THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20586, 8 December 1928, Page 7

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

Not®» by D. TANNOOK, P.R.H.S, i 1 ■ >

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ J. K-»" Dunedin.—Yam' rambler roses are certainly Very badly attacked by r mildew. The usual spray is sulphide of potassium, loz dissolved in three gallons of soapy water. If this is not effective, try auminer Bordeaux. It will mark the foliage, but will not hurt it. ' “ J. A. D.,” Berwick.—-The name of the plant sent in is Exochorda gran diflora, a native of China., It is difficult to account for it being found at an altitude of 1600 feet. “G. S.j” Dunedin.—The iris you mention are certainly nbt, English -iris; they / aro a pOor section of the. bearded type. . English iris have bulbs, and they will not flower for a week or so. The varieties ' yon mention are all * some ;shade of blue, and are not at . all distinct. You can usually .obtain mixed 'daffodils at a cheap rate, but ■ it is • better to plant the commoner varieties in irregular groups. Messrs Ant; Roozen and. Son, Overveen, hear Haarlem, Holland, is a reliable Dutch firm. You should write for a cata-

V logue. -■- - "0. M. ,F.," Eoslyn.—The best manure . for your garden would be blood and / bone. Dust over the surface and work in with the hoe or (fork. Spray : your cinerarias with soapy -water <to '■'■■.,. destroy the aphis. ' , THE NURSERY AND GREENHQUSE. The unheated greenhouse should still be gay with calceolarias, schizanthus, felargoniums, hydrangeas, Clarkias, and . uchaias,; and the .heated one with gloxinias, . streptocarpus, torenias, brpwallias, and gesnariaa. As soon as theeweet william seedlings are .large enough to handle they can be pricked out into boxes of light rich soil, and when they have taken to this they/bin be placed out into cold frames, where they will require to be shaded from strong sunshine and encouraged, to -grow as rapidly as possible. When well grown they are hardened off and,then lined out in a piece of wellmanured ground in.the nursery or jegetabje garden,' where tliey. will develop into nice branching plants ready to plant in iheir Howeringr positions, in the aritumn. Sweet Williams are very useful, hardy plants, just coming into flower now, and when v : treated «as biennials and raised from seed every year, nice compact plants are obtained with ' from five to seven flowery stems, THE FLOWER GARDEN.

: The 'planting - out of all kinds of summer and autumn flowering plants should be completed by nbw, and the next important', work, .will be to provide stakes for all plants which -.require support and to get Die beds and borders weeded and hoed before the holiday season. The rock garden will now bo gay with dianthus, rock roses, and primulas of various kinds, and unless it ,is desirable to gave seed all flower steins should be removed as soon as they wither. Pick .the seed vessels off the choice rhododendrons .and keep the lawns mown regularly. ; * THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT A , GARDEN. The present is a busy time, in the vegetable garden. Crops have to (be thinned, cabbage and cauliflowers should he earthed up, peas and beant staked, .and-.eraall aowings.ofthe quickly maturing kinds made. tb/eeoure a succession. Trenches for celery ■ should be prepared, apd as Hija crop’requires abundant supplies of both food and water a liberal dressing of manure should bo placed in the trench and then dug over to' mix it with the soil. If thokatural soli is light and sandy it woum be an advantage to put in a bit of clay and to mix it with they enure to help to retain moisture. Where the soil is of a very heavy nature it will be advisable to spread a layer of old potting soil or other suitable material on top of the manure to encourage the young plants to: root. Plant out vegetable marrows, sWeet corn, and ridge cucumbers. Treatment for pocket plums.

Au> the mycelium is within the branches; the only effect of external applications of fungicides is to destroy the spores. Trees which are not badly affected should be primed back beyond the point where the fungus shows itself, and the primings carefully burnt. All fallen and diseased fruit should also be raked up and destroyed. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture is beneficial 'both in ■ repressing the growth of the fungus and also in preventing the spread of the disease to healthy branches. While the leaves are on the trees use the summer, formula of Bordeaux, during'the winter and early spring the- stronger winter formula. THE ROSE CARDEN. From all appearances the Queen of Flojvera is going to have a very satisfactory season; |he growth is good without lung rank, the foliage is clean and healthy, and the colour of the flowers excellent. t We always look forward with expectation to the floworir; of ths novqltiea, and though they are not usually at their best the first year we can form an idea of their usefulness for bedding and garden decoration.; Those who exhibit attach most importance to form and size," but most growers like plants of good branching habit,. free flowering, with gopd colour and . scent. ■ The following are some of. the newer varieties which have flowered with us:-—Marian Cran is one of S. M’Gredy and Son’s varieties, and is one of the most remarkable colour combinations found in roses. It has a branching habit, therefore suitable for beddingj its foliage is dark green, glossy, and said to be mildew proof. In the young stage the flowers are deep buttercup yellow, margined and flushed with cerise and rosy scarlet. As the flower ages the colour changes to deep cerise or bright rosy scarlet flushed with buttercup yellow. Margaret M'Gredy is a gold medal rose with healthy mildew p * of foliage, and strong stout stems which hold the flowers erect, The colour is geranium lake, hut would be properly described as orange_ scarlet. Abol, raised by Fredrick Evan, is a large white rose with a lovely strong perfume. It is also a strong grower, and promises to be a good exhibition variety. Cardinal Schultze, raised by Lißnder Bros,, is a vigorous grower with a compact habit producing large flowers on long stiff stems. Colour crimson-red, shaded , fiery scarlet, and sweetly scented.

