THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3594, 30 January 1923, Page 9

THE GARDEN.

NOTES BY D. TANNOCK, F.R.H.B. WORK FOR THE WEEK. GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Continue to prick out the seedlings of Chinese primulas and calceolarias, and as soon as the cinerarias are established In their pots they can be placed out in a cold frame, where they will stand all«but the strangest sunshine. Seedlings of polyanthus primroses, the seed of which have been sown as soon as ripe, will be ready to prick ou.t into boxes of nice light soil with a good layer of well-rotted manure in the bottom for dr.ainage. If these are grown right on they wili be large enough to plant out in_ the nursery in the autumn, and most, if not ail, will flower next spring, which is in less than a year from seedsowing. The tuberous begonias should now be coming to their best, and will require constant attention. Keep all the side flowers pinched N from the double varieties, stake and tie up regularly, keep all old flowers pinched off, and give a little weak liquid manure once a week. Put in cuttings of pelargoniums, and bring in fresh batches of gloxinias and streptocarpus to keep the warm house bright Give vineries plenty of air whenever the temperature is at all reasonable, avoiding draughts, and ventilate all the plant houses freely in the mornings and during the day, but shut them up earlv in the afternoon to keen in as much - sun heat as possible. Thin out the foliage on tomatoes, pinch out lateral or side growths, and as soon as the lower bunches of fruit show signs of ripening, cut the bottom leaves away altogether to let in the sun. Be careful with the watering, and do not give much liquid manure, but give plenty of ventilation at all times. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Rambler roses will soon be over now, and where passible the old stems can be cut right out and the young ones tied in, but this not possible on arches and pergloas or in the case of weeping standards. It will be necessary to cut away the old flower stems to keep things tidy. Spray the bush roses for mildew and black spot with sulphide of potassium, or the commercial lime sulphur, and shorten, back the very strong shoots which catch the winds and wriggle loose at the neck. Keep the old flowers picked off the carnations and sweet peas and keep the herbaceous plants staked and tied up. Carnations cam be layered now, and as this is by far the most satisfactory method of propagating them, and is quite a simple operation, thare is nothing to prevent anyone being successful. The materials necessary are a number of fairly stout wire pegs and a quantity of nice cutting soil, composed of one part loam, one leaf-mould, and one of sharp sand. A sharp knife with a thin blade is also necessary, and as a keen edge is essential a sharpening stone should be kept handy. Loosen up the soil round the plants with a hand fork, and spread a layer of at least two inches of the cuiting soil right round the plant, fairly close up to the stem. Select six or nine of the beet shoots if the plants are to be cleared out later, or remove the rest if to remain and flower in the same place for another year. Leave three young shoots to make the next year’s plant and layer the rest. The young sheets which arise round the base of the plants are called grass, and healthy grass is essential. There is usually a natural bend on this grass where the stem btjnds round to grow upwards, and at or near the bend remove the leaves, completely exposing the joint or node, but care has to be taken not to skin the stem too much. Holding the shoot with one hand, begin to cut inwards with the knife half way between the joints or nodes and below the one which has been exposed by removing the leaves, cut inwards and upwards though the middle of the node and up nearly to the next one, which will form a tongue about an inch in length. Keep it away from the stem with the blade of the knife until it is pressed into the ground. Great care must be taken not to cut the stem more than half away through, and it must be handled gently until firmly pegged down. Press the tongue straight down into the prepared soil, and with the peg keep it in position, bury with at least an inch of soil, and cut off the tips of the leaves to reduce toss of moisture. The result of this treatment is that the sap flows up the stem from the roots of the plant, where it is changed and is returned hack to the roots; but, as the stem is cut -halfway through half of it flows down into the tongue, the cut surface heals up, ai'id new tissue is formed near the tip. which develops into roots. A layer has the advantage over a cutting in that it forms its roots while still attached to the parent plant, and drawing its supplies of water Irnm _t, and, provider! reasonanie