THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18754, 6 January 1923, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

NOTES BY D. TANNOCK. F.R.H.S.

"WORK FOE THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. The dull weather is very suitable for the tuberous begonias, but not so satisfactory for the geraniums and pelargoniums, which will soon be past their best, and will have to give place to the begonias. Stand the begonias out in a frame whore they will get full sunshine and withhold water to encourage ripening of the wood. Keep the cinerarias growing steadily in the cool house and prick off calceolarias and primulas of various kinds as soon as tho seedlings are large enough to handle. Chrysanthemums in tins n.nd pots are growing rapidly, andthe will now bo ready to stand out in their summer quarters, where they will get plenty of light and air, and still bo sheltered from the cold and troublesome winds. It is bettor to place them on boards, which should bo laid on a bed of ashes, and hx up wires to which the stakes cam be tied to prevent the plants from being blown over. We usually place them in a double row, allowing about 2ft between the rows, and place tho plants at from 15 to 18 inches apart in the rows. Provide a good strong and neat bamboo stake for each stem, and bend the heads of tho stakes outwards a little to allow plenty of room for the foliage to develop. Tie the stems on the outside of the stakes and keep on tioing them from time to time as they develop. Keep the climbers on the roofs of the greenhouse thinned out to allow light to get in to tho plants below, and to prevent them becoming drawn and spindly. Give plenty of ventilation whenever the weather conditions are favourable, and leave a little top air on all night except when the air is very cold. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Tho first crop of roses is nearly over now, but tho plants are making such satisfactory growth that there will be little interval, and though we do not get tho same display again there will be numbers of quite nice blooms, provided the buds are thinned, and tho foliage is kept free of mildew and green fly. Continue to pick off dead blooms and keep the surface soil stirred with the scuffle hoe. Ramblers are opening out nicely, and American Pailar has again demonstrated its suitability for all sorts of conditions and positions. I see it trained over arches and pergolas, on rustic fences. As a weeping standard it is quite a success, though perhaps not so graceful os the wichuraianas. Keep the young growth of ramblers thinned out. and tie that which has been selected to replace the old wood next pruning season. Long shoots spoil the appearance of the arches, and they are also dangerous when growing near or over a path. . Herbaceous plants will now need their permanent stakes, and such kinds as Michaelmas daisies are best when each stem is tied out to a separate stake. Thin manuka makes excellent stakes, and for most varieties they should be up to 4ft in length. If the shoots were thinned out when advised there will be from five to seven stems on each plant, and the stakes should bo stuck in at an angle so that they will be well apart at the top to allow the side branches to develop, which they will do all up the stems, forming nice bushy, twiggy plants which will not only flower freely, but will remain in bloom for some time. Herbaceous phloxes will require further stakes, and dahlias should also receive attention. Narcissi and tulip bulbs can still be luted, and, after drying them a little, they can, bo stared away in shallow boxes in. a cool shed or well ventilated cellar until planting time. If too small, crowded bulbs, such as scillas, chchionodoxas, and snowdrops, should bq lifted and re-planted at once in fresh beds, or groups in the herbaceous border. They increase so rapidly from seed that, apart altogether from, the natural increase through the breaking up of the old bulbs, they become crowded in from three to four years. They are splendid for carpeting strong growing roses and deciduous shrubs such as Ghent azaleas, Forsythias, magnolias, and daphnes, etc. Before planting, fork over the ground, mixing in a good dressing of bone meal or basic superphosphate, and plant about three inches deep and six inches apart. Grape hyacinths dp not seed liko the other small bulbs, but they increase very rapidly nevertheless, and, unless re planted every three or four years, they grow out of the ground and become unsatisfactory. They commence their growth very early; and should be replanted this month if at all possible. Seeds of narcissi and other hardy bulbs should be sown on well-drained beds, whore they can remain for two or three years without being disturbed. Seedlings from, two or three years old should be lifted and lined out in a nice sheltered border in drills about nine inches apart, allowing tho little bulbs from three to five inches in the rows, so that they can roach tho flowering stage without further disturbance, when, the desirable ones will bo marked: and the second rate ones planted out in the grass, or in tho shrubbery borders. