THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21544, 16 January 1932, Page 2

THE GARDEN. WORK FOR THE WEEK

i&e&rr notes' by *sS6Si D.TANNOCK, A.H.R.H.S. •

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Continue to prick off the seedlings of primulas and cinerarias, to pot on cyclamen to their flowering pots, and to prepare for lining out the wallflower, forget-me-nots, and other biennials. The tuberous begonias can now be allowed to develop their flowers, and seeds of primrose polyanthus can be sown. THE FLOWER GARDEN The work in the flower garden will be mainly of a routine nature, but it is important nevertheless. Keep the scuffle hoe going in the rose garden, and wherever there is unoccupied soil. Stake and tie up plants as they develop and keep everything neat and tidy. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Continue to plant out winter greens, to make sowings of lettuce, onions, radish, and other quick maturing vegetables. Remove the protecting nets which were placed over the strawberries; remove runners unless required for extending the plantations, and summer prune fruit trees. ROSES I dare say amateurs often wonder what the letter after the rose names in the nurserymen’s catalogues means, and how the different kinds originated. Though the rose has been in cultivation for centuries, the garden rose as we know it to-day is of comparative recent origin. Types are constantly changing, and the varieties which were grown, say, 30 years ago are quite eclipsed by modern types. The hybrid perpetuals (H.P.). which were all the fashion some years ago originated over 100 years ago, when a perpetual flowering Damask rose was found growing in the gardens of the Palace of St. Cloud. By crossing the Damask rose with R, gallica and R. indica a race of' roses was produced which flowered twice a year, in summer and autumn, and these were called Hybrid Perpetuals. For a long time there were classes in the shows for H.P.’s, but I think they have dropped out. In 1810 a little pink rose was introduced from China, and in 1824 a yellow one was introduced from the same country. By crossing these two a new race of roses was produced, which were rather tender, and, owing to their parents having the fragrance of tea, they were called Tea Roses (T). They, like the H.P. kinds, have almost gone out of cultivation. Over 50 years ago, when the National Rose Society came into existence, a gold medal was awarded for new roses to encourage the production of new and superior varieties, and raisers at once started to cross the H.P. kinds with the teas, and this was the beginning of another new race, which has entirely eclipsed the older parents. In a nurseryman’s list of novelties for 1930 there are 37 Hybrid teas, seven Perentianas, two Polyanthus and Wichuriana, and no H.P. or T. kinds at all.

In 1838 a little single rose called Rosa lutea was introduced from Persia, and M. Pernet-Ducher crossed this with one of the Hybrid Teas, producing a flat-nosed ugly yellow rose called Soliel d’Or. He then crossed this commonlooking thing with another Hybrid Tea, and produced Rayon d’Or, which was the forerunner of an entirely new race, which has given us such fine varieties as Golden Emblem. The Queen Alexandra, and many of the other beautiful yellows and popular art shades. The Wichuraina types are also very modern., In 1887 a species with small single white flowers and evergreen, shining foliage was obtained from Japan, and sold as the Memorial rose. This was crossed by an American named Perkins with an old Hybrid perpetual “ Mme Gabriel Luizet,” and as a result we have Dorothy Perkins. From Dorothy Perkins and its seedlings we obtained Excelsa, Haiwatha, Dorothy Dennison, and many others which are so useful for furnishing pergolas, rustic fences, and arches. Recently Mr Allister Clark, of Melbourne, has been raising a number of very fine garden roses by using Rosa gigantes, as one of the parents. These are remarkable for their vigour (many being climbers) their colouring and scent, and their perpetual flowering habit. Sunny South is nearly always in flower, and the blooms are very suitable for cutting for house decoration. Others by the same raiser are Gwen Nash, Jessie Clark, Black Boy, Countess of Stradbroke, etc. Raising roses from seed is not difficult, many of the varieties producing fruit in abundance, and though the Irish and French roses suit our climate very well, local raised ones might be still better. .!•

To maintain the varieties true to type and colour we have to resort to propagating in some vegetative manner, and the usual methods are budding or from cutting. The strong growing bushes, climbers, and ramblers can be raised from cuttings quite easily, and this method appeals to most amateurs, many being very successful. The usual method, however, is budding, and this certainly is the only satisfactory way with novelties, for every bud is capable of developing into a new plant.

