THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23084, 9 January 1937, Page 19

THE GARDEN

ANSWERS TO CORRESPOND- , ENTS “Anxious” (Milton).—d?Tame of plant is Hypericum calycinum (Rose of Sharon), a dwarf hardy'shrub. R. :F, (Gore). —The malformed Iceland; poppies are not unusual “Broad Bean” (Dunedin).—The wet weather is responsible for beans, and peas failing-to' set 1 pods. Pincb out the tops of the stems and give a dressing of lime. The cold blast we had some time ago was responsible for the destruction of many of the flowers on broad beans, but since then they have been setting. A. K. (Kaka Point). —Name of shrub is “ Euonymus europseus,” the common spindle tree. ’ It has ornamental fruits, and the leaves take on tints in the autumn. THE GREENHOUSE AND / NURSERY Prick out the "seedlings of cinerarias into boxes as soon as they are lar"' 3 .enough to handle, and keep in the cool greenhouse, shading them from bright sunshine. The seedlings of Canterbury Bells can be placed out into cold frames and biennial stocks, double daisies, and forget-me-nots, can be sown. The seed of primrose polyanthus can be sown in boxes, and anemones and ranunculus'in beds in the open. Seeds of R/nunculus Lyallii and celmisias should also be sown on well-drained beds as soon as ripe. Seedlings of ranunculus apd anemones have now ripened off, and the tubers can be lifted and stored i;. Sand in a cool shed or cellar, until they can be planted. Seedlings of wallflower are growing rapidly, and they should be large enough to line out in another week or so. When preparing the ground for the seedlings first hock or fork it over, working in a good dressing of lime. Make fipe with the rake,

WORK FOR THE WEEKI

notes by D. TAN NOCK, AHR.H.S.'P

and with the hoe draw drills abou three inches deep at 12 inches apart i In the bottom of these drills plani I the seedlings at nine inches apan ! and water in. In weather such a: we are experiencing at present there is little difficulty in transplanting wallflower, but they will , require frequent dustings of lime to keep slugs in check and to prevent club root. , Allow the tuberous begonias to develop their flowers, but pinch out the female flowers on the double varieties. Pot on perpetual flowering carnations to their flowering pots. v THE FLOWER GARDEN The wet weather has made weeding and cleaning up more difficult than usual, and unless weeds are carried off they are just planted back again. Advantage should be taken of all dry weather to hoe or fork over the beds and borders, to mow lawns and keep things as neat and tidy as possible. Continue to stake dahlias, michaelmas daisies, and gladioli and to thin and tie in the young growths on rambler roses. Carnations should be at their best just now, but they are just showing colour. Sweet peas''are also backward, and have a tendency to drop their buds. Continue to lift daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, and'scillas and to replant all except tulips and hyacinths again as soon as possible. Daffodils do well in the grass, and wherever space is available they should be planted. It is more effective to plant the various varieties in drifts than to mix them all up, and there are two methods of planting. One is to scatter the bulbs and to plant them individually where they lie. Another is to mark out irregular groups with sticks, to lift the turf with a spade about nine inches square and to a depth of four inches. Break up the soil in the hole with the spade or a crowbar, mix in a handful of bone meal, and then plant five bulbs in each. Put back the turf and tramp or beat it down. Disbud roses to get good flowerp and spray with lime sulphur or liver of sulphur for mildew and black spot. Mark one or two of the best Sweet Williams for seed saving. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN The wet weather has encouraged the growth of young wood in bush fruits, and considerable thinning out should be done in gooseberries and currants to allow light and air to get into the centre of the bushes. Summer prune peaches, nectarines and apricots growing against walls or fences. Where strawberry runners are not required for future planting they should be removed, and when required they should be limited to about six on each plant, and these should be pegged down or fixed in some way to encourage rooting. Continue to ‘dig potatoes as they are required for the kitchen and to select medium-sized tubers from the best plants to provide sets for future planting. Place them in shallow boxes, expose them to light to green, and then store away in a cool frost-proof shed. Plant out cabbage, autumn cauliflower, savoys, curly greens, leeks and winter broccoli. Plant out lettuce and celery and sow seed of shorthorn carrots, round beet, white and yellow turnips, silver beet and lettuce. Pinch out the tips of the stems of peas and beans to encourage the development of pods, and stake when necessary. CYCLAMEN . Cyclamen persicum, the greenhouse cyclamen, is a native of Greece, Palestine, and other parts of Syria, but, like many of our garden plants, the modern varieties are not much like the original wild species. It is a member of the Primula family, and one of the most useful of our winter and spring flowering greenhouse plants. It is not very liable to attacks of any insect or fungoid pest, and does not require much heat at any time. The colours of the large flowered varieties are varied and beautiful, ranging from pure white, through pink,

