THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22894, 30 May 1936, Page 7

THE GARDEN

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT Native name of flax, Harakeke; cabbage tree, Ti-koua (Cordyline Australia); lanoewood, Horocka; veronica, Koromeka. Names of plants are: (b) Sencio Greyi; (a) Parsonsis albiflora (Maori jasmine).

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Bulbs of various’ kinds which were potted or boxed up some time ago can now be brought into heat to hasten their development. Freesias grown in pots for the greenhouse should have some support, neat bamboos or wires being suitable. . As the chrysanthemums go past their best they should be cut over, leaving •bout • foot of tHo stem, and if the soil has been washed out with watering they can receive a slight top-dressing of light soil. Stand them in a cold frame and remove the" sashes whenever weather conditions are favourable to encourage sturdy growth. It is too soon to put in the main hatch of cuttings, but those which ara produced on scarce varieties can be put in. V'pvv ■ ; ' Seedling oyclamen can be pricked out Into boxes or pans. of light soil, and any perennials or alpines which have germinated can be pricked out. Continue to pot up Primula obconica and calceolarias into three-inch pots and Primula sinensis, malacoides and Kewensis into their flowering pots. Give the cinerarias, which should now have filled their pots with roots, a little weak liquid manure once a week and keep . a sharp lookout for caterillars, leaf miner and green fly. Lilies which are to be grown in pots for the greenhouse can be potted up now. Use a rich soil composed of loam, leafmould, a little sand and charcoal, and don’t fill the pot more than three-parts full. Being stem-rboterg they can be top-dressed with rich soil later on. :-i ; ...

THE FLOWER GARDEN Continue to plant ornamental trees and shrubs and roses while the soil is in good working order, and complete the planting of spring flowering plants as soon accessible. When they become overcrowded lilies, hyacinthus, candicans, and montbretias can be lifted, and after dividing them up, replant in well-manured ground. Don t allow them to lie about and become dried and shrivelled. Continue to cut over dahlias, chrysanthemums, and herbaceous perennials; and the present is a suitable time for overhauling the herbaceous border, and, dividing up the , more vigorous kinds such as Michaelmas daisies, heleniums, and sidalceas. Shrubbery borders can be pruned and dug, but except in the case of stronggrowing buddleas and hydrangeas it is not advisable to prune very much except to remove dead wood and suckers, and to J. prevent the stronger growers from overshadowing the weaker. Rambler and climbing roses can be pruned and tied in with tarred twine. Repair paths and fences, and attend to draining where it is necessary. Collect leaves, clean them off the rock garden where they are liable to shelter slugs, ana carry out any planting and replanting . which may be necessary.. Fork up the bulb borders and give a dressing of basic slag'or basic Prune rose hedges and cut over catmint.

i THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT t GARDEN Continue to trench or dig and manure >; all vacant ground, to clear off spent crops 5 and to dig and store root crops. Though it is too early to plant potatoes, the* seed t can be secured now and the tubers stood i up on their end (the bud end uppermost) •in shallow boxes to sprout. If placed in S a light, airy place where, there is dq | danger of frost they will make nice 7 itrong green shoots, which won’t break on * when handled at planting time, and it i several eyes grow out all can be rubbed out except the two fop ones. , Continue to plant and transplant fruit I 1 trees and bushes, also to'prune, after- , l wards burning all twigs atfd fallen fruit f and leaves, scattering the ashes over tbo i surface, after forking or digging. f LILIES ' . >■

X Lilies have'become more popular lately, largely as a result of the introduction of strong, vigorous kinds, such as regale, Which are not'difficult to accommodate, ! and can. be depended upon to increase both lin vigour and numbers. The ability to ■ raise these useful plants from seed has f also added to their popularity. With the ‘ exception of Candidum. the present is a • suitable time to plant or transplant lines, and once they are lifted there is nothing to be gained by keeping them out of the ‘i. ground, and they should not be dried like ,i daffodils or tulips. Lilies are very suitable for planting in groups in the herbaceous or shrubbery borders, and are specially ■ suitable for planting among rhododen-

-'WORK FOR THE WEEKS

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

drons and azaleas,, the conditions required for these shrubs suiting the lilies. Any well-drained, deeply-cultivated soil will suit lilies, but they like one more or less acid and rich in organic matter. Lilies will flower for several years without disturbance, but eventually they become overcrowded, when they should be lifted and divided up and replanted at 9 to 12 inches apart at a depth of 6 to 9 inches, most of the vigorous kinds producing roots from the stem as well as the base of the bulb. A dressing of spent hops, wellrotted farm-yard manure, or leafmould can be forked into the surface soil after planting, or it can be applied as a mulch. Remember that lilies should be replanted the same day as they are lifted or as soon afterwards as possible. THE APPLE—PYRUS MALUS* The apple is the most useful and probably the most extensively cultivated of all hardy fruits. It is known, as the crab in the wild state, and is indigenous to Britain and all the temperate and warmer parts of Europe. Therb are a great many varieties,* both cooking and dessert, and these can be made to prolohg the season all the year round. • In, addition to being a useful fruit-bearing tree, the apple is

