GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3566, 18 July 1922, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

TIIE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. If schizanthus and clarkia seedlings have not been potted on to their flowering pots they should receive attention at once, for they receive a considerable check when allowed to become pot-bound. As there will soon be considerable growth a start can be made to repot the foliage plants, such as palms, aspidistras, and ferns, and as these plants are usually used for house decoration, when they are stood in ornamental bowls, they are bettor kept in as small pots as possible. E irst of all the soil should be got ready, and as the plants have to remain in the same pots for a year it should be fairly substantial. A mixture of good librous loam two parts, leafmould one part, sand half a part, bone meal two 6in potfuls to every barrow load of the mixture, a little powdered charcoal, and a little lime rubble will be very suitable. If this mixture should be too. wet it can be dried by placing hot bricks in it, and it is also advisable to have the soil the same temperature as the house in which the plants were growing. Clean pots should also be provided (the roots require a supply of fresh air, and they get this mainly through the porous pots). Rlr.ce plenty of crocks in the bottom for drainage, and over them some sphagnum moss to prevent the soil from being washed down into the drainage. When shifting plants on it is usually necessary to put them on two sizes, say, from a six to an eight, from seven to a nine, and so on. Palms usually do better when fairly well pot-bound, and unless some good potting soil is available it is better not to pot on at all than to use ordinary garden soil, which is soon converted into mud with the frequent waterings which are necessary. When potting on first turn the plants out of their pots, next remove all the top soil, which will come away without damaging the roots, and remove most of the crocks. Put a little of the soil in the bottom of the new pot, and make it firm; place the ball of roots in the middle of the pot so that the new soil will be distributed evenly round it, put in some soil arid ram it down with the potting stick until it is as firm as a ball, add more soil, and ram until the pot is filled to within an inch of the top. Aspidistras are better left until they become thoroughly pot-bound, and they will lie all light so long as they get plenty of water, but old plants are better broken up occasionally, and the pieces, with, say, four or five leaves, should be potted up into Sin or bin pots, and when these arc established they can be potted on to 7in or tin pots, in which they can stand for two years at least, and form nice specimens. Maidenhair ferns are always favourites, and they are not at ah difficult to do, provided they are placed under conditions suitable for ferns—partial shade and plenty of moisture in the atmo sphere. I have frequently explained that we have two sets of plants, one in sin or 6in pots which were divided up last year,

and another in larger pots which were potted on from sin to 6in pots last year. ihe larger specimens are now- turned out of their pots, the ball of roots is cut up into three or four sections, and each piece is potted up into a sin or 6in pot in a similar method to that described for palms. When potting on from a smaller to a larger pot the surface soil in which there are few roots is removed. The crocks are also removed. and the root* are teased out a little with a sharp pointed stick, and after that the operation is the same, as described for the palm. Asparagus plumosa is a favourite plant, which is better grown right on and potted annually until it reaches a 9in or lOin pot. and green dracaenas are better treated like palms. After potting, give one good watering to saturate the new soil, and water very carefully afterwards until the roots occupy tno new soil. Lhey should, however, be sprayed overhead whenever the weather is at all fine, and a growing atmosphere should be maintained bv damping the paths and benches frequently. Sow seeds of antirrhinums pansies, violas lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, and onions, and continue to pot or box geraniums. Put in cuttings of both the indoor j ■ outside chrysanthemums and continue to prune and clean vines. TIIE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Those who pushed on with the digging and trenching early in the season will have reason to be satisfied with the results. The hard frosts have -broken im the soil beautifully preparing a fine surface tilth suitable ior both seed-sowing and planting Complete the planting out of fruit trees and bushes as soon as weather and soil con- <! it ions are lavourable, and spray trees affected with scale or woolly aphis with red oil. lime, salt and sulphur, Woburn winter wash or some other reliable spray. E orce seakale and rhubarb as already described by covering them first with boxes 01 banels, and then with a mixture of strawy manure and leaves, which will ferment and give off a considerable amount of Fins will stimulate growth. Where a warm, sheltered border is available a start, can be made to sow a few of the early kinds of vegetables, but as there is still a c er tam element of risk only small sowings should be made at first. It is the usual practice to sow a few rows of peas m autumn which will winter and come away rapidly as soon as climatic conditions are favourable in the spring, but it is just 1 ossible that the prolonged hard frosts nave done considerable damage to them this year. To get early crops a few seeds can be sown in strips of turf. Any good turf will do, and it can be cut into strips about Sin a drill and 12in long. In each strip cut out a drill about lin wide and 2in deep, saw the peas thinly in (his and cover over with fine soil. Pack the pieces of turf into bbxes and place these in the warm greenhouse or forcing pit. Ihe seedlii igs will soon appear, and when they are about 2in high they are shifted to the cool house and afterwards into the cold frames, where they are gradually hardened off in preparation for planting out. When planting the pieces of turf are placed end on, soil is drawn up to steady them, and they are at once staked with twiggy branches both to support and shelter them. They can also be sown in pieces of old spouting, shallow wooden troughs, or in small pots. When Ihe sowing is done outside the soil should be forked over first, then shallow dulls about 2in deep and 4in