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. Keep the soil stirred among growing crops, and thin out carrots, turnips, and lettuce as they befcomo largo enough to handle. I always recommend a double thinning first—a preliminary one as soon as the seedlings can be handled, and another later on when the most desirable plants can bo selected. Earth up cabbage, cauliflower, and brusseU sprouts to steady them, stick peas and scarlet runners, and continue to plant out broccoli, savoys, and winter cabbage. Though scarlet runners are better when trained up stakes or string, they can bo grown without supports bv pinching out the main stem when two or three feet long and continuing to pinch back from time to time. Tho cold damp weather has caused the young shoots on the apples to mildew very badly. Spray with Bordeaux Mixture (summer formula) or lime sulphur. Peaches and apricots growing on walls or fences will require attention, the young growths should bo reduced. Cut out altogether the strong, soft shoots, which often arise from tho centro of tho tree, and those which are left nailed or tied into the wall to allow tho sun to goti to the ripening fruit, and 1 also to ripen tho young wood. As soon as the black currants are picked th<a net* can be removed and. when dried, up and put away in a dry place until next year. If carefully handled and'treated, nets will last for years. If the bushes are making too much growth, thin them out a bit. removing a few of the old branches altogether to make room for the young wood on which the frmt is borne. The Leek,—Allium i’ornuu is said to bo a native of Switzerland, and is extensively cultivated and much esteemed wherever climatic conditions are favourable for ifs growth. Like the onion, to which it is nearly related, it is n. biennial, making its growth of loaves one season, and rending up the flower stem the next. ft has only a very small piece of true stem from the lower side of which the true shun from tho tho upper the leaves are developed on two sides forming a kind of fan-shaped growth. The leaves envelope one another at tho base, forming a kind of slem-liko growth, which becomes white or blanched when light is excluded from it. Leeks are greedy plants which like a very rich foil and plenty of moisture, and, the larger tho*stem, the milder tho flavour, and the boiler tho quality. To got the largo specimens which one sees at the flower ’shows it is necessary to sow the seed in heat in early spring, and afterwards to prick out tho seedlings into boxes 'of rich soil and to grow them on and harden them off like half hardy annuals. Trenches are prepared the same ns for celery, with plenty of well-rotted manure dug in. As growth takes place, tho loaves are earthed up to cause an upward growth and to secure a long piece of white stem-liko growth. For ordinary household purposes rho seed is sown on a rich border in tho open about tho beginning of September, and the seedlings planted out in December or January. The soil for leeks should bo well manured

and deeply cultivated. BetniV3 planting the surface shoud bo forked up and levelled roughly. With a hoc draw drills about six inches deep and about a foot to 15m apart, lift, the plants carefully, trim off the long roots and the ends of the leaves, and make holes with a dibber about six inches deep and a foot apart in the bottom of (he drills. Drop a plant into each hole and afterwards water lightly, which will wash sufficient soil into the bottom of the hole to cover the roots and leave the hole to bo tilled up with the leek stem later on. Give liquid manure once in two weeks when growth commences, and, as the loaves develop draw the soil up round them to encourage an upward arowth and to blanch the stern. Leeks planted now will grow right on into the winter and remain in good condition well into next, spring. Good varieties to grow are_ r l ho Lyon. London Flag, Sutton’s Exhibition, and Musselburgh. ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. Invorcangill.—The Chinese or Japanese artichoke is Staehys luberifera, a perennial plant very like a common weed in appearance. The underground stems 01: rhizomes are white, watery, tender, and fine skinned. They are formed late in the season when growth has almost ceased and the stems begin to wither, and as they do riot keep well they should be lifted as required from April onwards. They are eaten fried of as a salad. It is a native of Cliina and Japan.