season P For the last two years tho lawn has been mown constantly, but otherwise, not attended to nor ,uaed.. At present it has a very thick sole of moss, is full of weeds and what grass there is, is paspalum. The soil is very light

and porous, and tho lawn seems well drained; at least it is on high ground.—"lgnoramus." Waihi.

Tho Quickest way to ensure a good sward would be to dig up the lawn, removing the weeds and paspalum, then sow down thickly with a good 'awn grass in early spring, about August. The alternative wonld bo to remove all weeds and paspalum, then give the lawn a thorough scratching with an iron rake, to remove as much of the moss as possible. Prick the lawn all over deeply with a fork and leavo for a week or two to aerate the soil. Then apply a dressing of fertilise! Seed would need to bo sown in spring to make good the thin places. This way would be considerably more trouble than digging tho lawn entirely and resoling.