GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3489, 25 January 1921, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

By

D. Tannock.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. XHE GBEEXHOTTSE AND XUBSERY. The pelargoniums ai-e going past now, and they will have to be removed to make room for the tuberous begonias, which are coming on rapidly, and will require to be staked out to give the flowers room to develop. By putting the pelargoniums outside, the wood has a chance to ripen to provide cuttings for later on, but it is not advisable to withhold the water entirely when they are put out, or the shoots will shrivel up instead of ripening, and they will not be any good for cuttings. Do not miss the chance of getting out the wallflower seedlings when the weather is cool and the soil moist, if watered well when transplanted and sprayed night and morning for a week or so they soon form Eew roots, which lay hold of the soil, and top growth also follows. Sweet williams may also be lined out in a well-manured piece of ground, but being grown in boxes they may be lifted with a tall of soil attached to the roots, and they hardly feel the shift at all. Allow six inches between the plants in the rows and from nine to twelve inches between the rows. The sweet williams will soon be past their best, and those which are to produce seed for next season should be selected and marked. It is only by careful selection that the strain can be maintained and improved, and it is better to select the colours separately. As soon as the polyanthus seedlings are large enough to handle they should be pricked out into boxes of light soil and stood in a shady place until they take to the new soil. This is the season for budding roses, and it would also do to layer carnations, but as a rule one does not want to disturb them when they are about at their best. To bud roses one should have the stocks ready, and they are what is known as running at present, which really means that the plants are making a second growth and forming a layer of active tissue called cambium. This breaks up readily, separating the vrood from the bark. The budding of roses is resorted to because this is the best method of increasing the stock quickly, every bud when placed on a dog rose or other stock, if it takes, may grow into a new rose bush. The selection of the bud "wood is important. If too ripe the wood will not come out, and if too green is not firm enough to be pushed down under the bark of the stock. The cambium layer of the bud must be active as well as the cambium layer of the stock, and what happens when budding is done is that a T cut shape is made in the bark of the stock as close down to the soil as possible, and with the flat handle of the budding knife the bark is raised on both, sides of the long cut. The bud, which should be quite prominent, is removed from the bud -wood by cutting into the bark about an inch below the bud. cutting upwards, but not very deep to about an inch above the bud. The point of the knife is inserted under the bark, between it and the wood, and, with a sharp jerk, the ivood is pulled out, leaving a strip of bark with the cambium layer on the inside, and a. bud. The bud is pushed under the bark of the stock and down until it is about an inch below the cross cut of the T, any bark which may be projecting above the cross cut is cut off, and we then have the two cambium layers in close contact over a considerable surface, and the new tissue which they form is common to both. They become united, and the bud then draws its supplies of w 7 ater and plant food from the stock, and when all the buds of the stock are removed by cutting it over above where the bud -was put on, .all the sap goes to the bud, and it grows out, forming the branches, which are exactly the same as the plant from which the bud was. taken. Standards are usually formed by budding on to a dog rose stem three feet to four feet high, and if is quite possible to put several buds on the same stock, and not at all necessary that they should be of all the same variety, should freaks be desired. I should have -mentioned that the chief thing in budding is to get them under the nark quickly, the cambium layer is easily dried up; also, the bud needs to be tied in tightly with a piece of raffia commencing at the bottom of the cut and winding upwards to its top, then fix securely Though it is better to purchase the bulk of our supplies from a nurseryman, it is interesting to put in a few stocks every year on which the most successful varieties may be budded, and as it is an interesting operation, it is one which every rose-grower snould practise. Continue to tie up sweet peas, to stake Michaelmas daisies, and antirrhinums, and to cut the seed pods from all the plants in the herbaceous beds and borders; keep the scuffle hoe going to shut in the moisture. Canterbury bells will be over now, and the old plants can be cleared out to make room for the young ones. The place they are to occupy should be dug oyer and a considerable layer of stable manure worked in. Make the surface smooth and water well after planting. The rambler roses are providing the chief display in the gardens at present, and like the bush plants they are particularly g.iod; they are free of blights of any kind, and colours are very good. They'are trained over arches, on pergolas, rustic fences, wire fences, clay banks and over buildings, and in every position they are a success.. American Pillar, which is rot quite over yet, though it is past its best, is very fine.” It 13 such a vigorous grower; its foliage is so clean, glossy, and healthy, and its bunches of flowers are produced in abundance. Alberie Barbier is another good variety- a vigorous grower with beautiful glossy leaves arid creamy white and canary yellow flowers. An excellent variety for covering a bank or an ugly fence. Excelsa is one of the best, its colour is brilliant scarlet-crimson, its foliage is good, though not so fine as either American Pillar or Alberie Barbier. It grows well and is excellent in any position. Dorothy Perkins is a soft, light pink, and though one of the oldest, is still one of the best, Dorothy Denniscn is another good variety, a sport from Dorothy Perkins, which it resembles in every way except the colour, and this is a lovely shell-pink, the base of the petals being creamy-white; a lovely combination. It is inclined to burn a little, and is bettor when planted so that it can develop towards the shady side. Mrs F. W. Flight is another good rambler, producing great clusters of semi-double pink flowers with a white centre. Hiawatha is single, with brilliant scarlet flowers produced in' large clusters, quite as good a grower as the rest, and well worth growing. White Dorothy is

