THE GARDEN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23044, 21 November 1936, Page 23

THE GARDEN.

FOR THE WEEK;||6

notes by TAN NOCK. AH.R.ri.St*«^W®i'

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS “Veronica” (Lawrence).—You did quite right to cut off and burn the affected shoots of your veronicas and roses. Spraying with lime sulphur could now be carried out to prevent further spread of the disease. A. T. N. (Manapouri).—lt is usual to find all three kinds of flowers on Laburnum adamii, and, as I explained, this is a graft hybrid raised from seed and not a grafted plant. A. R. F. (Milton). —You should make the soil firm round your onions which show signs of developing thick necks by tramping it between the' rows and then scuffle-hoeing the surface. There must have been something wrong with the seeds when they are sending up flower stems already. This should not happen until the second season. D. S. (Poolburn).' —It is most likely grass grubs are eating the roots of your plants, and these are very difficult to deal with. Apterite or horticultural napthaline can be spread round the plants and hoed or lightly forked in. Wireworms . are also troublesome, and they are better trapped with pieces of carrot, potato or oil cake buried under the surface soil near the plants affected and marked by a piece of stick. Freshly slaked lime or ground shell lime Is the most suit-

able to apply, but it will not seriously affect the insects named. E. E. B. (Ida Valley).—You should spray your apples with arsenate of lead within seven days of the petals falling and afterwards at intervals of 18 days. It is often mixed with lime sulphur or possibly with Bordeaux mixture to provide a double purpose spray, both on insect and fungoid pests THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Continue to pot on chrysanthemums and winter flowering carnations. Sow seed of Sweet William apd Canterbury bells in boxes of fine soil, and stand on the bench of the cool greenhouse or in a cold frame, and shade until germination takes place. As both seeds are usually very good they should be sown thinly. As soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle they are pricked out into boxes, and later on they are lined out in a well-manured part of the vegetable garden or nursery, where they will develop into good plants by the autumn. They can be planted out in the borders direct from the boxes if space is available. Maintain moist conditions among the tuberous begonias, and as soon as the plants become established in the smaller pots and before they become potbound, pot on to their flowering pots. It is not advisable to allow them to develop flowers until they are well established in their final pots. Gloxinias which were raised from seed can be potted up into small pots, and the streptocarpus can be potted on to five-inch pots in which they will flower. Continue to pinch the young growths, to tie down and to thin grapes. Keep all side shoots pinched out of the tomato plants, give the plants support, and maintain a dry growing atmosphere. When watering is necessary give a good soaking. THE FLOWER GARDEN ■ Continue to,lift and line-in tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and primrose polyanthus, and to clear beds and borders of wallflowers., Dig in manure if this was not done in the autumn, and plant out all kinds of bedding plants, except scarlet salvias, zinnias, and tuberous and fibrous-rooted begonias. . . , Plant dahlias in well-manured beds and borders, and at once provide them with preliminary or permanent stakes to which the stems can be tied. Sweet Williams and Canterbury bells are sending up their flower stems, and these should be supported with suitable stakes. Continue to disbud roses and to spray for green fly with soapy water, to which a little blackleaf 40 has been added. Applications of liquid manure once a week will assist the development of the buds and the formation of new growths on which the second crop of flowers will be produced. As choice rhododendrons and azaleas go out of flower the seed vessels can be picked off, and they should receive a mulch of' lawn mowings, well-rotted and strawy manure, leafmould, spent hops, or pine needles. Anything which will keep in moisture, keep the surface roots cool and rot, is suitable. Provide delphiniums, Michaelmas daisies, and other herbaceous perennials with stakes, and keep the beds and borders hoed or forked. Keep the rock garden weeded and cultivated, and cut off all old flower heads to prevent seed, formation. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN Thin spring sown crops of carrots, turnips and beet as soon as the seedlings are large enough to handle and keep the soil stirred between the rows with the hoe or fork. Stake peas as they develop and pinch the young tips out of the stems of broad beans as soon as they have set a satisfactory crop. Transplant onions, and plant out cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, Brussels sprouts and celery. Make further sowings of peas, broad beans, runner. French and butter beans, and sow golden ball turnips, swedes, long beet, parsnips, carrots, lettuce, spinach and radish. Sow small patches of cabbage, curly kale, broccoli, and leeks to provide plants to be put out later on. Earth up early potatoes and plant out the late maincrop varieties. Tomatoes, sweet corn, cape gooseberries, vegetable marrows, pumpkins, and ridge cucumbers can be planted out in warm, sheltered places. At this season crops are often rather backward and their growth can . be stimulated by giving them an application of liquid manure made by dissolving an ounce of sulphate of ammonia in two gallons of water. Continue to prepare celery trenches and to manure and dig any land from which crops have been removed. Spray apples and pears for codlin grub with arsenate of lead and spray apples with lime sulphur 1 in 100 for powdery mildew. Look over grafts and if bindings are too tight cut them away. Mulch strawberries and give a dressing of blood and bone manure or an application of liquid manure. CALCEOLARIAS While the large-flowered calceolarias are making a good display in the greenhouse there are several species which flower quite well in the open. C. violacea is a semi-deciduous, twiggy small shrub which bears quantities of its violet-coloured helmet-shaped flowers which are spotted and marked like a gloxinia on the inside. It is a native of Chili, and with us is perfectly hardy. Owing to its having an open flower instead of the usual pouch associated with this flower, it has been placed in a separate genus called Jovellana, to which the native calceolaria also belongs. J. repens is a pretty lowgrowing species, a native of the moist West Coast, and J. Sinclarii is a tallergrowing and more erect plant 18 inches tall. It has white flowers spotted with purple, and is a neat little plant. Both species like a moist semi-shaded position on the margin of the shrubbery. C. polyrrhiza, a herbaceous species, forms a dense carpet of light green foliage from which spring numerous branching stems bearing a profusion of golden yellow flowers. Though the old-fashioned golden and brown calceolarias are not so popular as they used to be when bedding Schemes were more formal, they are well worthy of a place in the shrubbery or the herbaceous border. They are usually propagated by,means of cuttings put into boxes or a tied in a cold frame in the autumn. PINKS The various species and varieties of perennial pinks are very useful garden plants, suitable for the rock garden, dry walls and for edgings, paths, and borders. Each season provides its special flower for the rock garden, and at the present time the various kinds of dianthus are the chief attraction. Many of the species are more interesting than beautiful, though when grown in masses even their comparatively small flowers of no definite colour are attractive. When not in flower, the blue-grey foliage dropping over rocks or over a wall is interesting. Of the many species, D. alpinus is the most attractive. It forms dense masses of glossy foliage from which spring deep rose flowers about two inches across, on stalks about three inches long. It should be given an open, sunny position on the rock garden and a typical dianthus soil composed of two parts clean loam,, one part leaf mould, half a part lime rubble, half a part sand and shingle. D. neglectus is almost as attractive as alpinus. It has grass-like foliage from which spring bright (fink flowers about an inch across on three-inch stalks. These are the two best species, but others worth growing are D. caesius (Chedder Pink) and D. deltoides (Maiden Pink). Of the hybrids, the Allwoodii section are most desirable. They are a fine race of hardy pinks half pink and half carnation, being a cross between the perpetual flowering carnation and a