Budding is . a very simple but very interesting process, and any amateur who has taken the trouble to root a few cuttings of the right kind of stock can proceed to do the budding as soon as the sap is flowing in the stock and the buds sufficiently ripened. There is some difference of opinion among nurserymen regarding the best stock, some maintaining that the dog rose is the only reliable kind. Others recommend a hybrid manetta, others seedling briars, and still others use Rosa rugosa. I should say the dog would be the best on heavy clay soils, but it is more difficult to root, and does not transplant very well. The hybrid manetta roots readily, and as it forms clumps of fibrous roots is easily transplanted, and consequently makes the strongest plant the first year., The best stocks are those which were rooted last year, and were lined out in nursery rows in the autumn. It is possible to bud on to rooted cuttings, but it is not so satisfactory. Though the plants were lined in with the roots near the surface, it is better to scrape the soil away a little on one side so that the buds may be put on low down, and it is also an advantage to tie back the prickly foliage to one side so that the work may be done with some degree of comfort. When the stocks are making their second growth, new tissue is being formed in the cambium layer, which is just under the bark, and it separates readily from the wood. The bud wodd is selected from the desired variety. A shoot which has flowered and formed prominent buds in the axils of the leases will do. Label at once, cut off all the leaves except about half an inch of the stalk, and to keep the shoot fresh, roll in a piece of wet scrim, or some sphagnum moss, or put into a can with a little water in the bottom. A clean sharp knife with a thin blade is necessary, and a proper budding knife has a ’sharp bone handle for lifting the bark, but a piece of sharp hard wood will do, with an ordinary pocket knife. Prepare the stock by making a cut about two inches long on the side of the stem and another across the top forming a T. Care has to be taken to go right through the bark, and in to the wood in both cases. With the sharp handle of the knife- lift the bark on both sides of the long cut so that the bud may be pushed in easily. Next hold the piece of budwood in the left hand, begin to cut into the bark about half an inch below the bud, and cut upwards, coming out again about half an inch above it. This will remove a strip of bark with a bud and a piece of wood. It is possible to bud with the wood in, but a better union is obtained with it out, and it is easily removed by placing the point of the knife between the bark and it, and giving it a quick wrench out. One has to be careful, however, not to remove the bud as well. Holding the bud by the little piece of leaf, it is pushed down between the wood and the bark until the top part is level with the cross cut of the T.

The next operation is to bind the two tightly together, and this is done with a piece of soft raffia, beginning at the bottom and finishing at the top. About the end of January, when the stocks arc growing, and the cambium in the budwood is also active, the two layers are brought together, and as they continue to form fresh tissue, that which is formed between the stock and the scion is common to both, and they thus grow together. If examined in a few weeks, and the little bit of leaf stalk falls of! when touched you know that it is all right. If it does not then try again. As the amateur has usually plenty of budwood, there is no harm in putting on more than one bud on each stock. HYDRANGEAS Hydrangea hortensis, the common hydrangea, is a native of China, and is cultivated for its large heads of sterile flowers, which are either white, pink or blue or some intermediate shade. When grown in pots, they are very useful for furnishing the greenhouse in early summer, or for house decoration, and in the open air they are very satisfactory when planted in partial shade under trees or on the margins of native bush or beside a pond or lake. • They are perfectly hardy, easy to grow from cuttings and easy to transplant. They will grow in any soil except poor sand, and the kind of soil has a very decided influence on the colour. When the soil is rich in organic matter and consequently acid, they are blue. When alkaline and free of acid they are pink. Whether blue or pink they like plenty of moisture and a mulch of well roted stable manure is much appreciated. Various ideas have been adopted to make pink hydrangeas blue. Some put rusty nails or iron filings round the roots. Others water with a solution of alum, and others use a blueing powder, which can be obtained from the seedsmen. The most satisfactory way would be to obtain some soil from a district which is known to produce blue flowers, and to plant them in it, maintaining the acid conditions by applying alum, sulphate of iron, or the blueing powder. Like most other hardy plants the hydrangeas have been greatly improved during recent years. The flowers are now larger, and the colours more 1 intense. There are so many varieties that it is difficult to make a selection, but the following dozen are representative:—Blue Prince, rosy red; cornflower, blue when treated; Eclaireur, dark-pink, merging into red; Germaine Monillea, snow white, with an enormous head; Goliath, enormous head, and large individual pips, clear pink; La Marne, lilac-rose; Madame Philip do Vilmorin, deep rose; Marechal Foeh, beautiful rose-pink, changing to blue when treated; Matador, red; Parzival, beautiful deep carmine-red, deeply fringed petals; Radiant, bright rose carmine; Rose Perfection, fine rose-coloured heads freely produced; Seigfried, flowers green, developing from the tips to dull red.

