THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20354, 10 March 1928, Page 3

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Mo«®« fey B. TANNOOK, F.R.H,®.

The Greenhouse and Nursery. Autumn is the time for putting in cuttings of the various bedding plants which are increased in this manner, and a start should be made with the geraniums. In spite of the wonderful improvements mode in the various bedding plants there is none which will flower for such a long season and form such desirable masses of colour as the scarlet and ivy-leaved geraniums, and though they are quite hardy and will stand through the winter, in most districts near the const, when planted at the foot of a wall or fence, they are more satisfactory when raised from cuttings every year. These cuttings can be obtained now without spoiling the appearance of the bods and borders, the more prominent and best ripened shoots being selected. These are from 4m to 6in in length, and are made by cutting the stem straight across immediately below the “lowest node or joint, removing the two lower leaves and all the leaflike stipules which, if left, would collect water and probably cause decay. There is no advantage in drying th e cuttings too much before putting them in, but it is an advantage to leave them out overnight to allow the base to dry up a bit. Soil for geranium cuttings would consist of good loam, one part, leaf mould one part, and half a part of sand. Mix all thoroughly, and put the mixture through a jin sieve. Cuttings can be put in either pots or boxes, but boxes are usually preferred, and these are prepared by patting about lin of the rough materials which were sifted out of the soil in the bottom to provide drainage, and then about 2in of tfcq soil mixture, making it level and very firm. It is necessary to make soil for cuttings much firmer than for seedlings. Spread a layer of clean sand on the top of the boxes, and with a blunt propagating stick make a hole about 2in deep, and put in the cutting with its base resting on a layer of sand, which has run down into the hole when the stick was withdrawn, and make the soil as firm as possible round it. We usually put about 60 cuttings in an ordinary seed box, and after giving them a good watering the boxes are stood in a bed of ashes in a cool greenhouse or frame. Some recommend placing the boxes right out in the sun, but we find that they root better in a cool, moist position, where they do not wilt. Tomatoes will now have set as many fruits as we can expect to mature and ripen, and the tops of the plants can be pinched out. It is also an advantage to reduce the lower foliage to allow the sun and air to get into the lower bunches of fruit, and thereby hasten ripening Ventilate freely at all times, and do not water any more than is necessary to keep the plants from wilting. Continue to pot on cinerarias, primulas, and cyclamen, and if an early lot of schizanthus is desired a little seed can be sown, but it is still too early for the main lot. The ordinary foliage plants, palms and ferns, will now have completely filled their pots with roots, but it is not desirable to repot them on at this season if it can be avoided. They should be examined ’ to see that the drainage is effective, and to provide for a top-dress-ing as much as possible of the surface soil in which there are no roots can be ,removed and replaced with good turfy loam to which some bone meal and blood manure has been added, making it as firm as the rest of the ball of roots. The Flower Garden. Grass is again coming away, and mowing and rolling will require regular attention. Pick off all dead flowers and seed pods, and cut over herbaceous plants which are past their best, and remove annuals to make room for groups of bulbs or groups of hardy biennials. Thin and tie up dahlias, tie up chrysanthemums, and keep the scuffle hoe going wherever it is possible to find an opening. The Vegetable and Fruit Garden. Collect apples and pears as they ripen, and store them away on clean shelves in a cool, airy shed or fruit room. Cut over old raspberry canes which have fruited, and thin out currants and gooseberry bushes to allow light and air to get in to ripen the wood so that the fruiting buds may be developed. Continue to plant out leeks, broccoli, and cabbage, to earth up celery, and to sow onions, lettuce, carrots, and white turnips. Pick beans regularly to prevent them from ripening, and Keep the soil cultivated among all growing crops. Dig potatoes and remove all spent crops. Any peas which were allowed to ripen should now be collected and stored away for sowing next spring. Give vegetable marrows a good supply of and liquid manure once a week. Brooms. If the common broom was rare and difficult to cultivate we would no doubt consider it a really good garden plant, but on account of its hardiness, and the case with which it propagates itself by means of seeds, we consider it a nuisance. There are, however, a number of less common members of the cytisus family which are well worth growing. They arc almost as hardy and accommodating ns the common broom, and are very useful for growing on rocky banks which are too sunny and dry for many other shrubs. They will thrive in poor soil, and arc very effective on largo rock gardens, and in the. shrubbery borders. Cytisus albus is the ” White Spanish P.room,” and a very useful plant with slender branches which often droop when the plaids are young. The white flowers arc freely produced in early summer at all the joints along the previous summer’s wood. This broom is a native of Spain and Portugal, and it is the only really hardy white broom. As it flowers on the young wood of the previous season it should he cut hack immediately after flowering, if it requires pruning at all. Cytisus Ileanii is a deciduous semiprostrnte shrub six to eighteen iuches high, forming neat shrubs very suitable for the rock garden. The flowers are produced singly, in pairs, or in -hrecs at each joint of the previous .•mmmer’s growth, colour deep golden yellow forming charming sprays of blossom up to l£t in" length. This is . chance hybrid raised at Kew in 1000. and first noticed in a bed of seedlings of C. Ardioni. The pollen parent was evidently C. purgens, which it resembles in loaf and stem. Cytisus Dallimoroi ii also a hybrid raised at Kew in 1000 by crossing C. scoparius variety Andreanus with C. albus. It is a tall shrub growing to a height of Sft or Oft, with mauve. pink flowers shading to crimson, a very pretty combination. This is the first hybrid broom raised by artificial cross-fertilisa-tion, and as it cannot be depende d upon coming true from seed it is usually grafted on the laburnum. Cytisus Kewensis is a low deciduous, perfectly procumbent shrub, less than Ift high, but sometimes 6ft across. It is a verv good shrub for the rock garden or a dry" bank. The flowci-s, which are pale lemon. changing ' to creamy-white, are produced singly or two or three together at the joints of the previous season s wood. This is a hybrid between C. Ardiini and C. albus. For those who like odd-looking trees and shrubs this broom can be grafted on a Laburnum to form a standard. Cvtisus praecox is one of the earnest of the brooms, with small leaves on thin hard, wirv stems and lemon-yellow flowers so freely " produced that they_ completely envelop the whole plant. Tills is one of the best garden brooms for covering a dry bank. Cytisus gooparius var. Andreanus, sometimes called til© “ variegated broom,” is