hardy garden pink. All types of Allwoodii start to flower in spring and continue right through the summer and autumn. They withstand drought and thrive on dry walls, but are also suitable for growing in beds to provide cut flowers. They are double, semi-double and single, and have a delightful perfume. The hybrids between Allwoodii and D. alpinus are a comparatively new race of dwarf pinks most suitable for the rock garden. They form little tufts of silvery foliage, and the flower stems don’t exceed four to six inches, and the colours vary from rich red through the various shades of pink to pure white.

Of the old garden pinks, so popular for edging paths on account of their compact habit and their fragrant single and double flowers, Mrs Sinkins is one of the most _ popular, though Gladys Cranefield is a more showy plant for the rock garden. All the various types of pinks can be raised from seed which should be saved from the most desirable forms or obtained from a desirable source. This can be sown in early spring in heat, and the seedlings treated like half hardy annuals. They can also be ii creased by means of cuttings, and by layering, and in this way the more desirable varieties are increased. The cuttings are put into boxes in early autumn and kept in a cold frame during the winter. Dianthus heddewigii, the Japanese pink, and Dianthus chinensis, the Indian pink, are two useful annual kinds suitable for summer and autumn bedding. They are raised like half hardy annuals and after being hardened off are planted out about the present time. The varieties Salmon Queen and Scarlet Queen are mosj desirable, and these are useful for edging beds, carpeting taller growing plants, or for filling small beds and grouping in the mixed border. .