also distinctly ornamental when in flower, anti in autumn the highly coloured kinds are also attractive. It is not a difficult tree to accommodate as to soil; in fact, any kind of soil can be made suitable with draining, deep cultivation, and the addition of lime rubble, burnt soil, or charcoal to stiff soils and organic matter and loam to light, sandy ones. Shelter, however, is most important, also an open, sunny position. well away from forest trees. Apples lend themselves to pruning and training, and the trees can be made to assume a great many forms. For example, there are standards, which are trees more or less allowed to grow _aa large as they like, and are suitable for large orchards in the country. Bush trees are more suitable for town and commercial orchards, for they can be kept within reasonable bounds; they, are easier to spray and prune, and the fruit can be hand picked. Such a tree usually has a clear stem of from two to three feet from which will arise six, nine, pr more branches, each growing upwards and outwards with plenty of room to allow sun and air to all parts, to maintain the fruiting spurs in a healthy condition! When pruning such a tree it is usual to start with three branches the first year and to increase to six the 'second, and so tfn until the maximum number which can be accommodated are obtained._ Once the foundation of the trees is laid all side branches are cut back to about half an inch from the old wood and the leading shoot is pruned to six or nine inches, taking care to cut to a bud pointing outwards or in the direction in which we want the branch to grow. The fruit is borne on spurs, which are little arrested branches which arise below those which grow out into woody shoots, and our aim should be to have the branches furnished with spurs from the base to the top. Pruning, therefore, consists of cutting out any dead or unhealthy wood, cutting back all laterals to half an inch from the old wood, and shortening back the leading shoot. Apples are also grown as esnaliers or cordons, and when trained in either ot these waj's they are suitable for covering walls or fences or. for forming a fruitful dividing fence between the flower or the vegetable garden or for dividing up the vegetable garden into plots. When trained in B this way high-quality dessert fruit is obtained and the trees dp not occupy much space. Single espaliers about 18 inches high with a branch going n each direction form a very useful edging tor paths in the vegetable or fruit garden. Cordons, which are also suitable for the small garden, can be taken up with a single stern or they can have two, and they can be trained vertical or oblique. PLANTING. Soil intended for apples should he trenched or at least double dug, and though compost heap, lime rubble, or wood ashes can be worked in, it is not advisable to add rank fresh stable manure. When planting in grass, a hole from four to six feet wide can be taken out, and, afteiwards a circle of from four to six feet in diameter should be kept weeded and cultivated. Standards can be planted at from 20 to 30 feet apart, bushes from 10 to 8 feet, espaliers 6 to 9 feet, and cordons 2 to 3 teet. Planting can be carried out any time after the leaves ripen, and the present is very suitable; the soil is in good working condition, and is still warm enough to encourage the healing up of all cut or, bruised roots and the formation of new ones. Any time during the winter will do so long as the soil is not wet or frosty. A hole should be made large enough to allow tUb roots to go in without bending or twisting and deep enough to allow the tree to be placed at the same depth as it was in the nursery. Put >n sonic of the rougher parts of the soil, chopping it up and forming a mound in the centre. Next prune back any bruised or damaged

roots with a sharp knife and place the tree in the hole with its base resting on the mound of soil and the roots spread out all round. Throw in some fine soil and shake the plant to work it in among the fibrous roots, then throw in more fine soil, firming it with the feet, but taking care not to damage the roots. Continue to add soil and to firm until the hole is filled, and finish oi! with a fairly rough surface in the meantime. On no account add fresh manure when planting, but a mulch can be given in the spring and a six-inch potful of bone meal added to the soil when planting will be an advantage; ■also, a dusting of lime can be given. . Varieties to plant for dessert are Irish Peach, Cox’s Orange Pippin, Jonathan, Scarlet Nonpareil, and Stumer, and for cooking Ballarat seedling, Peasgood s Nonsuch, Bismarck, Alfriston, nad Lord Wolseley, Anyone with old, neglected trees would be better to dig them out, trench the ground, and replant with good varieties, or, if the trees are clean and healthy, but the varieties are unsuitable, they can be headed back to within two or three feet of the ground and regrafted with suitable kinds in the spring. When grafting is to be done, the strong, wellripened young shoots should be selected now, labelled, and buried in the ground to keep them fresh until required.. After pruning, the twigs and all old fruits and leaves should be raked up and burned and the surface soil forked over or lightly dug. care being taken not to go deep enough to damage the surface roots.