Charming Princess (Liender Bros.) is a sport from the Queen Alexandra, and is a very desirable colour. Comtesse de Castillega (C. Chambard) is a perpetual-flowering pernetinna which promises to be a good bedder. The colour is orange flame, bordered with intense vermilion passing to golden coral as the flower opens. Cuva (PcruotDucher) •. We expect something good from this famous raiser, and we are not disappointed, Cuva has long buds carried on upright stems, and its colour is described as Lincoln Red. Dainty Bess (W. E. B. Archer and Daughter) promises to be one of the desirable decorative varieties. It is a gold medal single rose, a cross between Ophelia and K. of K. The petals are a delightful shade of salmon-pink,. with centre of crimson and Sold., and very sweetly scented. This is a dainty variety almost constantly in bloom throughout the season, and suitable for house decoration. Everest is a

giant white rose raised by W. Easle and Son. This js one of the largest roses yet raised, and should be valuable for exhibitors. Laddie (6. Beckwith and S6n) is a pretty rose of the Betty Uprichard type. This is a bushy, freeflowering variety, colour deep cochineal carmine, flushed orange and scarlet, with an orange base. Lord Castlereigh /(Alex. Dickson and Son) is a stronggrowing branching rose, with deep crimson flowers. It shows a tendency to go Off purple. Mable Lynas (S. M'Gredy and Son) is a deep crimson, with a yellow base, and a very hardy pemetiana, which ,is said not to die back. Mrs G. A. Wheateroft (Wheatcroft Bros.) has a long-pointed bud, and is soft salmon pink to carmine, with orange base, the petals shading through coppery pink to silver rose'. Oliver Mee (Sandy Dickson), is a rose of free-branching habit, which would be both an exhibitor’s and a garden rose.

Patience (S. M'Gredy and Son) is a gold medal rose, and one of the most useful varieties of recent introduction, being both an excellent exhibition rose and a good garden kind, with mildew-proof foliage. In the young stage its colour is scarlet carmine lake, and as the flowers open the colour is deep orange at tho base, shading to orange scarlet. Souvenir de Madam Fidoux (Chambard) is a perpetual free-flowerlng variety, the long irada' being carried on erect stems. The colour is Indian 1 yellow in the bud "stage, and in the fully-opened flower it is chrome yellow on the inside of the petals and golden yellow on the^outside. Other good roses not of the latest introduction are Mrs Beatt, a gold medal rose, with yellow flowers of the Marechal Neil shade and a delightful perfume. City of Little Rock (E. G. Hill and Oo.) produces semi-double fragrant flowers on fairly long stems. Its colour is hydrangea pink, and it promises to be a good garden , variety* John Henry (Beckwith) promises to be one of the best garden roses of the season. It has dwarf, branching habit, developing into a shapely bush, Vbearing quantities of flowers, rosy scarlet in the bud stage, opening to a splendid rich pink, faint tea scent. Mrs Murray Allison (Prior) i colour rose pink on, the upper petals, carmine towards the base, with edges of pale pink suitable for e"£ibition. The following arq good bedding roses. Shot Silk js better than ever both in growth and colour, and is the most distinct "and attractive bed we have at the present time. The flowers are perfect in form and colour, and as the old flowers do no ( t fade and become unsightly the display is a lasting otto. .

Golden Emblem is still our star bed, the plants being as vigorous and free as ever. Madam Butterfly continues to produce Quantities of its perfect flowers, and America, though a somewhat weak grower, has large pink flowers of perfect form and' out of all proportion to the stems. Covcnt Garden is a fine rich deep crimson. Gwyneth Jones, a brilliant carmine orange, promises to be a good bedder, and Annie Laurie is also satisfactory. EXHIBITING ROSES. Those who intend to exhibit roses and win prizes cannot expect ,to -simply go ot into the'garden on the morning of the show and cut the flowers. They have to be prepared, and in many rases protected from the, weather, and in some cases retarded by shading. A, suitable protection is a bottle with the bottom removed. The flower is secured to a stake t. ensure even development, and a stout hardwood stake is driven in beside the plant to support the bottle, which is fastened to it by means of a piece of wire,' made tight by means of a wooden wedge pushed in between the -/ire and the stake. As the bloom develops it will be necessary to transfer it to a specially prepared box about seven inches square, with the top and one side open. A sheet ,of glass or a piece of board can be fitted into the top to secure protection, and the box firmly secured to a stout stake. ' Shade and shelter can also be provided by fixing pieces of 'brown paper or scrim ou stout stakes over thd plants, but whatever method is adopted it will be necessary to secure the blooms to stakes to prevent them from being rubbed against the protective material. As, a rule the pink roses are better when not shaded, but the yellows and light-coloured varieties require it.