THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19198, 14 June 1924, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. NOTES BY D. TANNOCK. F.R.H.S. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY r lhe last of the chrysanthemums can bo cut over now, the old pots or tin* being stood m a frame until we get sufficient cuttings, Continue to make and to put in cuttings of fruit bushes, ornamental trees, and shrubs < and roses. T and shrubs can be transferred directly from the cutting rows to the shrubbery borders, but as a rule it js better to line them out in the nursery lor a year to enable them to develop into nice specimens, and this can be done now. The dace selected should have been trenched or deeply dug, and should be well drained, but need not be rich. Mark out a straight row with (he line end with (he spade take out a trench about bin deep, I he back being perpendicular. It is not. necessary or desirable to lino out, as deeply as the cuttings were put in, in fact, bin is quite enough. Lay the plants in against I ho back of the trench at a distance of from bin to 9in apart, shove in (ho soil with the spade, and tramp firmly. To allow room for development the rows can be from 14m to 18in apart. This is also a good time to line out seedlings of trees and shrubs. They can be placed a little closer in the row;., but it is not desirable to have the rows any closer together, as room is required for weeding and cultivating during the The soil is in lino order for working just now, and all planting and transplanting should be done before the soil becomes cold and wet with the whiter rains. THE FLOWER GARDEN, Now that the leaves are all cleaned up, a stmt can bo made with the pruning and digging of the shrubbery borders, and the transplanting and planting of trees ami shrubs. Roses can also be planted at any time now, and after me beds and borders have been trenched they can be levelled and formed up. and if the soil is loose and dry it won’t do any harm to tramp it, a bit. First mark out the beds and borders with sticks at the desired _ distance apart, which will be 2ft each way if exhibition blooms are desired, and from 27in to join if good ordinary blooms are the objective. With the spade dig holes about ■iZin square and 18in deep in front of each stick, arnl take care to have the back perpendicular. Unpack the plants carefully, and to prevent, the roots from drying Keen them covered up with a wet sack until required. it will be noted that, the roots are more or less on one side, and should any bo bruised or damaged at, the ends they should he pruned back a bit. .Should the soil be wot nr sticky it is desirable to have a little dry, light soil, such as old nnHimr ■ soil to put in the bottom of the holes and to cover the roots while planting ’but this should not bo necessary this season so far. Place the flat side 01 tlm roots against the back of the hole with the twainst the stick. The depth to ptanf

will depend on the distance between the rootjj and the junction of the stock and the scion this should bo about 2in below the surface, because it helps to steady the bushes later on, and roots can form above the junction, thereby increasing the root system and bringing the roots nearer to tho surface. Having fixed the plant at the proper depth, throw some fine soil on to the roots and shako them to work the soil in among Ihem. Throw in a little more and then tramp firmly, not, on (ho roots, but round tho sides, pressing the soil against Ihem. Continue to fill in and tramp until the hole is filled, level (he surface with the spade, but do not break it down too fine. Make a plan of the bed or border, number and list the plants, and then remove the paper labels. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT' GARDEN. Continue to prune fruit trees and bush’s, to make fresh plantations, to trench, manure, and dig all vacant ground, ;nd to hoe among growing crons during dry weather. It is surprising how the seeds of weeds are germinating this season, and the little plants are easily killed when young. VRUNING PLUMS. Plums can bo kept "within hounds and pruned into bushes like apples, but they are not large trees at any time and the> bear heavier crops when allowed some latitude and grown as standards. Standarci plum trees require very little pruning except to remove any dead and decaying wood, to keep the head fairly open, to admit light and air' and to remove any crossing and rubbing branches. I‘rom tune to time old branches can be cut away a,fogether to provide room for young branches which are gradually built up and all twiggy growths which arise in the centre or near the main stem are cut out. When trained a 9 bushes they have a tendency to produce lots of strong young shoots when planted in either moist or rich sod, and it may be necessary to give a severe rootpruning occasionally. When summer pruned the laterals are cut back to five or six