Miscellaneous. WATERING IN FROSTY WEATHER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2368, 20 July 1899, Page 8

Miscellaneous. WATERING IN FROSTY WEATHER.

It is a golden rule that water should he given to plants in low temperatures only when absolutely necessary. Thus with, say, lOdeg or more of frost outdoors and an iri&ide temperature barely above freezing, water only such plants as are suffering for want of moisture. Keep them dry up till the last moment, for if frost should enter it -will have much less effect on plants in dry soil than on those whose soil is wet, and whose tissues are full of sap. These remarks apply to window plants with, perhaps, greater forco than to those in cool greenhouses. Hardy plants in quite cold houses should never be watered at all when the soil is frozen. The same remark applies to plants in frames, which during severe weather are best allowed to remain closed with mats, straw, etc., day and night, until the weather breaks. A prolonged sojourn in the dark does no harm, for the plants do not grow — perceptibly, at any rate — in such low temperatures. While on the subject of watering we would remind readers that plants, in rooms especially, and cool and warm greenhouses, should be watered throughout " the winter months with water similar or Warmer in temperature to the atmosphere of the house. To water plants in a temperature" ' of 40deg or mote with water from -which ice has had to be removed is a serious mistake, and considerably checks growth. Il water cannot be stored for, say, 24 hours in the greenhouse, then add boiling water to that intended for use in sufficient quantity to take off the chill.

CANNAS FOR WINTER.

Cannas, 20 years ago,, yere scarcely worth growing, being tall and lanky, with miserablelooking flowers ,and poor foliage; but the cannas of the prese & ni'dJfy-%re magnificent, and no plants can be more'useful for decorating the conservatory in winter. With a good selection of cannas they may be had duuing the whole year, for they will continue to throw up their handsome heads without intermission if well supported ; nor are they any the woree for doing po if repotted in spring, just after flowering, and again placed over the pipes; fre?h growth will b€ made more quickly than on roots which have been allowed to become dormant, and there appears to be practically no limit to their powers of produoing fine blossoms where sufficient warmth and- rich food is supplied.

Some of the very best of tho varieties are : Queen Charlotte, about 20in high, with very large flowers in red, broadly edged with deep yellow. Egandale, a little taller, with deep bronzy foliage, and deep carmine flowers. Austria, a very handsome plant with enormous yellow flowers, slightly dotted with brown. Stalia, in crimson and gold. Kaiser Wilhelm 11, a dwarf plant with large scarlet flowers. Duchess of York, yellow, thickly spotted with crimson. Edouard Mieg, a variety with extra broad petals ; of very dwarf habit. All the best new cannas do not grow more than 30in hi height, and can scarcely be excelled in effect, either for conservatory, room, balcony, or garden in summer. — I. L. R., in Amateur Gardening.

RENOVATING OLD FRUIT TREES,

All fruit trees after a certain time fail to give satisfactory results, . especially if they have been iiegle'cted^_ In some cases the wood produced may be too gross for ihe formation of flower* budV, a&Hn others too weak to produce anything like an ordinary crop of fruitVarious causes bring about- these results, such as the trees growing in unsuitable soil, also trees that have forced their roots downwards into stagnant and poor soil, and in some cases bad pruning. Root-pruning is one of the most beneficial methods of renovating old treea which for years have produced nothing but a thicket of worthless branches. This method consists in the severance of the larger and coarser roots, and tho production, in -sonseqnence, of ,a much larger number of the small feeding roots, upon which root absorption depends. Root pruning should be performed with as much or more painstaking care as when pruning the tops of trees. In the case of standards, it is the safest way to undertake to do only halfway round the tree one season, and the other half the following year. This does not check the trees at all, and a crop of fruit would not be lost by so doing. Commence by digging a trench Sft deep and 4ft or sft away from tho stem of the tree ; afterwards uso a fork to get tho soil away from the roots with care and into the trench that has been made ; as the trench gels full, a shovel should be used to cleai it, but on no account should a spade oi shovel be ur»ed to clear the roots. As the roots are brought to the surface they should be carefully pegged back with notched pieces of stick for safety. When all tho roots have been got up tho strong^ tap root, which forms in the centre of the tree, should be cut with a sharp spade, and the bottom of the hole covered with pieces of slate to prevent the roots getting out of bounds again. .The hole, should "be filled 'up to within 18in of the surface with a mixture of good sweet soil, well rotted manure, old mortar .rubble, and burnt earth or wood ashes — one barrow of loam, half a barrow of burnt earth, half barrow decomposed manure, half sweet leaf-soil and lime rubble being a capital compost to promote young fibrous roota on old trees. J?hß roots should be carefully spread out quite straight, as if they were being nailed to a wall, and after each layer of roots a layer of the above goil should be well rammed about them and made aB firm as possible. This phould be carried out until the uppermost roots have been covered ; they should be 3in or 4in below the surface. A good watering with a rosed can will settle the soil about the roots, and a mulching of Btrawy manure from the stables will protect them during the winter, and which could with advantages be replenished in the spring tc keep the toil moist during the hot days of summer. The permanent effects of rootpruuing are not only seen in less top growth and more fruit, but i* also reduces top-prun-ing to the lowest limits.

If this system is too laborious" for some readers the following method has much to commend it. Cleanse tho stems and branches of old trees which are covered with lichen and moss with a strong solution of the. insecticides which have been recommended in previous issues, cut out the worthiest interior branches, the leaves of which cannot reach the light, and thus throw the sap into the leaves and branches that face -the sun, aJid which will form fruit buds. Drive goodpized holes with a crowbar well down into the earth, the more the better, from the trunk of the tree, to beyond the spread of the branches, and flood them with good strong manure water, or, better still, with some good fertiliser dissolved in hot water and allowed to get cool, and used according tc tho directions given with such. Afterwards fill in the holes with the compost advised above, pressing it down as firmly as possible.— J. STONEY, in Amateur Gardening.

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