GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3383, 15 January 1919, Page 7

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Bt D. Taknock.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. THE GREENHOUSE AND FRAMES. January 11. 1919. THE GREENHOUSE. ■Where the greenhouse is used for displaying the plants as well as growing them, it 13 better to, remove the young seedling olnerarias and primulas out into a frame. Puring bright sunshine they can be shaded, but the sashes should be removed to allow the dew and warm rains to fall on them. When weather is wet and oold the sashes are better on. The cinerarias can be left in the frames until the flower buds develop and they begin to show colour, but the primulas are better when taken before the cold weather sets in. The pelargoniums will now be nearing the end of their flowering season, and they can be removed to an open situation and exposed to full sunshine to ripen off the stems in preparation for putting in cuttings. The younger plants will flower for tome time yet. and if there is a sufficient number of old plants to provide the cuttings they can be left to continue the display until the begonias are fully developed. Tomatoes will require constant attention to keep the lateral shoots, which spring up in the axils of the leaves, pinched out and the main stems tied up to their supports. Water carefully, giving a good soaking ■when at it. Give plenty of ventilation on all except very cold days, and maintain as dry and warm an atmosphere as possible. If there is too much foliage (and the present dull weather will encourage its growth) a few of the lower leaves can be removed to let the sun in to ripen the fruit; but sufficient leaves should be left to maintain the work of the plant and develop the fruit. , In vineries, where the grapes are colouring, plenty of ventilation should be provided during the day, avoiding draughts; and at night the top ventilators can be- left open a little, the amount of opening varying with the temperature of the winds. If mildew should appear it is an indication ot faulty ventilation, but as it is merely a surface blight it is not hard to control by dusting the affected parts with flowers of sulphur; or, if the vinery has artificial heating, the water pipes can be painted over with sulphur. Scalding of the berries and shanking are also due to .careless ventilating, over-cropping, or pinching back the shoots too much. , The ventilating o£ glasshouses has to be f'one with great care, and requires constant attention, especially when the weather is very changeable and there may be a range of temperature from. 20deg to 30deg in one day. The main object should be to admit as much air as possible when it is warm, to prevent the inside temperature from running up too high, and then, whenever the temperature falls, to shut out the cold air to prevent too great a drop. The range between the minimum night temperature and the maximum day temperature should not exceed 15deg. THE FLOWER GARDEN. The continuous rainy weather has saved watering this season, but has greatly increased the labour necessary to keep down » weeds and grass.' Scuffle hoe on every favourable opportunity and attend to staking and tying. . Carnations will soon be at their best, and as thev stand wet weather better than roses they should be a success this season. Provide neat bamboo or spiral wire-stakes for the one-year-old- plants, and place three or more stout stakes round the older ones, which send up many flower stems; tie flax ©r string round them, with a few strands across from stake to stake to prevent all the flowers falling on one side. To obtain exhibition blooms disbudding will bo required, and to prevent the bursting of the calyx some growers put clastic bands on them. Mark the seedlings which are good enough to propagate for further cultivation, and use the foliage of the singles and other unsatisfactory kinds for setting up the flowers. Carnations look best when set up with their own foliage and a few sprays of maidenhair fern. Though the rock garden is past its best for the season, it still requires attention. Keep weeded, and cut off the seed pods from all the plants unless seed is required. A.H a number of kinds die out in a few years • it is a good idea to save a few seeds of most things, to sow them as soon as they are ripe, prick the seedlings out into boxes, and renew the old plants from time to time. There are quite a number of interesting native alpine plants, and no doubt many When on holiday will have opportunities for obtaining them, but as the best of the alpines grow at an elevation of 4000 ft and Over, they are only obtained as a reward for considerable exertion. The most showy of these are the mountain lily (Ranunculus Lyallii), the mountain daisies (several species of celmesias), the _ herbaceous senecias forms (Senecco Lyallii), the dwarf veronicas, and the gentians. There is always a_ temptation to bring away large plants in full flower, and it is quite a natural desire, for i? one could possibly transport some of these magnificent specimens to their garden they would create a display at once. But, apart from the labour of digging up large plants, with the minimum injury to the roots, there is the question of carrying them, usually a considerable distance, over very rough tracks, to be considered. Don t collect large plants in flower; smaller ones are easier to dig, easier to carry, and more likely to take kindly to the new conditions Under garden cultivation, where everything is artificial, even the miniature mountain range called the rockery or rock garden. A small pick is handier than