THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20318, 28 January 1928, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

fey INFO OK., F.l&.l'fu®*

The Greenhouse and Nursery. The cinerarias which were potted up a few weeks ago will now be well established in their pots, and should be placed in cold frames for the remainder of the summer and the early autumn. Keep the sashes on during the first few days, and shade during bright sunny weather, but gradually accustom them to the open air and open the sashes right up on calm warm evenings. It will be necessary, however, to continue to shade them during sunny days, to prevent them from wilting badly. Should green fly or leaf miner appear, fujnigata with X.L. All. The stems of the pelargoniums, which were placed outside to ripen, will soon be sufficiently firm to be put in as cuttings. The plants can be cut well down near the old wood, and the stems, if cut into pieces about 6in in length, and prepared in the usual way by removing the lower leaves and cutting them straight across below a joint, can be put in as cuttings. These are put into boxes of sandy soil and placed in a cool, airy greenhouse, or in a cold frame, where they will soon form roots. Ventilate the tomato house, freely, and give plenty of water when the plants are dry, but still maintain a dry atmosphere. As the berries colour in the vinery it will pot be necessary to stop the young growths so severely, but all shoots growing up against the glass should be removed, and the top ventilators can be left open a little bit" on warm still nights. Ferns and foliage plants are now making good growth, and they should receive a little liquid manure once a week. The Flower Garden. Rambler roses are now flowering freely, and, whether trained on fences, over pergolas, or grown as weeping standards, they are most effective, both in large and small gardens. Should mildew appear, they should be sprayed at once, and the voung strong growths which spring from the base of the old plants, and which provide the flowering wood next season should be thinned out to three or four. These are tied in securely to prevent them from being broken by the winds. American Pillar is still the most satisfactory variety for all purposes; it grows strongly, flowers freely, and remains clean. Excelsa is a TVichuraiana, and is also a strong grower producing clusters of scarlet flowers. This variety makes a very good weeping standard. Dorothy Perkins is also a Wichuraiana producing clusters of soft bright pink flowers, and Alberic Barbier has fine glassy foliage and creamy white flowers. These are the four best and most vigorous, but there are other good kinds* such aa Blush Rambler, Emily Gray, Hiawatha, Lady Gay, Mrs F. W. Flight, Paul’s Scarlet Climber, and Dorothy Dennison. The ramblers should not be allowed to become dry, and liquid manure once a fortnight will assist the growth of the young wood. Dahlias are now making very satisfactory growth, and when good flowers are desired they should be thinned out to not more than three stems on each inis is not necessary with the small awarf and bedding kinds. All dalilias should be securely tied to stout stakes, but these should not b© unnecessarily prominent Continue to stake antirrhinums, stocks, asters, scabious,_ salpiglossis, cosmos, and rnichaelmas daisies. The Vegetable and Fruit Garden. The early-planted celery will now be crowing strongly, and preparations should be made for giving it its first earthing up. The later kinds can still be planted m well-manured trenches. _ Though the weather is dry, it is quite possible to plant out ‘broccoli and othei winter greens, provided the roots are dipped in a puddle made with cow manure and clay, mixed up in a bucket until it is the consistency of cream, planting them firmly and then giving one good watering. They will wilt rather badly at first, hut they will soon pick up and are ready to grow away when rain comes. Leeks can also he planted now. Make a hole about 6in deep with a dibber, trim the roots and the leaves of the plants, place one in each hole and water in. It is not necessary to push in soil; there will be sufficient washed down to cover the roots, and the stem should fill up the hole. Continue to thin out the young growths on peaches and apricots trained on walls and fences. Tie in the selected growths to allow the sun to get in to ripen the fruits, and pinch off any shoots which show signs of leaf curl. Spray apples for codlin grub and leaf roller with arsenate of lead and _ collect and destroy all fallen fruits in which the grubs are to be found. Pinch off the young shoots which are attacked by mildew, and spray with lime sulphur or Bordeaux mixture (summer formula). Continue to clean, cultivate, and manure the strawberries, and peg down layers which are required for planting. Gentians. These beautiful alpine plants are of great interest, for they give dwarf plants with blue flowers of a richness and intensity equalled by few plants, and many flower at the present season when most of the rock garden plants are past their best and are preparing for a rest. Some are quite easy to cultivate, but others present problems which the enthusiatic rock gardener will find»interesting. They are natives of the European, American, and Himalayan mountains, where they form broad masses covered with vivid blue flowers. There are several gentians which are natives of this Dominion, but, with the exception of G. cerina, of the Auckland Islands, all, if true to type, are white. The common gentian G. acaulis, a comparatively common plant, is sometimes planted as an edging. It has large blue stemless flowers in spring. G. venia, which has flowers of rich intense blue, with a white eye, is also an early flowering kind. The spreading kinds, such as G. acaulis, can be increase by division, but most of them are better when raised from seed which germinates slowly, and, if not quite fresh, may take more than a year. It is not advisable, therefore, to throw out a seed pot inside 12 months. Seed can be saved (juite easily from home-grown plants. This, like most other alpine seeds, should be collected just before it ia quite ripe and placed in paper bags to complete the ripening process. It should he sown in the autumn and placed in a frame or in a cool greenhouse. Tt will remain dormant during the winter and germinate in the spring. Spring sowing is also satisfactory when seed is kept in a cool, airy place during the winter. As soon as the seedlings are large enough they can be pricked out into boxes of light, gritty soil, in which they will spend the summer, or they can be pricked out in the pockets in the rock garden in which they are to grow. Most gentians thrive in an open, sunny position, hut all require plenty of moisture during their growing season and watering will be necessary in dry years. They thrive, in good, deep, loamy soil mixed with stone chips or gravel; some like peat and the more difficult kinds should be topdressed with stone chips. A few of the strong growing kinds are better planted in a moist part of the herbaceous border or in the bog garden. Gentiana Farreri is a wonderful plant of comparatively easy cultivation when planted in a moist, half-shady place in the rock garden or raised border. It has neat clusters of distinctive foliage and large tubular flowers, which are a wonderful shade of sky-blue with a white throat. This is still a rare plant, hut it can bo obtained in Dunedin. G. Freyniana is also one of the rare and beautiful kinds with big deep blue flowers on stems six inches high. It likes a little peat or leafmould mixed with its loam and, like the others, must not be allowed to get dry.

