THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22504, 23 February 1935, Page 20

THE GARDEN

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS “,M/' (Dunedinj .—The ripened wood of hydrangeas, if : cut into -pieces about •„* -nine inches in,length and buried threeparts” of their length in the ground, v,-: the. base’resting, on a layer of sand, . .will root.. Thpse puttings are. put in in the autumn arid they root by the vi following We have some in flower now .which .were put in last ! i -‘ autumn.’Young growths taken off ; . -jwith, a; heel, iOr, cut across below a joint and piit .into, pots of sandy soil i ' which are plunged into a propagating bed with bottom- heat, will root in a short time in spring or early summer. For those without bottom heat or other facilities, ripened wood in the autumn is the best. It is not neces- ■ ’ sary to put them in water.

"T. N.” (Ravensbourae).—The fact that , your begonias are: growing in rusty tins would not cause trouble. 4 It has ’ been difficult to maintain moist, cool s . conditions round the begonias during the recent hot, dry weather,- and. the leaves of "your begonias have dried up round the edges. They will probably improve now., Do not water theny overhead.in sunny weather. .

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Continue to take the buds off the large-flowered chrysanthemums, and give a little-feeding once a week. Allow the decoratives to go on to second crown buds, and the. singles -to terminals. Pot primulas into five-inch pots, as they fiii , the smaller three-inch pots with rpots, and before they become pot bound and starved, and prick' out the calceolarias into pots or boxes. Shade during bright sunshine; and maintain moist conditions at all times. . , The earliest batch of • cinerarias will now be ; out in. frames, whehe they will require to' be shaded during the day, but the sashes can be pulled off altogather on warm, still evenings. _ Continue to give the tuberous begonias liquid manure once a week; remove the side buds on the double varieties and support the flowers in some way. There are very _ suitable wire supports which can be raised or lowered as required, but thin.bamboo stakes can also be used. Prick out the .seedlings of; primrose polyanthus, and”, when established in‘the boxes stand out'.in a shady’.frame;-or behind a fence ’br hedge. '■ v Hoe through "thef wallflower? arid' dust with lime should slugs be troublesome. In spite of the dry weather land -without watering the wallflower -plants'are making very satisfactory, growth. Continue to box or pot bulbs for, forejng later op.: Give the vinery im which the grapesare 'ripening'-J-iriore V' “blit'- 'avoid draughts. 1-,‘i , y-:.) ■ V'-': I*3 THE FLOWER GARDEN Continue to water sweet peas, dahlias,: roses, and bedding plants, wherever a water supply is available. Mulch and hoe where water is not available, and pick off all eeedpods and old flowers. The old flowers of gladioli, should be cut off when, the spikes flower to the end, bilt the foliage-should be left to ripen off. ' Plant out Sweet Williams and Canterbury Bells. ■ m:-- - f- - Plant ranunculus, anemones, tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and all kinds of spring flowering bulbs. Cut out the old wood of rambler roses which ha« flowered, and, tie in* the young, ■ selected shoots.' Continue to spray at intervals of three weeks with lime sulphur ... to check mildew. . : ' • : V nTi . . V , Many . of the hardy annuals have beenshort lived this hot,- ,dry season, hut the , autumn flowering chrysanthemums^are use- ■ Wherever water supplies are gvailablt '; •: hardy annuals sueh as - larkspur,can* be sown, but v the soil is - too dry in most gardens germination? . t Build new rock gardens, and rock walls,. , arid renovate old ones. This is also a good time to'trench new beds and borders, and to get them ready for autumn plantin*. • ’ * THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Continue to harvest onions and bend ' over-the-tops -of the thick-necked green . one* to encourage ripening. Earth up plant leeks, cab-’ . haw? and broccoli? f ,; ' Sow seed of spinach, lettuce, wnite tur.nips, .shorthorn carrots,, radish, mustard' . .and.cress. ; Dig and store away potatoes, selecting . from the best plants. - Collect and store apples and pears as. they, ripen. .- I Trench er dig all vacant ground and’ Set ready for autumn planting of straw■l berries,; tree and bush fruits. % -, ; -^- ee P -Hie (surface soil stirred among A-aIP crops which have not been mulched - and wherever possible water runnel beans arid, celery. . v MUSHROOMS \ , T^ oU ffh« supplies of mushrooms . can be ?.collected irom grass ,paddocks in! a suitJ’iriple season, such supplies are. unreliable, l iftad they can be grown quite easily in a an old shed, a frame or even, in the open, when the bed is suitably protected with straw. The first and most important requirement is suitable manure, and-this should be obtained fresh from the stable if possible; It should be shaken «p on arrival and some of’ the straw (but not all) should also, be , shaken ,-qp.; To protect it from rain, it is better . stored in a dry shed, and it na* to be- turned every day to prevent

