GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18453, 14 January 1922, Page 3

GARDENING NOTES.

Bx D. Tanmogz. WORK FOR THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Prink off the seedlings of primulas, calceolarias and all the biennials, as soon as * they are largo enough bo handle, shade for a few days , at first, and afterwards harden them off. The. Sweet William seedlings will be largo enough to line out in the nursery rows where thpy will grow until the' autumn, when they will be planted l out in their permanent positions. 'The soil will require to be well cultivated and fairly rich, and*if manure' was not dug in some time ago, give a good dressing of bone dust and a little Wood manure. Continue to stake out the chrysanthemums placing them‘ip their summer quarters. ■■Tolargoniums are going past now and they can be put out in the sun to harden and ripen the shoots for cuttings. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to stake and tie up all plants which require support Keep the old blooms picked off the roses, and the seed pods from the sweet peas, and thin out the late sown annuals. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, Continue to plant out broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, leeks, and late celery, and make small sowings of lettuce, onions, and carrots. Earth up growing crops of cabbage, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts, keep the soil cultivated among the root crops, and dear off all spent crops. SUMMER FLOWERING SHRUBS. Though most of the shrubs are spring flowering there are quite a number which bloom at this time and help to brighten up the shrubbery until tho berries and autumn tints come along." There are four shrubs belonging to the pea family which are quite hardy and have the additional recommendation that they will grow and flower well on a dry poor bonk or dry sunny portion of tho rock gurdicn whero every thmg else will perish. One is a native, usually called the pink broom (Nothoepartium Carmichffiila) which when well grown is one of the most beautiful plants we have got. It has slender drooping stems with few leaves, a characteristic of meet of our native brooms, and the little flowers axe produced in racemes all along tho drooping branches. f It produces good seed end is easily raised, but, like most of the pea family it does not transplant well, and is better sown in small pots with a few seeds in each. These can then be plunged in a bed of sand or ' tushes. The Mount Etna broom (Genista sinensis), a native of Sicily, is also very pretty when in full flower and though the flowers are small they are produced in great abundance bn the slender and almost leafless green drooping stems. It. too, produces good seed, and it should be raised in the came way aa the nothospaxtium. ■. The third is Spartium junceum, the Spanish broom, a native of southern Europe. It grows to a height of Bft to 10ft, and its rush-like shocts have eo few leaves that, like the other brooms, they appear to be leafless. It bears erect clusters of bright yellow fragrant flowers which are much larger ( than the two other brooms. _ It ;s easily raised from seed either sown in pots or in the place where it is to grow. The. fourth, is frutescens, Sometimes called the South African bladder senna on account of the . curious, inflated! papery, seed podia which follow the orange, scarlet, or bright,red, pea-like flowers. The foliage, is, silvery-grey, and it bear? true leaves. It' grows to a height of from, 3ft to 4ft, and was named after James Sutherland, at one time superintendent of the Edinburgh ' Botanic Gardens. To add variety and colour, there is the pale. .blue , ceanothus . (Ceanothus azureus, vaj.. Gloire des Varsailles). It is. not at all. particular as to soil, but .is not likely to thrive in as dry and poor a place as the four brooms. When pruned back regularly in the winter it keeps its shape, and every, shoot flowers. It pan be propagated by means of cuttings ,of rip© wood put in during the autumn or early winter. There are several of the cotoneasters in flower at the present time, but they are not,' really grown for their flowers, but for their ornamental berries and their foliage. ' Escallonia langleyensis is a garden hybrid between E. macrantba, and E. Philippiana, arid is a most, decorative plant, its slender 'branches carrying bunches of, rosy, carmine flowers. Desfontania epinosa is a very beautiful evergreen shrub, from Chili, its foliage being like a holly. It is of moderate growth, and its handsome, tube-like flowers are bright scarlet, tipped with orange. It is qmte hardy in* Dunedin but so far is very scarce. , It flowered in the Gardens for the first time this year. , Clethra arborea is one of the lily-of-bhe-valley trees, and, though not very hardy, ip will thrive in places sheltered from the south-west winds. It bears panicles of white, bell-shaped flowers, and the, plant in ,the Gardens will be quite a feature about the middle of this month. Fremontia oaUfornica is a Californian shrub with green-lobed leaves and large yellow, bowl-ahaped flowers two inches or more across. It does best on a welldrained, warm, sunny position, and would be suitable for a bank. It is easily raised from seed. Carpentaria californica is olso. a Californian plant with narrow pale green leaves and clusters of white, fragrant flowers not unlike some of the best of the mock oranges. It can be increased by layerin'* or from cuttings. " ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. M. 0.,” Cromwell.—l expect you mean a green caterpillar, not a worm. You should spray your cabbage with arsenate of lead—lJ)lb to 50 gallons of water. > I am afraid I cannot give you a reliable recipe for preserving green peas for winter use. I have tried putting them in air- ■ tight bottles and burying them in thfe ground, but it was not a success. “A. H.,” Waimate.—You .should not . worry about your imported potato tubers. So long as they remain ' quite fresh they will sprout in their own time, and though, thq crop of new tubers may be small, keep every one, and they will come into line with our seasons next year. Laxton’s Noble strawberry, which appears to be one of tho best for this district, can be obtained from most nurserymen and seedsmen. “ Moana,” Dunedin.—Any aphis on tho strawberry plants is difficult to deal with at the present time when the fruit is ripen--IP- Sprays Would taste tho berries, but as soon as they are picked, clean away ail weeds and mulching materials, remove runners which are not required for propagating, and spray with hot soapy .water, such as is recommended for roses. It would be bettor to fumigate with XL. All or nicoticido, but us ifc is difficult to retain the fumes until they have done their work I would riot recommend it, and certainly do not use sulphur. Tho trouble . with your oloaria hedge is unfortunately a very common one, and is caused by a little midge which lays its eggs on the young shoots of the plants, the little grub causing the malformation. You cannot kill the grub, because it is buried in.th e tissue, and cannot be got At by sprays, but by delaying pruning until the insects have laid their eggs and then burning all the prunings you will destroy most of that brood. It might be an advantage to spray with something which would ■ make the plants distasteful to the insects which lay the eggs, such as tarV water, tobacco water, or liquid manure. I should not recommend you to repot youi palm, it will live for a long time when potbo.urid provided you water it regularly and give a little liquid manure once a fortnight during the growing season. Your asparagus will require repotting before the palm. Shift it from a Sin pot to a Tin one, and use a Soil composed .of turfy loam two parts; leafmould one part, sa.nd half a part, with a dusting of bone meal and powdered charcoal. Pot firmly. “ Potato,” Roxburgh.—Hie scab on your • potato is caused by the acid in the soil destroying the delicate tissue. You should dig up your soil in which lignite ashes have been mixed in the autumn, leaving it rough through the winter, and mix in a good dressing of slacked lime. Dig in the manure in the spring. The .slant enclosed

is a thalictrum commonly called the hardy maidenhair plant. T. dipterocarpum is the best species. ‘ Amateur,” Mosgiel.—-You will require to pollcnate your cucumbers, if you want seed, and your melons to get fruit. . “ Milton.”—Nome of roses: No. 1, Hugh Dickson; No. 2, Marcella; No. 3, Excelsa.