care has been taken to keep the tongue from joining on to the stem again there can be no failures. Water during dry weather, and nothing more will be required until the autumn, when the layer is separated from the parent plant and planted out. Pinks are sown from cuttings which are prepared just like ordinary cuttings, the shoot being cut across immediately below a node and the tips of the leaves cut back; but it is also split up through the node, and instead of putting -them in with an ordinary propagating stick they are pushed down into the soil and firmed with the finger. Water well and stand in a cool frame or sheltered place until they root. All the ordinary pinks, Allwoodii pink 3 and the alpine, kinds grown on the rockery are propagated in this way. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. Continue the summer pruning of apple trees, cutting out the surplus growth to let light into the fruit, and spray with lime sulphur for black spot and mildew, and arsenate of lead for leaf roller and codlin moth. Thin where the crop is too heavy and gather up all fallen fruit. It is not yet too late to plant out winter greens, leeks and celery, and to make sowings of carrots and onions and lettuce for salads. Dig potatoes as soon as the skins are firm to make room for winter and spring crops, and keep the soil cultivated among all growing crops. As a result of tlie moist weather peas have grown to a greater height than usual, and it may he necessary to pinch out the tips of the stems to hasten the filling of the pods.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Tomato,” Naseby.—lt will be necessary to remove some of the foliage from tomatoes this year to allow the light into the fruit to secure ripening. The exceptionally dull and moist weather has caused an abnormal growth of foliage, arid it will be quite a good idea to remove about half of the lower foliage, and when it shows signs ef ripening off to cut it away altogether. It will also be advisable to limit the crop to, say, five or six bunches by pinching out the leading shoot. Remember to keep all the lateral or side shoots which arise from the axils of the ordinary leaves pinched out Momona.—The thistle forwarded shows what is known in gardening as fascination or the union of two or more flower stems. It is not "at all uncommon in seasons when there is abnormal growth. In this case there appears to be four heads joined together. Airs N., Oamaru. —There are signs of some rust fung-us on your gooseberry leaves, but I do not think that is the cause of the death of the bushes. Every indication points to unsatisfactory soil conditions. I would suggest that, you drain your ground well and give a liberal application of lime or dig in some old mortar rubble. “Brussels,” Moa Flat. —It is not easy to grow Brussels sprouts in this country. If planted early they grow too much, the sprouts are open, and blight gets in, and if late they do not make sufficient growth to yield a satisfactory crop. It is necessary to have toe soil as firm as possible, and not to give much farmyard manure, but to give lime and basic superphosphate. If your plum trees do not bear next season give them a severe root pruning. In the meantime make the surface soil firm and give a dressing of lime. You should root-prune your pear trees during the coming autumn or winter; as soon as the leaves _ fall will do. The details of root-pruning will be described later on in these notes. “Apple,” Kew.—The apple forwarded is attacked by both mildew and black spot. The mildew is to some extent due unsatisfactory climatic conditions, but I nave found out that black spot_ is very troublesome in the Nelson district. Spray with lime sulphur 1 to 100 or 129 and add lalb of arsenate of lead to every 50 gallons of the mixture. Lirne sulphur can be_ prepared as required, but as it can be obtained from the seedsmen ready to dilute, it is better to get it from them if only a small quantity is required. It is quite easy to give apple trees too much organic manure. If they are making satisfactory growth do not give any, but applications of basic superphosphate applied in late winter or early spring will be an advantage. Owing to the wet season mulching has not been necessary this season. Mrs 8., Kokatahi.—l cannot find anything wrong with your raspberries, which seem to be making remarkably strong growth. It is possible that they are not fertilised. They may be selLsterile and require pollen from another variety. I lant a few stools of another variety among them, and watch results. I know raspberries do well on the coast, and there seems no reason for the failure of this variety. . J Gh—Tlie leaf forwarded is from bpirrea Lindleyana, but it is not at all easv 1° name a plant from a leaf only there should, if possible, be a piece of flower and fruit.