G. Soptemfida ia now fairly common, but it is a very desirable kind with loose head of azure-blue flowers on stems from 6in to 9in high. It is a native of the Caucasus, and likes a soil composed of peat, loam, and sandstone chips. There are two varieties—procumbens and latifolia. G. cruciata is a European species bearing blue flowers on stems about a foot high. It likes loam with limestone chips or mortar rubble. G. macrophylla is a Siberian species, with clustered heads of bright blue flowers. G. Oliveri (decumbeus) has a prostrate habit with ascending tips and terminal spikes of blue flowers. G. brevidens is a pretty Japanese species with spikes of rich blue flowers, ft will thrive in any position. G. Kessekringi has whitish flowers dotted outside with violet, a native of Turkestan. Other species are G. rochellana, G. dahurica, G. shotli, and G. strominea. Another pretty plant suitable for sunny part of the rock garden is the blue rock bindweed. Convolvulus mauditanicus, a North American plant. It will thrive in any ordinary soil, and likes to droop over rocks. Tile dwarf campanulas are very suitable for the rock garden, and when nlanted in broad masses or in chinks between the stones are very attractive at this season. Many of the strong-growing kinds become weeds of the worst kind, and care should be taken before planting a variety you are not familiar with on the rock garden. The common bluebell, Campanula rotundifolia, though a rampant plant, .s suitable for the semi-wild part of the rock garden or a rocky wall. It seeds readily, and would take possession unless kept ; n check. C. pusilla has little fairly bluebells in thin treadlike stems about three inches high. There is also a white variety. C. carpatica ia a large flowered species from Eastern Europe. It has large violet cup-shaped bells on stems about nine inches high. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. v Ignoramus/' Dunedin.—The flowers enclosed are nemesia. The nemesias have been much improved recently, and we now have a great range of very beautiful colours. Nemesia can be treated as i hardy annual and he sown in the open borders in spring, but it is more satisfactory when grown as a half hardy annual, the seed being sown in gentle heat in early spring, the seedlings being pricked out into boxes when large enough to handle, and planted out as soon as weather conditions are favourable. It comes into flower almost at once, and continues to make a fin© display in the flower garden until the ordinary summer bedding plants corns in. It is treated as a catch crop among tuberous begonias, which are just beginning to flower now. “ Pernetiana,” Dunedin. —You need not be alarmed at your roses making strong young shoots; these will flower and ripen, and when pruned back at the ordinary time will send up good flowering shoots next season. W e like to see the plants making good, strong shoots now, knowing that they will ripen. You can shorten them back a l&tle in the early winter if you are in an exposed position. We usually shorten back these strong yonng growths fo from 12 inches to 18 inches at pruning time.