wide drawn with a hoe. Sow the peas thinly, dust with bone meal or basic superphosphate, and fill in the drill with some dry soil such as old potting soil. Finn, and place some twiggy branches over them for shelter. Make a small sowing of round or summer spinach, “All the Year Round” cabbage lettuce, short horn carrots, early snowball turnip, and French breakfast radish. Broad beans, which are very handy, can be sown now on soil which has been deeply dug, liberally manured, and limed.. Draw a broad drill about 6in wide and 2in deep, and plant the seeds in two rows at a distance of 6in between the seeds and the rows. If the soil is dry, fill it in again; but if wet, fill in the drill with some dry soil, make it firm, and as usual cover with some pieces of scrub. Horse radish is usually a neglected crop, it being planted in the worst part of the vegetable garden and left to struggle for its existence. To get good, it should be replanted every year and a good, welltrenched, open position provided. Manure should be buried about 2ft below the surface to encourage straight rooting, race pieces of root about 9in to 12in in length are selected, and these are dropped into holes made with a long dibber, allowing between 9in and lOin between the plants in the row and 15in between the. rows. Fill in the holes with nice fine soil, and keep weeded and cultivated throughout the summer It is certainly better to . lift the whole bed every autumn, to store away in sand the thick roots which are to be used, and to replant as already described. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ Gladioli,” Mataura. —I should plant gladioli which have just arrived from Eng land in boxes of nice light soil, and place these in frames to keep them from becoming too wet. It is better to keep the growth back as much as .possible until the weather is better. Eater on they can be planted outside, and they should flower early. “A. H.” —When peas are sown in pots place six or so round the margin of a 4m or sin size, and when planting out don t break up the ball, but place them from 9in to 12in apart in the rows. Sow now. Sir rt-horn carrots can be sown on a mild hotbed in a frame noj»v, the rows being about- 6in apart. Start pulling as soon as the roots are vyort-h cleaning. It will be better to leave your Clematis montana to ramble at will. It looks better, and prun ing is not necessary. One of the best dark-leaved trees in the . spring and early summer is the copper beech, and it makes .a fine lawn specimen. Primus pissardi and Prunum Mos-eri are both, good, and the dark-leaved black thorn is also decorative. “Lover of Shrubs,” Milton. —The names of the veronicas-, as far as I can judge by a single leaf, are—the broad-leafed one, Verinica andersoni; the long-leafed one. Veronica salicifola, and the short-leafed one, Veronica lewisi. The large-leafed beech is Nothofa-gus fusca, the smaller crimped one N. menziesiane. and the smooth-leafed one N. Blairii. Buddleia is one of the quickest-growing shrubs we have, and it is a "real good thing; there are four kinds —B. variabilis, B. V. veitehiana, B. globosa, and B. colvilli. Braehyglottis rangiora is a native shrub, with very large leaves, which in the type are green above and white below, but there is a variety with leaves dark purple above and white below, a very distinct contrast. It is a little tender down here, but will grow in a sheltered place. The rata is rather slowgrowing, but soon develops into a shapely tree, and should be included in every collection of shrubs. The small variegated shrub is Symphoricarpus racemosa variegata, a nice form of the snowberry. Bc.tanically the birch and beech are quite distinct, and the natives are beech, though often called birch.