GARDENING NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3331, 16 January 1918, Page 6

GARDENING NOTES.

By D. Tannock. WORK FOB THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE. Where the greenhouse is used for flowering the plants as well as for propagating them, it is better to shift the young primulas and cinerarias out into a cold frame. Shade the glass, and on still, warm, nights remove the sashes altogether and allow the dew to fall on the plants. Sashes can also be removed in warm, showery weather ; rain is far better than artificial watering. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Tho budding of roses can now be undertaken, and anyone with a few stocks will find it both an interesting and profitable operation. There is considerable difference of opinion as to the most suitable stock. Nurserymen prefer one which will root readily and grow rapidly, but it is hardly likely that any one variety will be the very best under all varying conditions as to soil and climate. A stock which 'produces abundance of fibrous roots shifts well, and is suitable for light gravelly soils, is generally used, but the stock most suitable for tho heavy soils and cool conditions in Otago and Southland is undoubtedly the dog rose. This can bo raised either from seed or cuttings, or collected from the hedges or roadsides, but as this is not the season for obtaining it, I shall deal with tho propagation of tho stocks at the right time. The stocks are considered ready for budding when the bark separates readily from the wood. The common term is "when the sap rises," but as a matter of fact tho sap does not. rise in this layer of tissue, but through tho sapwood. It is really when the stock commences its second period of growth that the layer of tissue between the_ bark and wood tho cambium becomes active, adding new tissue to the wood on the inside and tho bark on the outside, that the colls arc full of sap and break up readily.

In the same way the buds arc ready when the young shoots are firm, and the buds in the axils of the leaves plump and well developed. If taken too young, the buds are not properly developed, and the bark is so soft that it will not stand being pushed under the bark of the stock. If allowed to get too old and firm, the bark can only be separated with difficulty from the wood, and budding with the wood in has to be resorted to.

Select budwood from the plants you desire to propagate. A shoot which has flowered, with well-developed buds in the axils of the leaves, will do; cut away the soft, unripened part of the shoot, and remove the foliage, leaving about half an inch of the leaf stalk for a, handle to the bud. Write the name of the variety on a label, and wrap the budwood in damp moss or a wet rag to prevent it from shrivelling. Wlnpi jb;x/iding Lush roses it is desirable to get ttio bud as low as possible. The soil is often scraped away and the bud inserted below the surfaco level. Tie back the branches of the stocks either by placing a stick under them and pressing thorn back or by tying them back with a string. They aro very prickly and troublesomo and it adds to the comfort of budding to havo them as well out of the way as possible. " -

Mako a cut in the bark about an inch to an inch and sUhalf long up the stem and

another across, forming the letter T. Bo quito euro that you go right through the Dark, for a cut in tho wood will not do any harm. With the point of tho knife lift the corners of the bark where the two cute intersect one another; then with the handle of the budding knife—a budding knife has a flat handle—press the bark away from mo wooS on both sides of the long cut. Take tho budwood and commence to cut into the bark about half an inch below the bud, cut upwards and complete tho cutting about half an inch above the bud. You will then have a bud, a piece of wood, and a piece of bark. Insert the point of the knife between tho wood and the bark and with a quick jerk remove it. If the shoot is in tho proper condition tho wood will come away readily, leaving a shield shaped piece of bark with the if too hard, the bud is liable to be pulled right out. Hold the bud by the little piece of leaf stalk whjch was left - for a handle, lift up the corners of the bark on the stock, and press .the bud downwards between the bark and tho wood into the long part of the T cut. It ougbt to slip in easily. With a piece of raffia tie tightly above tho bud, wind round the stock leaving the bud peeping out and finish off about half an inch below it. Tho surface of tho cambium layer in the bud comes into direct contact with the surface of the cambium layer in tho stock. Tho new cell tissue they form unites them together and the bud of the scion becomes a bud on the stock. Later on, the little bit of leaf stalk/ can be touched and if it drops off readily like a ripe leaf in autumn the union is all right and the raffia can be cut when the stem begins to swell. In the autumn the stock will be cut over a few inches above the bud, and when the spring arrives the whole of the energy and sap of the stock will be ctirected into the one bud, which will grow out and soon produce roses. As a rule the plants are not transferred to the rose garden until the following autumn.

Budiding is an operation in plant surgery, and caro has to be taken to have the knife as sharp and clean as possible, to have all tieing material ready, and to get through it as quickly as possible. Otherwise the cambium, which is very delicate tissue, will dry up and a union become impossible. Standards are very useful in the modern rose garden, and budding on a standard is easier than stooping down among prickly dwarfs, and as it is also possible to put on several buds, there are more chances of success. If the bark of the main stem will not lift, you can bud on to the side branches as close as possible to the main stem.

The rock garden, though now past its best for the season, requires attention from time to time. Weeds have to be removed and the seed vessels out away, as they form unless the seed is required. Seeds of celmisias, primulas, and dianthus are now ripening. They are to be collcctedl just before the ripening process is completed, plaoed in paper"~bags, and left to fall out. Sow at once _in a nice shady bed or in boxes, and they will soon provide plants ready to put out. There are quite a number of most interesting native alpine plants, and no doubt many, when on holiday, will-have opportunities for obtaining them. The mountain lily (Ranunculus Lyalli) is the best of all our alpines, but it is hard to accommodate at the lower levels. On the hills it is only found on the shady sides of the mountain spurs or beside the little streams. This at once suggests partial shado, ■ moisture, good drainagCj and a peaty soil. When collecting specimens do not dig up the largo ones in flower, but hunt round for younger ones. Dig them up with as little injury to their fleshy roots as possible, carefully remove all tho soil, and paek in damp moss or pieces of newspaper. All native alpine plants are better removed from their soil and packed in moss or paper. You can pack a great many more kinds in a bundlo and they are much lighter and easier to carry—an important point when tho paths are steep and the way long. Several native shrubs can bo transplanted quite easily at this season. Do not brinpr away much soil, pack with damp moss, and heel in in sandy soil in a cool, moist position. The rata, red pine, red birch, totara, and cedar are all easy to transplant, and will thrive in a town garden. Newly-collected alpine plants should bo lined out in a bed of sand and leaf mould in a shady position, and shaded with scrim or branches until they recover. They will be ready to plant in their permanent positions autumn.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. " Briar."—There is a difference between the sweet briar arid dog ros-c. The sweet briar has the characteristic scented foliage, the young shoots are usually green, and the spines havo a very decided hook. The foliage of the dog rose has no scent, tho stems are usually red or reddish brown, and the spines are not hooked. Dog roses, when lifted from the hedges, may sucker, but a plant grown from a cutting, if properly prepared, will not do so. All the strong-growing bush roses and climbers will do well on their own roots. Notes on raising roses from cuttings and the preparation of stocks will be given at the right season. "Amateur" (Musselburgh).—A very small saddle boiler will heat an Bx - house and a propagating tank. It will havo to bo built in with fire bricks, and the long, shallow tank about 6in deep, with a bed of sand or sand and leaf mould on top would bo most suitable. I do not think you should go to the expense of building m a boiler and fixing pipes. As you require* tho heat for only a short time in spring some method of heating with gas would bo cheaper. A tank 6x4 and 6in deep could bo heated by gas, and, with the propagating bed on top, this would provide bottom heat, and at the same time heat your greenhouse. I consider you are quite right to raise your own plants.