THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18536, 22 April 1922, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

MOTES BY D. TANNOCK, F.R.H.S. WORK FOR THE WEEK. GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Continue to house chrysanthemums os (toon as the buds show colour, but not be* fore then, for they are better in the open air as long as possible. Put in cuttings of violas, pansies, pentstemons and calceolarias in specially prepared frames, as already described, and put in a few more geraniums to make good those which have damped off. Lift carnation layers, and either plant them in their flowering position which is the most desirable, or line them out in a dry open part of the nursery until the spring. Sow seeds of alpinee ana perennials as they come to hand, and it is also a good idea to sow sweet peas in small pots two seeds in a 3iri one and to winter them in a sheltered position near the house or in a cold frame. They can also be eown in boxes at a distance of 2in apart or they can be sown about an inch apart round the inside of a 6in pot. Don’t coddle them in any way and watch for slugs on all occasions. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to clean up the beds and borders and to rake up leaves and keep the garden as tidy as possible at this season. Plant, out bulbs, primrose, polyanthus, violas, and other spring flowering plants as soon as space is available. Chrysanthemums are coming on well, and if we get reasonable weather they will continue to flower for some time yet. Stake and tie them up securely, and a little thinning of the buds is an advantage. This is also a good time; to plant out perennials, such as oriental poppies, herbaceous lupins, delphiniums, pyrethrnms, geums, etc. Though these are really at rest at present there is a certain amount of root action and they have stili time to become established in their new positions before the soil becomes too cold, and to get ready to send up their flower stems in spring or early summer. These plants are usually placed in groups of threes or fives in the mixed border but in large gardens they are very suitable for filling largo beds or for planting in borders by themselves. When preparing the beds and borders they should be trenched to a depth of from 2ft to 2ift, a liberal dressing of compost heap or rough manure neing buried in the bottom and some short or well rotted manure dug into the surface before planting. Put the delphiniums at from 2jft to 3ft apart, and the others at from 2ft to 2jft apart. Though it is better to sow sweet peas in pots or boxes and to plant them out in the spring they can be sown where they are to grow with success. Prepare the trenches in the usual way, and if they have been growing in the same position for some years it is better to change the soil. If stable manure is applied it should be buried well down, but a dressing of basic phosphate or basic slag can be sown on the surface and worked in. Sow in drills about two inches deep, don’t sow thickly, cover and firm in the usual way. and place some' twiggy branches on top to protect- the seedlings from the cold winds and the birds. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Continue to dig and store potatoes, to clear off spent crops, and to earth up leeks and celery. Dig and trench all vacant ground, leaving the top rough to expose the maximum surface to the disintegrating influences of frost, and air, and commence to prune bush fruits. HARD WOOD CUTTINGS. This term is applied to all cuttings which have a certain amount of hard wood, to distinguish them from herbaceous cuttings such as geraniums, pansies, violas, and pentstemons. In the case of herbaceous cuttings it is most important that they do not. wut. and that they form roots as quickly ns possible, for if the tissue collapses from want of moisture it is a very severe check. On the other hand, hardwood cuttings can take as long as they like to form roots, many only form callus in the autumn and don’t form roots until growth commences in the spring. They can be put in as soon as the wood ripens in the autumn, and the sooner the better, for if there ia a certain amount of warmth in the soil it encourages v the formation of callus, which heals up the wound, and in some causes the formation of roots. It is most important that the shoots which ate to be made into cuttings should be well developed and well ripened, for the materials required for the formation of the callus, and the first roots have to come from the stem, and good ripening means an ample _ store of the necessary materials in the tissue of the stem. The wood for cuttings must be young, clean, and vigorous, and of last season’s growth, and it must be neither thin and twiggy or stout, soft, and pithy. Cuttings should be taken from the most desirable variety in each case, for it is not worth perpetuating anything but the very best, and by selecting the best branch from the best tree or shrub the strain or variety is improved. For example there are several varieties of the common native hedge plant Olearia Forstcri, and the one we grow is so superior to the average that, the North Island nurserymen get their cuttings from us. ITiere arc also improved strains of currants, gooseberries, etc. The selection of the cutting wood is probably the most important part of the operation of propogating hardwoods, and the one which requires most, skill and experience, but if in doubts try wood of different, thickness and ripeness and note the results. Though the cuttings can afford to lose a little moisture it is not desirable that they should, and from the time the branches are out. off until the cuttings are put into the aground they should be kept moist, and in the shade. As making cuttings is suitable work for wet weather they oan lie tied together in bundles and buried until conditions are favourable for putting them in. When making cuttings the shoots are cut into pieces about 12in to 15in in length and in every case (except when they have a heel) the bottom out is immediately below a node or joint, and it is made straight across and as clean and smoothe as possible. The advantage of the node is that the tissue is denser there, and should decay start it is not likely to spread through the solid wood, and roots are generally formed just immediately above it. In some cases it is an advantage to have a heel of the older wood just, because it. is denser and harder and less likely to decay, and it is often possible to gel roses with a satisfactory heel. Cuttings should be put into a well-drained bolder in an open position. It is not necessary that the soil should lie rich, hut it should be one which, while retaining a reasonable amount of moisture, will admit the maximum amount of air. Drainage is most essential, for stagnant water is fatal during the winter months, and in low-lying districts it is better to throw up a fairly high bed with a deep pal-h oq. each side which will provide good drainage. With the spade take out a trench about, gin deep and sprinkle a layer of sand or lime rubble in the bottom of it. Place the fittings about 3in to Sin apart, with their base resting on the bed of sand. Push back the soil and tramp it firmly with the foot, fill up the trench leaving the surface level but .fairly rough, and at from 9in to 12in take out another trench. There is no advantage in placing the cuttings in a sloping position, but they must be firm, and about three parts of them length should be buried in the soil. This keeps the tissue fresh until new roots are formed. PLANTS WHICH CAN BE GROWN FROM CUTTINGS. Strong growing bush roses, climbing varieties and ramblers, are quite satisfactory on their own roots, and they grow ijujto readily from cuttings of the young

