THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22368, 15 September 1934, Page 21

THE GARDEN

NOTES BY A.H.R.H.S.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS E; F., fungus sent is quite common. It belongs to the puff . ball section. It lias burst to liberate - its- spores. It is not at all harmful to .crops. : “ Oamaru.” —Heating, soil for tomatoes by electricity: —(I) The soil wires were spaced about a foot apart. (2) There was 18 inches of soil above the cables. (3) I could not state the load, but electricians could inform'you.' (4) Soil moisture was maintained at normal for growing plants. (5) There was four inches of ashes below_ the soil, but no insulation on the sides. (6) Power was on from about 8 at night to 7 in the morning, but this '.was sufficient to maintain a suitable temperature during the day. As you have hot water heating I don’t think . you could derive much benefit from soil beating by electricity, for you could easily do it with hot water pipes. “Kowbai,” Dunedin.—You can sow kowhai seed now, but be sure you col* lect fresh pods. Fresh seed will gef- . minute in a few weeks. “Manuka,” Cromwell.—The name of the plant sent is Cassinia fulvida, a native member of the daisy family. E. S., Clinton.—Name of plant sent is Erica pyramidalis. It can be- cut back to cause branching. It is such a hardy plant that it is coming up on the roadsides and paths in the Northern Cemetery. It roots from cuttings, and could be layered. “ Canna,” Oamaru.—You can plant yom cannas now and cover them with straw as suggested, but it is better to pht them into pots or tins and :grow ; them on, in a greenhouse or sheltered veranda until the middle of November.

ASPARAGUS Asparagus officinalis, a native of Europe, is a hardy perennial which sends up'succulent shoots in spring, these being much esteemed as a vegetable. It will thrive in most well-cultivated soils, but prefers a free, sandy loam liberally enriched with farm-yard manure. Established beds would be cleaned up and topdressed in the autumn or winter, and will now only need to be weeded and cultivated. This is also the time to form new beds, and this can be done by direct sowing or planting. Beds are made up three feet wide for two rows and five feet wide for three, and for planting a drill six inches wide and four inches deep is taken out with the spade, the soil being left slightly higher in the centre. The two-year-old plants are placed at 18 inches apart, the roots being spread out and the crowns kept in the centre, boil is then filled in and made firm, and after planting the surface is left fairly rough and open. For seed sowing the drills are made about one inch deep, the seed sown thinly, and later on the seedlings are thinned out to 18 inches apart. Tlants can also be raised in another part of the garden, the seedlings being thinned but to two inches apart, and when two years old the plants are put out as already described in their permanent positions. Connover’s Colossal and Argenteu.il Purple are two good varieties. GRAFTING Grafting is an interesting operation which can be carried out by any amateur who is interested in carpentry, for after all it is mainly a matter of fitting two pieces of woody plants together in such a way as to bring the cambium layer which is immediately under the bark of the stock, into direct and close contact with the cambium layer of the scion. Woody plants can be increased true to variety by striking cuttings of either halfripe wood in autumn or well ripened wood in late autumn or winter, layering, budding, or grafting. Budding is usually carried out during late summer, when the plants are making growth, and then a piece of bark with a bud and the cambium layer is placed under the bark of another plant in such a way that the cambium layers come into contact, they fuse totogether and the bud in time becomes the new plant. Grafting is usually carried out in late spring when,growth is about to take place and when the cambium layer is active. I should have explained that the part which provides .the root and stem is called the stock, and the piece of plant which is fitted on to the stock and which eventually forms the branches of the new plant is called the scion. A fruit tree which is quite healthy, but is not a good variety, can easily be converted to a good kind by grafting, and this is the reason for most of the grafting carried out by amateurs. Any old tree can be operated upon by the method known as crown grafting. In this case the tree should have been headed back to one stem if not very large, to two or three branches if of considerable size. These are cut square across with a small saw and the cut surface and especially round the bark is smoothed with a sharp knife. The development of the stock should he a little ahead of the scion and this is usually the case when these are selected at pruning time and buried in the soil to keep them fresh. When preparing the stock the bark is cut downwards for from two to three inches and slightly prised away from the wood to allow the scion to be pushed down. The scions which should be well ripened clean growths, are cut into lengths of about six inches, each piece having three prominent buds above the part where it is cut into. The scion is prepared by tapering two or three inches of the bottom end and cutting in, on one side in a slightly horizontal manner to form a shoulder' which will eventually rest on the wood of the stock. The scion is now pushed down between the bark and the wood of the stock until the shcnldei is in position, and after two or three grafts have been put on, the number varying with the thickness of the stem, they are bound in position with I soft twine or raffia and 'the unions are coated with grafting clay or grafting wax to keep out air and prevent the jambium from drying until a complete union has taken place, and all wounds arc healed up. Cleft grafting is often practised when the branches of the stock are of considerable size and in this case the branches are cut over as formerly and after being smoothed and trimmed the stem is split down with a chisel or cleaver.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY .Continue 1 ! to sow. seeds of tender, and half-hardy annuals, also melons, cucumbers, marrows, and pumpkins. Pot on seedlings of tomatoes to be grown in the open;- first into three-inch size and finally into sixes. Plant out tomatoes in beds; tins, boxes, or pote to-be grown under glass in a house or frame. Prick out 'seedlings of bedding plants, tuberous begonias, gloxinias, gesnerias, etc.' ■ 1 ■. , Place the more advanced seedlings bi bedding plants out into cold frames to be gradually hardened off. Pot up rooted cuttings of chrysanthemums, and as soon as they take to the new soil stand out in a cold frame. It is important that they be grown on as cool and hardy as possible. Continue to put in cuttings of dahlias, and if only a few plants are required the old tubers can be broken up, each piece with a young growth, and potted up into four-inch or five-inch pots. Give echizanthus and hydrangeas a little liquid manure once a week. Continue to repot ferns, palms, and other foliage plants. Keep the geraniums and pelargoniums growing under as cool and airy conditions as possible to secure short-jointed, sturdy growth; _ Cypripediums and other winter-flowering orchids ;are now making growth, and they should be repotted or top-dressed. THE FLOWER GARDEN The pruning and spraying of the roses should now be completed, and the beds and borders manured and dug or forked. Spring flowers' are coming on rapidly, lawns should be mown, and everything kept neat and tidy. Complete the dividing up and replanting of the herbaceous plants. Sow hardy : annuals and prepare tor planting out the hardier kinds which were raised in heat. Plant sweet peas, and dust round each plant with lime to keep away slugs and protect from birds with twiggy branches or black cotton. Complete the planting of trees and shrubs. . Plant out violas, pansies, and pentstcmons. Keep a sharp lookout for slugs on tne rock garden and the herbaceous border. They are specially hard on delphiniums, and it is often necessary to protect them with circles of galvanised iron. Coke breeze, lime, and horticultural napthaline can also be used. . Continue to pollinate the more ■desirable forms of primroses and polyanthus. THE VEGETABLE AND FR(JJT GARDEN * Continue to plant early potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, shallots, and rhubarb. Form and plant new asparagus beds. Make sowings of peas and broad . beans to maintain a succession, but it is still too early to sow runner or kidney beans. Make small sowings of white turnips, shorthorn carrots, globe beet, radish, lettuce, and mustard and cress. Plant cabbage and cauliflower, and make small sowings of cabbage, cauliflower, and bnissels sprouts. Sow celery, and prepare mounds for ridge cucumbers, vegetable marrows, and pumpkins. Sow onions and transplant those sown in the autumn. HARDY PRIMULAS In addition to the common primrose and its varieties and the many coloured varieties of the polyanthus, there are a few hardy primulas in flower at the present time which are suitable for the border and the rock garden., Primula denticulate, a native of the North-west Himalayas, is a most accommodating and free-flowering plant quite at home under most garden conditions, though it prefers a moist or semi-shaded position. It has globular heads of lilac-coloured flowers, and there is also a white form. Primula capitata is also a native of the Himalayas and has globular heads of rich violet-coloured flowers. There is often some difficulty in distinguishing between these two species, but the flowers in the heads of capitata point downwards, whereas those in denticultata all point upwards. Primula Wanda is a neat-growing, very free flowering primrose with large crimson-pUrple flowers and a very distinct yellow eye. It is very suitable for the rock garden and can be increased quite easily like the other two mentioned, by division immediately after flowering.