WQRK FOR THE WEEK#

NOTES BY "JIS&fS D. TAN NOCK, A.H.R.H.S.^

excessive fermentation with the consequent loss of the valuable ammonia. When sufficient' has been collected to make up the bed it is made up into a high, oblong heqp and well -trodden down. If the stuff is very dry it can be sprinkled with water-as each layer is put on. In a few days fermentation will make the heap hot all through, and it is then taken to pieces and the outside put in the inside and the inside on the outside, with the object of ensuring even fermentation all through; This process has to be repeated several times at intervals of three or four days until the manure has not only been fermented but sweetened. When ready it will be of a dark colour, soft, damp enough to hold together when pressed in the hand, but not moist enough to part with any moisture. It is almost odourless, or it has the odour of mushrooms and not of mtmure. For indoors the prepared manure is made up into a bed three feet wide and two feet high; for a frame it can be made two feet deep and fully occupy the frame, and for the open it is made up in a ridge three feet wide at the. base and 2Jft high. The manure is packed firmly, rafnming it as it is put on and’ is finished off-with a smooth surface. The temperature will immediately rise and the bed has to be tested frequently with a soil thermometer, and when it has fallen to .80 degrees it is fit to be spawned. The spawn, which should be fresh, is made up in bricks, and these are broken up into

pieces the size- of -a walnut. These are forced into the bed to a depth of about three inches, at a distance of nine inches apart all over. Immediately the spawning has been carried out, a layer of straw or litter.is spread over the.bed, jvhioh is secured from, wind by mats or hurdles when the beds are in the open. ' In about a week the hed'eari be examined, and if it shows signs ofc-the development of white threads called myceliuin, it should be covered with a layer of good loam two inches thick, this being made firm with the back of the" spade. The litter or straw .is then restored, and in about seven or eight weeks the mushrooms should begin toappear. When gathering the crop only a small, portion of ‘ the bed should be uncovered at a time, and the mushrooms should be pulled out complete, and not cut over,, leaving a part of the stalk in the ground. Should the bed become dry, water with tepid water. -When made up in a frame the glass sashes should be shaded and kept on, but tilted up a bit at the top to admit fresh air. During cold weather it should be covered with mats or old sacks to keep in the necessary warmth.

can also be grown in frames along with melons and cucumbers by inserting a few pieces of spawn among the plants While they are still bearing! ' Mushroom growing ig' not an expensive hobby, for 1 the manure is much more Valuable as a fertiliser after the crop has been collected than ordinary manure stacked in a heap in the open, where the ammonia •id often lost through excessive fermentation,- br ; the soluble manurial ingredients are washed away by heavy rain. December is the best month to make Up bode in the- open; blit it as not yet too late to make one up .in a frame, outhouse, or cellar, or to spawn the cucumber or melon .bed. . . L J , ;.;:s , - DRYING HERBS ; r Herbs are in, 4emphdvall ;tb'e ( .year-ipu'nd for seasoning, and though they are most useful : when fresh-many.‘are almost 'as' valuable when dried. ■ They should be cut when in full flower, 'and befoye they have an opportunity- to form , seed, "tied into small bunches and hung up ii'a'dry, airy shed, where they will dry gradually without fermenting. Whefi dried, they 1 ban be stored-:in' jars, or they can be left hanging up in a dry, cool shed. When lavender i a to be dried it, , too, is col-lected-when in full flower and spread out °, n ,^ enc .k or -huiig u p in- a dry, airy shed like the herbs. * ■ ; ; MONTBRETIAS This small genus of, Iridaceous bulbs is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, and they have proved useful garden plants i°r all - kinds of weathers. Last year, when it was cold- and wbt they were a gr,eat Success, and this year, though they have never had a drop of -water, they are again a feature; They are perfectly hardy, and uvill-. exist for- several years under the moat unfavourable conditions, but they like good treatment, and are most successful whim-they are lifted and divided’ up every .year. This operation can be; done,as soon ns the foliage -ripens ‘off inj the autumn, and after manuring and Jim- 1 mg the grolmd liberally they sbfiuld be' put back at from six to nine inches apart. Their graceful epikes of flowers, varying in colour from pale yellow to deep crim-; son, with many intermediate shadings and markings, last well when cut, and are suitable for blending with all kinds of foliage. Like many other hardy flowers, they have, been greatly improved during' recent.years, and the newer varieties are; a great improvement' on the old. Some of the newer shades are Fiery Cross (fiery orange with primrose centre), His Majesty (deep velvety scarlet shading down to gold). Lady WiLsofi (bright yellow with orange sheen), Queen Alexandra (golden .yellow flushed apricot withheavy ; crimson* blotches), Una (golden apricot" flushed orange with crimson blotches). - All these have exceptionally, large flowers of good substance, very much larger than the older kinds. Of the older kinds, Etoile de Feu, Fire King, Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson, Prometheus, Star .of the East, and George Davidson. are gbod Varieties. •' . Tlley look particularly well backed up by the blue'Agapanthus umbellatus, also from South Africa, which is satisfactory this year. It Is a strong-growing plant, to' accommodate, and often seen flowering in the most neglected garden. It appreciates good treatment, however, but unlike the montbretias, it is better left ’ alone when once established. It likes plenty of water when growing, but can apparently do without it for a season, .and frequent ‘ applications of liquid manure or a muldi of old well-rotted manure will encourage growth and flowering. v Nerines (Guernsey lilies) arc an interesting genus of bulbous plants which are quite hajrdy and flower well in the open when planted in a well-drained, warm sunny border at the foot of a wall or in the rock garden. They arc sending up their flower stems now, and later on the foliage will appear. This has to be encouraged in every way, and if the border is very dry water will be necessary. They are often grown in pots for the greenhouse, but are loss work and more’reliable when planted out. When grown in pots they flower better when

potbound, and do not require to be repotted for several years. Amaryllis belladonna is another South African bulb which sends up its. flower • before its leaves, and which does best when planted in a dry, sunny border at the foot of a wall and then left alone for years.