a trowel or fork for digging the plant out of the rocks. Select young plants nearing the flowering ctage; dig them up with the root, stock, and tho roots intact; carefully remove nil the soil, and pack them in pieces of newspaper or damp moss. In this way a considerable number can bo carried without spoiling the pleasure and comfort of the climb. Don't plant them out in the rock garden right away; heel them in in a bed composed of half sand and half leaf-mould or peat, and shade with light pieces of scrub or thin scrim for a month or so until they recover, when they can be planted in tiheir tpcrmanent positions. Many people tnink that, because these plants grow naturally on dry mountain tops, they will thrive In a dry, sunny position near sea level; but, though they havo excellent drainage, the soil composed of peat and leaf-mould is always moist, and the conditions they desire are a soil composed of organic matter (humus)—chips of rocks which are slowly disintegrating—good drainage, and a constant aupply of moisture. .Moisture and

drainage are the two most necessary things. In addition to the many beautiful alpine Elants found at tho high levels are quite a ost of trees, shrubs, and fern 3 which are found at lower elevations and near the sea coast which are worth collecting and cultivating Though midsummer (according to the calendar) is not the best timo to transplant trees and shrubs, with reasonable care they can' be shifted quite easily, provided, as with the alpines, small specimens are collected and these are lifted from near the edge of the bush or open spaces, where they have been accustomed to a certain amount of exposure, with their roots intact and packed in paper or damp moss. They should not be planted out in the shrubbery right away, but heeled in in a cool, moist place, where they can be shaded by sticking some green branches round and among them until the autumn, when they can bo put out in their permanent positions. The following trees and shrubs are well worth growing, and they can be obtained in either Ofcago or Southland: —The red manuka and several of the pink varieties are to be found growing on the hillsides round Dunedin and near Queenstown, and I saw specimens of a double white variety found on Signal Hill last year. Manukas don't transplant easily, and are better lifted with a ball of soil. The rata is a beautiful shrub or small tree, worth growing for its bright green, glossy foliage, its bright red young shoots in spring, and its beautiful flowers, which unfortunately don't appea.r until the plants are fai.rly old. Fairly large plants are easy to obtain and transplant, and they will grow in any position. The large-flowered ribbonwood .(Goya lyallii) flowers about midsummer, and in a position sheltered from the cold south-west winds is very beautiful. Though it can be grown from cuttings, it is plentiful on the outskirts of the bush near the southern lakes, and young plants are easy to obtain and transplant. The native beech (usually called birch) is always admired, but the one most commonly grown in gardens is the red beech (Nothofagus fusia). Its evergreen leaves take on bright tints in autumn, and as they are borne on their twiggy branches they are much in demand for decorative work, for they associate well with the chrysanthemums in the autumn and the daffodils in the spring. Young plants can be pulled up by the thousand from under the old trees, where the bush is not too thick; they don't need any soil on their roots, and, though they look miserable for the first year after transplanting, they soon, recover, and in two years make fine specimens. Probably the most graceful tree we hava is a young red pine, and, though not plentiful in some districts, can be obtained in abundance in Stewart Island. If planted in the shelter and partial shade of other native trees, the red pine will thrive, but as growth is so slow it takes a long time to grow out of its beautiful youthful stage. Other plants which can be obtained from the bush and are worth growing are the totara, cedar, miro, black pine, white pine, broadleaf, grass tree, kowhai, veronicas of various kinds, senecios, olearias, corokios, carmichaslius, and cabbage trees. Of ferns there are abundance everywhere, but unless the proper facilities for growing them are provided there is little use collecting them. I am afraid there are large quantities of beautiful ferns destroyed every year by thoughtless people. They are pulled up, often without roots, and as they wither so rapidly they are thrown on one side and never planted* A peculiar and attractive native broom coming into flower at the present time is Notospartium carmichcelhe, commonly called the pink broom, though it is anything but a common plant. It has thin, twiggy, pendulous branches, on which the little pink pea-like flowers are produced in clusters, and like most New Zealand brooms, it gets along without leaves. It likes a warm, dry position, near the top of the rock garden, and can be raised from seed. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Continue to plant out cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, savoys, and leeks on ground rendered vacant through digging the early potatoes. Make sowings of lettuce, shorthorn carrots, and white turnips to maintain a succession, and thin out seedling crops as they become large enough to handle. As the broad beans become tall enough, and a sufficient number of pods havo set, the tops should be pinched off. This puts all the energy of the plants into developing the pods which are set, and removes the black bean aphis which feeds on the young tops of the stems.