PLANTING FOR PERMANENCY Avoid haste in (lie milking' of n garden. That has been oft-repeated advice in these pages, and those who arc dealing with a freshly-enclosed plot of uncultivated land are advised to concentrate for the present upon cleaning the ground, digging, and path-making, and fill beds and borders with temporary things to provide a colour display next spring. There are many who have already concluded the first year-of gardening, and it is such who will now be needing to form and furnish the permanent features. Autumn is a very important season for this particular work, and a busy time faces the amateur who confronts the tasks of planting trees, bushes, roses, and climbers, laying lawn turf, and filling herbaceous borders. It is prudent to pay close attention to details of arrangement, and one of the advantages of postponing permanent planting until the second season of ownership is that it gives time to become familiar with the peculiarities of environment, and to decide what may be done to minimise defects. It is a common occurrence for a garden to suffer from persistent draught from one narrow opening between neighbouring buildings. Sometimes a screen may be erected and covered with a strong-growing climber

that will check the draught, to the great advantage of the rest of the occupants of the garden. It is unwise to put rambler roses on such a screen, because draught encourages attacks of mildew. Clematis montana, the white Jasminum officinale, Polygonum Baldschuanicum, and the huge-leaved ivy, Hedera Raigneriana, are good subjects for forming dense screens quickly. In some cases a tree will be more convenient and serviceable than a climber-clad screen, in which case the kind chosen should be hardy, dense, and as attractive as possible without being so vigorous in growth as to detract from the productive capabilities of surrounding ground. Obviously, an evergreen will be a more efficient draught-excluder than a deciduous tree, and the cupressus family offers serviceable and ornamental varieties which may well receive attention. If space permits of planting three examples of Cupressus Lawsoniana in triangular formation and 10 feet apart, they will grow up to form a good shertering clump without casting enough shadow to do any harm. The quickergrowing C. macrocarpa is not so good for the situations described, for, although it will endure seaside gales, it. very strongly objects to cutting draughts. Success in the cultivation of good trees depends to a great extent upon proper planting and nursing through the first year. It is a great mistake to suppose that because big tree roots will travel under hard paths, it is unnecessary to be particular about digging before planting. Half-inch bones or hoof and horn meal will make good lasting nourishment to bury under trees, and it is always beneficial to add vegetable matter to either close, heavy soil, or loose, hungry sand. Do not neglect staking immediately, even though the trees or shrubs may be young and small. Winter’s winds will otherwise cause top growth to sway to and fro, and that will also cause leverage of the root ball with sufficient movement to prevent tiny young roots securing a firm hold of the soil.

The’ provision of shade for a resting place in the garden may be accomplished by placing a weeping tree in a suitable situation. The middle of the lawn is not the most appropriate place, but one corner of it may be a suitable spot. A weeping ash makes a beautiful “ umbrella ” tree, and an alternative is a weeping beech. The willows are very graceful, but they need to be in proximity to water to do themselves full justice. Broad canopies of rustic poles may be clothed with vigorous plants to form shady retreats. The combination of laurustinus and honeysuckle serves this purpose extremely well. Plant young, well-rooted specimens, and in spring cut away the weakest shoots, tying the remainder to stakes spread apart to guide the branches in a manner that will facilitate covering the broadcast area. If the laurustinus are six feet apart, a honeysuckle may be placed midway between. Clematis may be similarly used, if preferred, and Buddleia magnifiea or Escallonia Edenensis may take the place of the laurustinus.

Instead of planting close against the main posts, where the soil is rammed hard, put the plants in the centre of each section of the structure, providing slim stakes to lead growths to the first crossbar, after' which training will be simple. By doing this one may pro-: vide a better root run for the plants without interfering with the security of uprights. It is a pity to spoil a very small garden by planting standard fruit trees, but the sunniest fence may very well be used for fan-trained trees, or even trained currants and cordon gooseberries. Get anything in this way in the ground as soon as possible after this date. One point about planting any kind of trees or bushes should never be overlooked. The tiny ends of the finest roots are the feeders, and they are extremely fragile and tender. It is, therefore, ruinous to leave them exposed to wind or sun while awaiting commitment to the earth. It is wise, even though it may be for only half an hour, to keep the roots closely wrapped in damp sacking, or covered with soil, damp litter, or anything that will preserve them from drying. As each hole is prepared, remove one specimen only from the pile, re-cover-ing the remainder until the next hole is ready. Even so small a detail as this has an important bearing upon successful transplanting. Where only a small herbaceous border can be made, those things which flower continuously are of special value, and there are a few which may very well be included in the first selection. Erigeron Mesa Grande, or, as some will call it, Aster, Mesa Grande, is one of these. The plant is of neater habit than most of the erigerons, and its flowers are very rich in their violet shade of colour. If used for cutting, it will continue to bloom for months, and in the border a patch of three plants will make a striking feature.