a delicately tinted white sport from Dorothy Perkins, having the same habit of growth and freedom of flowering. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Do not miss the present opportunity for getting out the winter greens and leeks when the weather is cool _ and the soil moist. The early potatoes, if not already dug, may be got’up now and the space they occupy should be planted up with broccoli, cabbage, savoys, curly kale, and leeks. Dig or fork over the ground, working in a good dressing of phosphate, and if necessary some blood manure, break up all clods, level it roughly with the rake or hook, and then draw drills about 2in to 3in deep with the draw hoe, and allow- 2ft between the drills and the same between the plants in the drills. It is most important- to draw drills to plant in at this time of the year when so much watering has to be done, though it is good practice at any time. If the plants have to be shifted some distance it is a good plan to puddle the roots with a mixture of clay and cow dung, but when they are transferred direct from the seed bed to their permanent position it is not necessary. Plant firmly and water at once to settle the soil and to wash it in among the fibrous roots, then sprinkle them every evening if the weather is dry until they become established in their new positions. It is better to draw drills for the leeks too, to makeholes about bin deep, to drop the plants into them, and to water in. The water washes sufficient soil down to cover the roots, and the rest of the soil works in gradually. Sowings of lettuce, white and golden ball turnips, silver beet, and stump-rooted carrots may still be made. Attend to crops which require thinning, and keep the soil stirred among growing crops. As soon as tile crops on the bush fruits are picked the nets which were necessary to protect them from the birds may be taken off, dried, and hung up in a dry shed until required another year. If carefully treated nets will last for years, and without protection of some kind there is little chance of saving- the crops. Mildew is fairly common on apples. It attacks the young shoots and leaves, covering them with a fine greyish powder. Spray with the summer formula Bordeaux, 4,4, 40, or with ammoniated carbonate of copper solution. For blight on cabbage, turnips, and carrots there is nothing much simpler or better than soapy water applied as hot as possible and with considerable force. It is better to begin spraying as soon as it appears, for when the leaves become malformed a,nd twisted up it is hard to get at the trouble. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Hydrangea/’—Some people have no difficulty in growing blue hydrangeas, their soil seems to suit them, but others have the greatest difficulty. It is usually considered that absence of iron is the cause, and watering with rusty water made by soaking iron filings in a tin of water, working in iron filings round the plants, and watering with a _ solution of sulphate of iron, has been tried. There are different varieties, of course, and care should be taken to get your cuttings from the right kind. “A. H.”—You can cut your box edgings now quite well, though it is not the best time. Pentstemons continue to flower for several years, but two years is long enough to keen them. They are easily raised from cuttings.