THE GARDEN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27387, 12 May 1950, Page 8

THE GARDEN

Contributed by D. XANNOCK, A.H.R.H.S.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS "Pear," Miller’s Flat.—The pear sent is a William Bon Chhetien. an excellent pear for bottling or canning. It is the most popular canning pear in the United States, where it is - known as the Bartlett. It is stated that it appeared as a chance seedling in the garden of a Mr Wheeler, a school master at Aldermaston, Berkshire, England, probably about 1765. It is considered to be one of the best mid-season pears and should be picked before it is quite ripe and allowed to mature in store, when it develops an excellent flavour and texture. When allowed to ripen on the tree it becomes mealy. It is not a keeper. H. C. L., Wanaka.—The oval-leaved privet makes a good hedge in the Central. It is very hardy and transplants well. I am afraid Lonicera nitida would not stand the frost.

A. A., Benhar.—The plant you will want is Hamamilis mollis, the Chinese witch hazel. It bears fragrant goldenyellow flower clusters on the bare stems and branches in early winter, and is a very striking shrub. It could be obtained for you through any of the Dunedin seedsmen. “ Gypsophila,” St. Kilda.—The doubleflowered gypsophila,' Bristol Fairy, is usually gralted on to a piece of the root of the common single one. This is not a difficult operation. “ Interested,” Paerau.—Your raspberry leaves have been eaten by a small insect, probably one of the mites. You should collect and burn all the leaves when they drop, and also any rubbish which may have collected among the canes. Dust the soil with arsenate of lead powder or horticultural naphthaline. You should carry out the usual spraying of tne young canes with arsenate of lead as soon as the old ones are cut away, and again in the spring as the buds begin to show signs of growth. Afterwards the plants can be dusted with Derns powder at intervals until the fruit begins to form. TREES AND SHRUBS

Most of the hardy trees and shrubs, both ornamental and fruiting can be propagated by means of hardwood cuttings, which is the simplest method, and the one requiring the least special equipment, such as cloches, bell glasses, frames, or glasshouses with bottom heat. Most gardeners like to increase their stock of favourite trees and shrubs, either to replace old, worn-out specimens, to extend their plantations, or to give away a specimen to a frienci. The most important point is the selection of the irght kind of wood. It must be young wood, that is. of the current season’s growth. It must be well ripened, which means that there is a sufficient supply of plant food stored up in it to heal up the cut surface, called callus, and to form the young roots. It should not be too thin and spindly, nor should It be too soft and pithy, and, of course, it should be clean and healthy and taken from a tree or shrub which is also clean and healthy and of a desirable type. There are two types of cuttings—(l) Stem cuttings, and (2) root cuttings. The former is the more common, and they may be either pieces of the stem or main branches, usually about nine inches to a toot in length, or heel cuttings, which are side branches pulled off the main stem, or main branches, and are usually' about six to nine inches. It is considered that heel cuttings are the best, for the dense piece of wood, where it was attached to the stem or branch, is not so likely to decay before it heals over, and roots form readily just above it. When preparing a heel cutting, the piece of bark and wood is trimmed off with a sharp knife, and in the case of the stem cutting it is usually cut across immediately below a node or joint. Root cuttings are usually pieces of the true root, which are of a soft or fleshy nature, and are cut into three or four inches in length. It is rather remarkable that pieces of stem can form roots and pieces of roots can form stems. * PREPARATION OF CUTTINGS' Making the cuttings is usually an inside job for wet or frosty weather, and when collecting the material from which the cuttings are to be made this should be labelled at once, for it is so easy to get varieties mixed. When making the cuttings they should be cut to the desired length, which is usually about a foot on an average, and special care has to be taken wnen cutting tne shoot across immediately below a node or joint that it is not split or splintered. The leaves, if any, should be removed from the part to be buried in the ground, and in the case of evergreen kinds it is also desirable to cut the unripened tip. Should the weather and soil conditions be unsuitable when the cuttings are prepared, they can be tied into bundles and buried in sand or light soil to keep them fresh until conditions are favourable. The time for selecting hardwood cuttings and Inserting them varies, but as a general rule the present month is very suitable and the autumn is certainly better than the spring. For rooting cuttings in the open it is better to prepare a special bed, if the soil is a heavy clay, but if light gravel or sandy, any well-drained place will do. Should it be necessary to prepare a special bed. the soil should be removed to a depth of a foot, six inches of brickbats or shingle put in, and a foot of soil composed of loam, sand and leafmould, or peat, in equal parts put in, they bed being raised six inches above the surrounding soil to ensure good drainage. In preparation for inserting the cuttings a trench is .taken out with the spade, about nine inches to a foot deep, having a straight side, and a layer of sand or a mixture of sand and leafmould put in the bottom. The cuttings are placed against the straight side at 2in to 3in apart, with their base resting on the sand in the bottom, at such a depth that three parts of the cutting will be buried when the trench is filled in. It is important to tramp the soil firmly when filling in the trench, and to leave the surface level and reasonably rough. .. All roses of the rambler or climbing types, and also the polyanthus, are quite easy to root, pieces of the current season’s growth, well ripened, and about the thickness of a lead pencil, being selected. These are cut into nine to twelve incite* in length, and inserted now. It is also quite easy to root pieces of the stronggrowing bushes, either with or without a heel. FRUITING BUSHES Black currants root quite easily. When preparing the cuttings, the unripened tips are cut off, but it is not necessary to remove any of the buds, for bushes which produce suckers are an advantage. In the case of gooseberries and red currants, which should have a stem, all th** buds except the three top ones arp removed to avoid suckers. The same applies to cuttings of briars or any of the roses which are’ grown as stocks, on to wffiich the bush rosss are to be budded. Suckers are not desirable and all buds except the three top ones, and also all spines, are removed. ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS Many of the flowering trees, such as pranus, pyrus, cherries, etc., can be grown from cuttings of ripened wood, and also such shrubs as spiraeas, flowering currants, wcieelias, buddleias. cornus, forsythias, tamarix, and many more. These all root readily if inserted now. Most of the plants used as hedges can be grown from cuttings made and inserted now These are lonicera, white escallonia, Olearis Forsteri, privet and coprosma. Native shrubs such as veronicas, olearias, senecios. also root readily. Such trees as poplar and willows root with the greatest ease. Birches, hornbeams and elms can also be rooted.