a variety of the common kind, similar to the common type in growth, the flowers being bright golden-yellow and bronzecrimson. This variety was found growing wild in Normauby by the late Mr Edouard Andre. It is usually grafted on the Laburnum, but a proportion come true from seed. There are now a number of varieties of this decorative plant, all of which are as hardy as the type and first-class garden plants. Daisy Hill and Dorothy Walpole are very attactive varieties, the standards being buff shaded with pink, and the lower petals arc a rich brown. Other varieties are Butterfly, Donard Seedling, Dragonfly, Firefly, Captain Hayes, and fulgens. Cytisus scoparius var. sulphurea, “ Moonlight.” is a beautiful robust-growing form of the common broom with large lemon-yellow tiowens. Genista aetnensis is a tall, slender, lateflowering shrub, practically devoid of leaves, and valuable because it flowers late. Genista sagittalis is an attractive, little broom, which is evergreen, and forms large spreading masses, seldom more than 12in in height, with curious flat, angular-winged stems, almost devoid of leaves. The flowers are deep yellow, and form in terminal clusters. It is a most useful plant for the rock garden or a dry bank. Spartium junceum, “ Spanish Broom,” is a very useful shrub with dark green rush-like stems and very few leaves. It will grow to a height of 15ft, and is apt to become straggly, but it can be cut hard back occasionally. This broom is specially valuable, because it flowers at a time when most flowering shrubs are over, and as it should be cut back when in flower or immediately after, it is useful for providing cut flowers. It can be propagated by means of seeds or cuttings. There arc a number of New Zealand brooms, some of which are more curious than beautiful. Carmichaelia grandifiora has a spreading habit, and bears an abundance of sweet-scented flowers. Chordospartium Stevensonii is a low, weeping Carmichaelia-like shrub or small tree with racemes of beautiful purple flowers, md is a useful and remarkable-looking plant. The, best of the native brooms is Notospartium Carmichaeli, “ Pink Broom.’ It has thin rush-like weeping branches, bearing quantities of small pink flowers. Most of the species and varieties of brooms are in cultivation in New Zealand, and I understand sonic of the newer kinds can be had from the local seedsmen. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. H.G.F., St. Kilda.—Name of the, plant is Hakea eriantha. It should grow with you quite well if planted' in poor, dry soil. “ Inquirer,” Balfour.—The insect on your pear trees is the slugworm. lon should sprav your tree s with arsenate cf lead after the fruits have been pickedJ.J.M., Oamaru. —The flower sent to me was considerably squashed, but it certainly looks like a pansy. The rowan tree is a native of Europe and Asia, and it is abundant In the British Isles. ” Novice,” Balclutha.- —The plums *ent were certainly very little use, and u. would be better to cut back the tree and work another variety on to it, or ant it out and plant another kind. I should recommend the same treatment for the pear. “ Inquirer,” Pukerangi. —The name ot the flower is Yucca gloriosa. You (ouid shift the plant in the autumn. Leaves,” Mon Flat.—Spray your apples with Bordeaux mixture, summer formula. In winter, after pruning, spray with winter formula.