Another very extraordinary plant from the point of view of consistency, is Salvia virgata nemorosa, bearing graceful spikes of bloom, which mingle winered with deep rich purple. Totally different in both colour and habit is Potentilla Gibson’s Scarlet, but it is a plant which will flower unceasingly from spring to autumn. Malva moschata, in mauve-pink and white forms, will make a great show for a very long time, and a first-class yellow flower of upright growth and decorative character is Hclenium Madame Canivet. The violetpurple Viola Jersey Gem is, perhaps, the most floriferous edging plant known to gardeners; it keeps on and on untiringly, from October until April.—Damarin, in Amateur Gardener.

DOCTRINE AMD DOGMA CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES “ Picking up knowledge every day.” That phrase may, and should be. applicable to every amateur gardener who is keen to make progress. There is, indeed, no sphere of occupation in which it may more truly be said that every day brings its lessons and discoveries than in the cultivation of plants and management of a garden. Furthermore, he who learns most will more clearly realise there is still more to learn. A danger that seems to be inseparable from the acquisition of knowledge is that the young student assumes, as soon as he has grasped a simple elementary fact, that he has mastered the entire subject. If the enthusiasm aroused by consciousness of growing wisdom the gardener, true to tradition, becomes eager to disseminate information for the benefit of his fellows: but sometimes he begins by promulgating a doctrine and goes to the extent of proclaiming a dogma, and it ia seldom prudent to be dogmatic in one’s declarations concerning horticulture. The uses and capabilities of lime may be taken as an example of the themes upon which sound truth Is often exceeded. A beginning is made in the assertion that lime is nighly beneficial to the soil. Another will,-quite justifiably, say that many gardens suffer through lack of lime, and that a liberal dressing may often be more beneficial than a coat of manure. These plain and simple facts have, however, been amplified and aug'mented by statements that are assumptions, and some of which are inaccuracies likely to become mischievous. j

Caustic lime applied to stiff, inert clay will mechanically improve the land and help to make it more friable and, therefore, a healthier root-run for plant life. It will also attack the acidity of soils that are overcharged with humus, and thus, by exerting a sweetening influence, will help to restore such sons to a serviceable degree of fertility. Caustic lime is destructive to some kinds of fungi, and may therefore be used with benefit ,on land that is infested with fungi that attack plants, but it is too much to claim that lime will' rid the earth of all manner of fungoid diseases or that it will kill all sorts of insect pests. Whilst caustic lime will do much to correct the evil effects of excess of vegetable matter in old garden soil, it will make starved soil still poorer. Loose sandy soil that is lacking in humus should not be dressed with caustic lime. Its propensity for burning can have no effect upon the sand, which is really composed of tiny fragments of stone; therefore it spends its energy in attacking the little humus that is present, leaving the soil in worse plight than before. Yet it has appeared in print, and has been stated on lecture platforms, that the gardener cannot go wrong in the liberal use of lime in the garden. The wiser suggestion would be to confine the use of the caustic form to upplanted clay, or to the black, over-rich, or sour soils of old gardens. For planted ground and light, sandy soils, as well as for those recently manured, chalk, or ground unburned limestone, are more appropriate, Some of the finely-powdered proprietary brands of lime are safer in the hands of the inexperienced amateur than rough, caustic material. It is too glibly stated that lawns benefit by dressing with lime. There are cases where sourness, the presence of lichens, moss, and fungi demand the use of lime on grass, hut it fnust be borne in mind that the finest of lawn grasses are lime haters. Soot is another serviceable commodity rightly used, but its one virtue, from a plant-feeding point of view, is the ammonia it possesses. New soot, however, contains a good deal of poisonous matter, and gradually escapes under exposure to air in a dry place. Only old soot should, therefore, he used among plants. Frequently the recommendation has been made to dust sweet peas with soot; but leguminous plants are not benefited by strong doses of ammonia, and observant growers have discovered that application* of soot to sweet peas, and also culinary peas, have been followed by leaf troubles, wilting, bud dropping, and signs of general sickness. Furthermore, dusting the foliage of plants with soot, especially those with rough, hairy, or woolly foliage, so chokes the respiratory pores that damage is done. Many antirrhinums have been ruined from this cause. The liquor procured by soaking a bag of soot in rain-water is most useful, and affords the best means of nourishing plants without risk of injury. Reference to soot liquor leads one’s thoughts to liquid manure, the use of which is much advocated, and with good cause. How often one reads: “ Givs liquid manure once a fortnight”; or, it may be, “alternately with plain,water.” That is a method of procedure which is open to criticism. Plants are not like animals, that fill themselves with food at widely-separated intervals. The absorption of nourishment goes on gradually, constantly, as moisture is yielded to the atmosphere through the leaves, and fresh supplies are drawn in by the roots. When the time comes for feeding, therefore, a steady, regular supply ,is better than periodical administration.