GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3614, 19 June 1923, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

By

D. TANNOUR.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. [All Rights Reserved.] THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Continue to put in hardwood and roso cuttings, to line out rooted cuttings and seedlings in the nursery, and to pot schizanthus. Put in chrysanthemum cuttings as they become available and lift and box up border varieties. Scarlet bedding geraniums which were rooted in boxes in autumn can be potted now into four inch pets, using a nice light compost composed of fibrous loam three? pa-rts. leafmould one-part, sand half a part, lime rubble if available half a part, and a good dusting of bone meal. Rot firmly and stand on a shelf near the glass until the roots penetrate the new soil, when they can lie removed to the cool house, and later on out into the frames. Heliotrops and the ivy-leaved geranium. Mme. Crousse, if intended for standards, should be potted into five-inch pots, employing a similar mixture to that recommended for the other geraniums. Give each plant a neat stake and grow to a height of 2ft. when they can be stopped to cause branching. They are useful for planting among tuberous begonias, and also for removing the flat appearance characteristic of manv bedding schemes. We lox all our scarlet geraniums in squares of turf, end this is a good method when the plants have to be transported a considerable distance, and when room in the propagating houses is precious. Continue to bring in bulbs for forcing, and lav in stocks of soil, sand, and leafmould for the general potting. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to prune and tie in the rambler roses, to prune trees and shrubs, to fork or dig over the borders, to trench and prepare new beds and borders, and to plant roses. Hardy herbaceous plants can be lifted, divided, and replanted now, but it is still rather early to overhaul the mixed borders unless the positions of all bulbs are correctly marked. Primrose polyanthus which were flowering a little for some time are now at a standstill, and this is the time that the destructive birds get busy and nip off the flower buds. It is just a.s well to get the black cotton on early, prevention being better than cure. THE FRUIT AND THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Continue to dig and trench all vacant land, applying liberal dressings of stable manure if it is available. Prune and spray fruit trees and bushes. Clean up primings, dead leaves, and old fruits and burn them, and dig cr cultivate between the trees. Make fresh plantations of currants, gooseberries, and fruit trees, and should rootpruning be necessary it can bo carried out with success this winter.