GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3330, 9 January 1918, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

By D. Tannock. j WORK FOR THE WEEK. TIIE GREENHOUSE. Now that the .weather is warmer and more settled, the ventilators can remain open day and night, except when the wind is cold, the idea being to grow the plants as nearly as possible under open-air conditions, with a little shade and shelter. Cinerarias will soon be ready to pot up from the boxes, into which they were pricked out from the ceed pots, the stellata section being placed in four-inch size and the other kinds in three-inch. Use a fairly, light soil, composed of loam two parts, leaf-mould one part, sand half a part, and a dusting of bone meal. If a little dry cow manure is available, rub it through a halfinch sieve and add half a part. After potting, stand on a bed of ashes; shade from strong sunshine; and spray overhead night and morning. The second sowing of primulas and cinerarias, will soon be ready for pricking out into seed boxes, and as soon as greenhouse calceolarias are largo enough to ■ handle they can bo pricked out too. Pelargoniums are nearmg the end of their season, and as soon as tho tuberous begonias are available they can bo placed outeido in full sunshine to ripen off their wood. Later on they will be cut down, and tho ripened shoots inserted as cuttings Ferns, palms, and other foliage plants will now have exhausted tho soil in their pots, and will require watering with weak liquid manure once a week. As soon as seedlings of stocks, canterbury bells, and forget-me-nots are large enough to handle they should be pricked out into boxes. Shade and spray during the warm sunny weather, and as soon as they are established in the boxes place them outside, whero they can be shaded from strong sunshine during the dry weather, but fully exposed to all dew and rain. THE FLOWER GARDEN Continue to spray roses for mildew, cut and pick off all dead blooms and keep tho surface soil stirred up. Preparations can now be made for budding roses. A list should have been made when they were at their best, and as soon as tho young wood is ripe enough work can be commenced. I shall deal with tho details of this interesting operation in next week's notes. Thero are several very interesting and ornamental native shrubs and small trees in bloom at present, all of which should be included in a shrubbery if room is available. In fact, they should find a place in most gardens, even though it should _ mean the rooting out of uninteresting exotics such as laurels, spruces, and monkey puzzles. jLiie manukas are very ornamental. Even the white one, were it less common, would be worth cultivating. The pink variety, Leptospcrmun scoparium, var. Chapmanii, is a very beautiful shrub when well grown. It was discovered on the hills near Dunedin by Mr Justice Chapman, and is freely propogated by nurserymen. Varieties showing various shades of pink are fairly common on the hills, and near Queenstown varieties as dark as Leptospermum Nicholii have been found. The crimson Leptospormun Nicholii is valuablo both for garden and house decoration, the long, slender shoots being easy to arrange.

All the manukas thrivo in fairly poor dry soil on a sunny, exposed position. The large-flowered ribbon wood, GayaLyallii, has largo white flowers like cherry blossom. It must be sheltered from strong winds, and it likes a moist, rich soil. Ihough most of the seeds are destroyed by a weevil, a few usually escape, and selfsown seedlings can bo obtained from under and round well-established trees. Cuttings of young wood as thick as the thumb will root quite readily, and soon grow into good plants. The ratas arc' very ornamental, and worth growing either for their bright crimson flowers, their glossy green foliage, or the young red shoots so beautiful in spring. The South Island rata, Metrosedcros lucida, is the hardiest, and its flowers are the brightest, but the North Island species, Metrosederos tomentosa- (the Christmas tree or pohutukawa), will grow quito well in many placos in the south. It grows in gardens on tho hills round Duneclin, and the two plants in the Botanio Gardens have only been touched by frost during one winter since they were planted. Tho native brooms aro more curious than ornamental. In most cases tho leaves have entirely disappeared, their work being done by the grreen stems. Notosportium carmichaelese, tho pink broom, has graceful, leafless, pendulous stems, covered with small, bright, rosy flowers, in midsummer. It thrives in a warm, dry position on the rock garden, and is an ornamental native. Among the exotic shubs in flower at the present time the buddleias occupy a foremost places. Buddleia Veitchiana is. a Chinese plant. The long shoots which bend downwards are terminated by bunches of violet-mauve flowers, with orange centres. It is a very quick-growing plant, will thrive in any poor soil, and as it flowers on the young wood, should be cut hard back each winter. Another buddleia, Buddleia Colvilei, is well worth growing, but it is still rare in New Zealand gardens. It is quite distinct from all other buddleias. Its foliage is silver grey, and its flowers, which resemble a rosy Pentstemon, hang in clusters at the ends of the branches. It is a strong grower, and will thrive in a poor,dry place. Pernettya speciosa is a useful shrub for an odd corner or the back of the rock garden. It forms a dense mass of slender red stems, with evergreen myrtle-like leaves, and is covered with little raecemes of andromeda-like white flowers, followed later on by ornamental berries. It produces quantities of suckers, by which it can be easily propagated. ' v THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. The chief work in tho vegetable garden at present will be _ weeding, cultivating, watering, and applying liquid manure to crops which require it. In the drier districts watering will be required during the present month, for crops must be kept growing if satisfactory results are to be obtained. A thorough soaking which will wet right down to the subsoil once a week is better than a daily sprinkle, and when the moisture is kept in either by scuffling the surface or by mulching with manure or grass a good watering might do for a fortnight. Liquid manure should be applied after a soaking with clean water if the soil is at all dry. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. "Opoho."—lt is certainly better to dig your potatoes than allow the blight to affect the tubers, but you ought to be sure that it is the real potato blight before digging. .The recent cold winds have bruised and damaged the margins and tips of the leaves, causing them to become black, but it is not disease. Blight attacks the leaves in patches, and often the inner part of the leaf is affected while the margin is quite clean. It would not be advisablo to replant a patch of potatoes attacked by blight. ••R. G. 0.," Castle street.—Do not cut the foliage off your potatoes, even if it is two feet high. The surrounding shelter may have caused exceptional growth, but it will ripen off all right, and a good crop should be obtained. "Heather." —Scotch heather will grow quite readily in and around Dunedin. Seeds ripen and self-sown seedlings appear among the grass on the paths in the Northern Cemetery, and patches have been established on the hills. Put out your plant with soil attached in a cool, moist position; water and shade with a few branches. "B. R."—-The cultivation of the plants mentioned bv you is dealt with from time to time. You ought to be able to grow most of them out of. doors during the summer, but some protection will be necessarv during winter. Asparagus,- wandering willie, trefoil, and foliage begonias require shade; the other will stand full sunshine.