One or two scions are then cut to a wedge shape and pushed down into the cut, taking care to have the cambium layer of one side of the scion in direct, contact with the cambium layer of the stock. The stock is then bound with siring or rafliia and the union coated with grafting clay or wax. Tongue or whip grafting is usually carried out when the stock and the scion are about the same size, and grafts up to an inch in diameter can be made in this way, but it is generally used in smaller wood. The head of the stock is out across just above a bud. A rather long, sloping cut is next made, and in this a notch or tongue is made.. A corresponding cut and tongue are made in the scion, and the two arc fitted together, and a slight downward pressure will lit the two together neatly and securely, the cambium layers lilting together at least on one side, but better still on both. They are then bound together and coated with wax or clay. Saddle grafting is also practised when the stock and scion are about the same size. In this case the stock is cut into a tapering wedge shape, and the scion is cut to lit neatly on top of it. The two arc bound together amj waxed or clayed as in other methods. Though there is not the same need for liable in grafting at this season as when budding, during the summer there should be no unnecessary delay. The scions should be kept fresh by wrapping them in a piece of damp scrim, and they should be bound up and clayed or waxed as soon ns possible* after the grafts have been fitted in. It is not always necessary to have a stem to graft upon. The clematis and tree, peonies are usually grafted on to pieces of fleshy root, the inverted saddle method being adopted, and to secure quick healing and union the grafts are plunged in a propagating bed with bottom heat, or they are potted up into small pots and placed in the propagating frame.

PS WORK. FOR THE WEEK**

In addition to fruit trees, the horizontal or weeping varieties of the elm, ash, birch, beech, and thorn are grafted on to tali stems of the upright varieties, an operation which it is not at all difficult to perform.

Grafting wax can be made by mixing 11b beeswax, 51b resin, 1 pint linseed oil, and loz lamp black. This is gently heated to enable it to mix properly and kept ■warm when it is being, applied. Another mixture is composed of three parts resin and beeswax imd two parts tallow. These are melted together in an iron pot over a slow fire, and afterwards allowed to cool. A very good grafting tape can be prepared by dipping strips of calico an inch wide in the mixture when hot and hanging them up to dry. These are very useful for biudiug thin stems, and as they stick together tying is not necessary. Grafting clay is prepared by mixing two parts clay with one of cow dung with a little chopped hay or grass to hold the mixture together when dry. These ingredients are beaten together and thoroughly mixed several weeks before they are required for use, and occasionally turned and, mixed. To keep it moist a cavity is made in the top of. the lump, and this is kept filled with water.