HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3098, 30 July 1913, Page 12

HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Bi J. Gebbib.

GREENHOUSE FERNS AND THEIR CULTURE. Ferns are without question the most delicate and decorative of all foliage plants, besides the interest attaching to them as being the leading representatives of the cryptogamia or flowerloss plants, and the consequent peculiarities of their structure and modes of perpetuation. Among them may be found an almost, endless diversity of forms, textures, and habits of growth, and as house plants .they are considered indispensable, especially for situations to which sunshine is but sparingly admitted. To grow ferns successfully they should be in a compost of vegetable mould with an admixture of sand, and with a layer of not too finely broken charcoal on the bottom of the pots for drainage and as ,-i soil-sweetener. Ferns in pots require fresh potting more or l»ss frequently, according to their .size and also to their rate of growth; but overpotting is injurious. Repotting may ho safely performed at almost any time of the year, hut, in no case should it ho undertaken before the plants have started into growth. When they show the need of some fertilisers by the fronds turning yellow or dying at the tips, they may be watered with a solution of nitrate of soda —half an ounce of the chemical to a gallon of water. Ferns that are grown in warm rooms will require copious watering throughout the growing season. At no season of the year should ferns he allowed to become dry. During the winter months the majority of ferns require considerably loss water than in the active season. The aim of a fern-grower should he to approximate as closely as possible to the conditions found in Nature. The varieties suitable for greenhouse culture are numerous, and most of our native varieties are good subjects for pot culture. Of exotic species the Adiantiuns or maidenhair ferns are most, esteemed. They are all low growers, with branching fronds, varying from simple to decompound. Maidenhair fonts are so called on account of the black shining stalks common to most of them. Another class rtf ferns that are likely to become very popular in the near future are the different Boston ferns (Xephroh pi.s), developed by florists from one of the sword ferns of the tropics into about a dozen varieties, so widely different in many particulars that one can scarcely believe that they had a common origin. The genus Pteris supplies us with a number of highly decorative varieties, exhibiting very extensive variation in the foliage. The stag's horn fern (Platycorium alcioorne) is an interesting fern, and has a pleasing appearance when grown as a basket plant, as its roots, which usually produce young plants on their suifaco, soon make a perfect ball, imparting a singular effect, growing ns it does in all directions. It is found growing on branches of trees in Australia. Java, the East Indies. Madagascar, and Peru. It iof easy culture, and thrives well in the eoo! greenhouse or conservatory. POLYANTHUS FROM SEED. Polyanthus and primroses are better raised from seed than increased by division. Certainly seedlings do not come true to colour, and when a bed is wanted of one shade of colour only plants increased by division can he utilised for the purpose. Seedling plants are more vigorous than those raised by division. This is no detriment in plants that are wanted for bedding. as they may ho planted closer together, and so give a more compact mass of bloom. 'The secret of success in raising a batch of plants by division for bedding is in dividing soon after they go out of b'oom. The host situation for the polyanthus and primrose family is one where they are not exposed too much to the sun. 'They delight in a cool, deep, rich soil, with shelter from rough winds. In raising seedlings there is an advantage in autumn

sowing. Seed sown as soon as gathered germinates freely, and the seedlings may" bo wintered in their seed-boxes, and make nice little plants for putting out the following season. Spring-sown seed will produce good plants for putting out in the late summer or autumn to flower the following spring. Plants of _ these spring-flowering favourites may bo lifted and potted as they are coming into bloom, and they will flower splendidly under glass, end as soon as they have finished flowering return them to the open ground to recover. ROTATION OF CROPS. That there is no hard-and-fast rule to guide in the rotation of crops goes almost without saying, many things having to be considered, such as the texture of the soil an i size and requirements of the garden. At the same time a few general rules may be observed with advantage in assigning the various crops to their respective places. It should always be the aim of the cultivator to alternate, as far as possible, a surface-rooting crop, such as the cabbage tribe, peas, beans, etc., with a root crop, sucii as beet, parsnips, and carrots, though, v ith judicious manuring, the same crop may be grown for a number of years in succession on the same ground. Potatoes, roots, asparagus, and celery should have the lightest and liiiest soil, whilst peas, beans, and the cabbage tribe will succeed where tile ground is heavier. Avoid, as far us possible, having the same piece of ground cropped two winters in succession. Endeavour to have, at least, every second winter for trenching the land and allowing it lo remain bare. Roots such as carrots, beet, and parsnips shoird always be cultivated in well-worked land to avoid forking in the roots. BELLA DONNA LILIES. These lilies (Amaryllis belladonna) arc beautiful autumn-flowering bulbs, which require to be grown in a dry, sunny position. They will not succeed in a shady place, as they require to bo well ripened off each year to flower well. As these bulbs flower in autumn, the best time for planting is directly the leaves have died down in December, and they should not bo kept long out of the ground before replanting. Even when moved under these conditions, and with care, they often fail to flower the same season. In some of the gardens around hero large clumps which have boon established for many years never fail to flower profusely. The boliadona lilies produce early in autesmn, on spikes from to sft high, five to ten fragrant flowers, each as largo as a Christmas lily bloom.

The exceptional mildness of the winter months has had a notable effect on orchards in and around Governor's Pay (says the Press). Peach trees and apricot trees are already in bloom, over a month earlier than has been the case for many years past.