t salmon-pink, salmon-scarlet, crim- . son, crimson and white, mauve, and t hydrange-pink. Old tubers, if caret fully dried off and stored in a cool 3 shady place can be grown on from ; year to year, but it is better to raise ; a number from seed every year, and > not to retain the old plant for longer i than a second year. The most satis- > factory way to cultivate them is to sow the seed as soon as ripe in ■ the early autumn in six-inch pots ; half filled with crocks, or Seed pans. ! The soil mixture is one of two-parts • Lam, one leaf mould and one sand. ; As the seeds are fairly large, they can be spread evenly over the surface soil and pushed in with the fingers, and lightly covered with fine . soil. Water well, cover with a ; sheet of glass, shade with a piec6 of : paper and stand in the greenhouse in a temperature of from 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The time taken to germinate will depend on the freshness of the seed, but it is not long until little round things appear on the surface of the soil; when the shade and glass is removed and the pots stood up near the glass. As soon as the little seedlings can be handled ‘with ease they are pricked out into boxes or pans of light, rich soil, and grown on in the warm greenhouse until they are large enough to pot up into three-inch pots. The soil would be loam two parts, wellrotted manure and leafmould in equal parts, one part; sand or lime rubble half a part. At this stage it is not possible to keep the little tuber on the surface, but it should not be buried any deeper than necessary. They are grown on steadily until about the present time when they are sufficiently well advanced and well rooted to be potted up into five or six-inch pots in which they will eventually flower. They are still grown on in the cool greenhouse up near the glass and standing on a bed of ashes or fine screenings, which is kept moist. They have to be watered carefully at first, sprayed overhead night and morning during sunny weather, and shaded from bright sunshine. When well rooted in the new soil they can be stood on a bed of ashes in a cold frame, the sashes being removed on still, warm nights, and dull days, shade being provided during bright sunny weather, and careful overhead spraying carried out whenever weather conditions are favourable. As the buds develop they can be taken into the greenhouse and given w.eak liquid manure once a week. For the final potting a soil mixture of three parts turfy

loam, one well rotted manure or leafmould, half a part sand, a six-inch potful of crushed charcoal and one of bone meal to every barrowload of the mixture can be used. The old plants which have been resting under the greenhouse stage with the pots laid on their sides can be shaken out as soon as new growth becomes evident and repotted in six-inch pots, taking care to keep the tuber on the surface or at least only half buried in the soil. Cyclamen are not very liable to attacks of insect pests, and red spider can be kept down by regular spraying and by growing them in as cool conditions as possible. Green fly can be killed by fumigating or spraying with Blackleaf 40. Cyclamen are not at all tender, and they can be grown in the open in a sheltered and semi-shaded position. The only drawback is that the flowers are liable to be spattered with mud being so near the ground, but this can be overcome by sheltering them with a sash or sheet of glass when in flower. STREPTOCARPUS The streptocarpus are natives of South Africa, but, like the cyclamen, they have been greatly improved during recent years, and they have large flowers borne on thin, stiff stalks, the colours being white, pink, red, blue and blush pink, with or without streaks in the throats. They are easy to raise from seed, and if . this is sown in July the seedlings, as soon as large enough to handle, can be pricked out into boxes of light soil composed of loam and leafmould in equal parts, with half a 1 part of sand. The seed is very fine ' and has to be sown with great care , on the surface, a little sand sprinkled i

in amongst it, and then covered with a sheet of glass and shaded. Place in a temperature of from 55 to 60 degrees and grow on in a similar temperature until they are ready to be potted into their flowering pots. Their growth is peculiar, for they first of all develop one leaf until it is a fair size, and then send up a few more fleshy ones from the base. The flower buds also arise from the base of the large leaf. As the seedlings grow they are potted first into three-inch pots, and later, when these are filled with roots, to fives, in which they will flower the first season. They commence to flower in December and continue on until the autumn, when they are quite happy in a cool greenhouse or one with just a little heat on cold nights. In the autumn they can be rested for a little in a cool house, but not in any

way dried off; and when growtl commences again in spring they car be shaken out find repotted in sixinch pots, using a soil composed oi two parts loam, half a part wellrotted manure, half a part leafmould, half a part sand and lime rubble, with a six-inch potful Ibl bone meal and crushed charcoal tc every barrowload of the mixture. They will flower early in summer and continue on until the seedlings can take their place, when all except those required for seed-saving should be thrown away. Their cultivation is like the cyclamen, except that they flower during summer and autumn, and the cyclamen in winter and spring. They certainly require a little heat during the early stages, but later on when in flower they are quite satisfactory in the cool greenhouse. Those with a small greenhouse with a little heat who like to specialise in the cultivation of two good'flowering plants could do no better than grow cyclamen and streptocarpus. Those who desire a varied collection and a continuous display can grow primulas, cinerarias, schizanthus, calceolarias, geraniums, pelargoniums, tuberous begonias, and chrysanthemums, with cyclamen and streptocarpus, of course.