HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3250, 28 June 1916, Page 8

HORTICULTURAL NOTES.

By J. Gebbie.

CHRISTMAS ROSES

These plants during the dull days of winter are the most precious oi hardy garden flowers, and should prove a popular theme if for no other reason than the sentiment which surrounds them. In the Oid Country they arc popular flowers at. Christmas time, tho pure white blooms, being in demand for decorative purpos'.,. Unfortunately, they are not generally well cultivated, and the fact may be due to peglect and not less so to the method of treatment recommended in garden books and calendars—to lift and transfer them to the greenhouse to flower. This injunction, when religiously carried out, results in debilitated, leafiless clumps. To lift theso plants and place them in the green house lor a time robs the garden of one oi its greatest treasures, not for the present season only, but in all probability for a couple of years to come. Sometimes tho plants perish outright, because of the unreasonable treatment meted out to them. Far better to protect them in the garden where they were, and, in so doing, preserve them for tho garden now and for the time to come. Wnere plants are required for greenhouse decoration they should be grown in small tubs —or, rather, deep pots,—so that the lifting and transferring to the greenhouse inflicts no unnecessary harm. Thug, treated the established examples constitute very beautiful objects, and no plant is worthier of greater care. Plants lifted from the open ground as the flowering period approaohes and placed in the greenhouse receive such a check from the severing of the root fibres at lifting-time that thev hardly ever retake to the soil, with the" result that the plant is thrown upon its own resources. A simple way to protect the flowers from the weather is to place over them hand-lights or garden frames, to be removed when the flowering season is past. JASMINUM NUDIFLORA. This jasminum is a true winter-flowering plant, and is precious by reason of the time of its flowering, and also in that its twigs may bo plucked in tho forward bud statu to- expanding in water a few hours later within doors. The leafless twigs and long, flexible shoots produce in great abundance beautiful golden-yellow flowers. Though the leafless twigs are not admired by ail, yet no one fails to admire the rich colouring of the flowers, while to others there are both character and charm in the winter jarb of this plant, a certain contrast of olive-green stem and golden blossom, which has to bo realised to be more fully appreciated. Anyone growing this plant should keep tho garden shears or pruning-knife off it in cider that its_ blossoms may brighten the garden in then season. SEAKALE. This is a hardy British plant, and, as its name implies, is partial to tho sea coast. But it thrives well in any ordinary garden soil, provided that it be well prepared for it. To obtain a supply or stock of roots it is needful to sow seeds. For its reception, ground ahonld be trenched 2ft deep and well 'manured. Then during September drills 2in in depth should bo drawn with hoc end lino at 20in apart. Along theso the seeds should be sown thinly, and then covered tip. When they aro all up they should bo thinned out in the, rows to lOin apart, as later on they need ample room. The ground needs to bo kept well hood until the strong leaves cover the ground. In tho late autumn the leaves, being mature, will die away. Now tho whole of the roots may bo carefully lifted; then each 0110 must be hard-trimmed of all branching, or side roots cut off close to the main root, which, when thus trimmed, should be about Sin long, and have a dormant crown at tho tip. When 1 rimming off all side roofs tho pieces should bo laid one way, so that tho upper ends be known. But the first thing to do next is to chop down in tho open ground with a spade a trench 8m deep and nearly upright. In this tho crowns should be placed on end upwards quite close together, and some soil put up to them and gently trodden, as well as a little over tho crowns. All theso

roots n ay bo, a few at a time, through the

winter, put into boxes or tubs, or on the floor cf a close, dark collar, or in any warm, but quite dark, place, in several inches of soil, and well watered, and from each crown will come stems that, being in the dark, will be blanched white and tender, and when 7in long- may be. cut with a part of the crown and cooked. It is then a most delicious vegetable, and lasts, if there bo plenty of roots, for some three or four months. All the side roots trimmed of? should be made into proper root cuttings. lhese should be from 4in to sin long. The top part should be cut quite level, and the lower part slanting. Then all these rootcuttings should be stood in trenches just deep enough to bury the tops. when, being placed thickly, soil is put against them and a httlc over them. Planting may be done at the end of September or early in October. For the reception of these cuttings the ground should be well trenched una manured as before advised. The cuttings should bo dibbled into it in rows 20in apart, ami 12in apart in the rows, to give ample room. The tops of the cuttings should be _ buried half an inch in the ground. When in a few weeks leaves app.-ar. each root should be gone over and all but one crown removed. ' The ground must be well hoed, and one dressing of salt or nitrate at the rate of s!b per rod, well hoed in, will be of advantage. The roots will have to l)e lifted and treated each whiter, just, as advised for the seedlings, and trimmed, root-cuttings being preserved and again planted in fresh soil. To have late blanched growths some of the rows may hi left in tile ground, and towards the end of Aujfust place some light, loose soil over them in a ridge 9in deep. When th'.i ground shows signs of cracking the shoots may be cut. These roots may remain io produce crowns if desired for the following winter. CHRYSANTIIEMDM CUTTINGS. The best, method of increasing chrysanthemums is by means of cuttings, and the time when they should be taken depends upon what time the grower wishes to have Ins plants in flower. June or July are good months if cuttings are obtainable. One of the most important-points to bear in mind when taking the cuttings is to get them from the base of the plant, coming through thesoil, and not from the stem itself. Some varieties produce ground cuttings so sparsely that sometimes .one must take them from the stem. A cutting should bo from Sin to 3in long, and should be cut off with a sharp knife immediately below the point where a leaf joins the stem. The bottom leaf should be cut off close to the stem. The cuttings should be inserted in small pots, which have been previously propared for their reception. These being perfectly clean, place a few broken crocks in the bottom for drainage, fill up with a soil made up of equal parts of loam, leaf soil, and coarse. sand. The soil must be made fairly firm. Cover the surface with silver sand, so that when the hole is made for the cutting the sand will fall into it, and the base of the cutting will thus rest on sand, which materially assists it to root. Make the hole for the cutting with a blunt-pointed, small stick, Take care that the !>aso of the cutting is at the bottom of the hole, and mako it firm at the base. The best place in which to put the cuttings after all are in the pots is in a cold frame, and within 9in of the glass. Admit a little air on mild days. Cuttings may be rooted easily if plunged in sand on a stage in the greenhouse. GREVILLEA ROBUSTA. The eilk oak (Grevillea robusta) is an elegant pot plant. The graceful, deeply cut foliage makes it a desirable plant for room decoration. It is easily raised from sown in spring, and may bo grown in ordinary soil. It is better to have young plants every few years, and discard the old ones, as they generally loso their bottom leaves, and, being comparatively fast growers, soon get out of hand. In Australia —of which country most of the Grevilleas are native—it grows to a height of from 80ft to 100 ft.