loaves, and the tips of the leading stems broken off. When pruning now, after removing all dead, dying, and misplaced shoots, tho laterals are cut back to two or three inches and tho terminals to about 1 Zinches. Plums can also be framed fanshaped against walls or fences, but as they are quif-e hardy and thrive without protection it is better to utilise the wall space for peaches, apricots, or cherries. PRUNING CHERRIES. The ordinary dessert cherry bears its fruit on little spurs just like the apple, and similar treatment is recommended. The laterals or side shoots are shortened back to the wood-bud nearest to the fruit-buds which appear round the base of the shoot, and the leading shoots are shortened back to nine inches. This hard pruing is necessary to keep the trees within bounds so that they may be covered with nets to keep off the birds. The morello or cooking cherrv is a useful tree to grow on a south or shadv wall, it is not at all particular as to soil, and as it boars its fruit on tho young wood its treatment is similar to the peach. Fan-shaped tree? are the most suitable and these will begin with three branches, which are increased as they extend outwards until the whole space is occupied. Tho shoots which have fruited are out out and the young ones tied in, m their place. PEACHES AND NECTARINES. Peaches when planted against a wall or fence arc usually trained fan-shaped. This form of tree has many advantages, tho chief of which are the effective mariner in winch the whole wall space can be covered, the case with well balanced trees can be trained, and the ready way in which defective brandies can be replaced and tho shape of the tree maintained. The peach bears its fruit on the young wood and every effort has to be made to keep the tree young. It is still a bit early for pruning peaches, but it is better to do them before the flower buds are too advanced. They are liable to bo broken out when handling the branches. YVhen the trees have been disbudded in the spring there are only two left on each shoot, one at the end to continue tho growth of the shoot to draw up the sap to the fruits and another at or near the base to take the place of the old shoot when it is cut out at pruning time. At the winter pruning cut away all snags and shorten the shoots, which have fruited back to the junction with the young shoots which were left at the time of disbudding in the spring. If too long the tips of the young shoots can be pruned off. care being taken to shorten to a wood bud which will continue tho growth in the spring. As it is not desirable to have tho shoots closer than from 4in to 6in, it may be necessary to cut some away altogether, but the greatest care should be taken to have them evenly spaced and to have supplies of young fruit-bearing wood from the centre of tho tree to the tips of the branches. When the trees are young and growing in rich soil they often run too much to wood, and a certain amount of root pruning may be necessary, but if growing against a house on a dry sunny border the vigour of the growth can he regulated by the water supply. APRICOTS. Apricots produce their fruit on spurs during the earlier portion of tho tree’s life on lateral shoots of the previous year’s growth, which being nailed close to the wall receive the radiated heat and produce the best fruits. Later on the fruiting is confined to the spurs, but a certain amount of young wood can be retained to take the place of older branches which are cut out from time to time to keep the trees within bounds. Young apricols growing in good soil have a tendency to make too much growth at .first, and "it may be necessary to lift them altogether, to shorten back the wandering roots and to replant, tramping the soil in firmly. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENT’S. Poplar, Mosgicl—Poplars arc quite easily raised from cuttings, which root readily. Young shoots of last year’s growth, clean unci well ripened, and about us thick as your thumb, are selected; these are cut into pieces about 12in to 15in in length, all little twigs are removed, and the shoot cut across with a clean, sharp knife immediately below a joint or node. Select a deeply-dug piece of ground, take out a trench with the spade about 9in in depth, sprinkle some clean sand in the bottom, and lay in Hie cultiifgs with the base of tho shoot resting on the sand. Push back tho soil and tramp firmly. I should have mentioned that (hcyiare placed at from Sin to 4in apart in the tr*cnches, and they should be buried about two-th7rds of their length in the ground. When growing poplars for shelter on a largo scale they are sometimes cut into pieces about 6ft in length and buried in furrows with the plough. A. II. —The leaves sent are from Acer palmatum, one of the Japanese maples. There are a great many forms, each with n Japanese name, and this kind is frequently used us a stock on which to graft the more delicate kinds.