ripened shoots cut, into pieces 12in long or side shoots la,ken off with a heel. Dog rases or other stocks on which the good roses are budded oan also be grown from cuttings, but in this case all the buds except the two or three top ones should be removed to prevent theni from forming suckers. It is also desirable to remove the spines. Primus pissardi. P. Moseri. and many members of the plum family ran he grown from cuttings made from the young, ripened shoots, and though they are often thinner and more twiggy than most cuttings they root quite veil, and if afterwards pruned up to stem soon grow into satisfactory trees. \\ illqws and poplars also root quite easily, and it is surprising that, they arc not more extensively grown in the country districts when one considers how easily they can be increased.

All deciduous flowering and foliage shrubs, such ns weigolias, deutzias. spiraeas, philadelphus. cornus, viburnums, ribes. euonymus, etc., can be grown from cuttings and such evergreens as garraya, euonymus, eseonothus.

Many of the natives can be grown from cuttings, and this is the way the popular hedge plant, Olearis Forstcri. is increased. When making cuttings of olearias, after preparing them as already described, the young unripened tips of the shoots are cut away, as they would just wilt and bend over and give off water which the stem can put to a better use. Most of olearias, senecioa, cassinins, brachyglotlis. ribbon woods, coprosmos, etc., loot quite readilv. and the veronicas are quite easy to root when satisfactory shoots ran be found, but some of the species are so small that they have to be increased by rooting little tips about, two inches long, which are either put into boxes or pots. The rata can be rooted quite readilv when tips of the shoots about two inches long arc used. These are best dibbled into a box about an inch apart, and kept in a shady position behind a hedge or a wall for the first, year.

Gooseberries root quite readily, and when making the cuttings remove all the buds except the three ton ones. This provides the bushes with a short stem which keeps them off the ground and prevents suckering. Red and white currants should also be made like the gooseberries to secure a short, stem, but it, is not. desirable to have a stem on black currants, the suckers which spring from the base being used to replace the branches when they become worn out.

When writing about, trees I should have mentioned the Red Wood Sequoia sempervirens, a most, valuable timber tree and a fast grower, as one which can be grown from cuttings of short, rinened tips about three inches long. At first these sprawl on the ground and retain the habit of branches, but afterwards a shoot springs irom near the ground, which _ grows up*vards, forming a leader or main stem.