GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3619, 24 July 1923, Page 9

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

By

D. Tajhiock.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. TIIE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Cuttings of hardy trees and shrubs should he in by the end of this month,- and it will also be better to get the last of the chrysanthemum cuttings in as soon as possible. Put the last of the bulbs for forcing into heat to hurry them on, continue to make sowings of tomatoes, ether early vegetables. and the hardiest of the beddingout plants. Continue the potting of ferns, palms, and other warm house plants and to pot or box up bedding geraniums. Standard fuchsias which were lifted out of the beds last autumn and heeled in behind a hedge for the a-inter are commencing to grow now, and they should be lifted. The heads and roofs can be trimmed back a bit. and they should then be potted into pots which will just hold their roots comfortably. Any kind of light soil to which has been added a little Ironemeal or phosphate will do. pot fairly firmly, taking particular care to work the soil well in amongst the fibrous roots, give one good watering, and then stand the plants in a warm house, where they can be svringed twice a dav to encourage growth. Eater on they will be shifted out into the frames to harden off and stood outside altogether until they are required; but it is most important that they should be well grown and in flower when planted out as an overgrowth for the tuberous begonias. Otago-grown sweet peas have again germinated splendidly with us. and the boxes Or pots in which the seedlings are growing can be placed up near the light in the cool house, and a little nviggv stick should be stuck in beside each seedling to provide support. Though we have had most satisfactory results with the Otago-grown sweet peas some are not quite so successful, and in many cases, though the seeds are quite good, they are so well ripened that they have a difficult v in ahs,orb:ng sufficient moisture to set the machinery of germination in motion. Mr Hadfield, of the Moa Seed Farm, carried cut some experiments with chipped and unchipped seeds and has sent me the results, which are as follow: Lord Fisher.—Chipped: Fourth day. 8 per cent; fifth day, 54 per cent; sixth day, 94 per cent. ; se nth day, 100 per cent. TTnchipped: eighth day. 2 per cent.; ninth day. 42 per cent. : tenth day, 60 per cent. ; eleventh day. 74 per cent. ; twelfth day, 80 per cent.: thirteenth day, 84 per cent. ; fourteenth day, 90 per cent. Cherub.—Chipped: Fourth day. 14 per font. ; fifth day, 64 per cent. ; sixth day, 82 per cent. : seventh day. 100 per cent.. T'nchipped: Eighth day. 30 per cent.; ninth day. 60 per cent. ; tenth day. 84 per cent. ; eleventh day, 60 per cent. ; twelfth day, 94 per cent.; thirteenth day, 93 per cent! ; fourteenth day, 93 per cent. Generally speaking, the picolee-edged, red. maroon, rose, and crimson shades are slow to germinate and should he climned. As growth has now commenced inside and seeds end seedlings have to he kept growing steadily, a little more fire-heat should he given, and great care should be taken to maintain a growing atmosphere at all times. Ventilate very carefully, damp the paths and benches regularly during warm, sunny days, and as newly-potted plants do not require much water this operation has to be carried out with great care. Cypripediumg or lady's slipper orchids are in flower at. the present time, and we find them most useful, for they last so well either on the plants or cut. This section is the most interesting and the easiest to grow o-f all the orchids, and there is nothing to hinder anyone who can grow ordinary greenhouse plants to flower a° few lady’s slippers. Unlike most other orchids, the cypripediums possess two fertile lateral stamens —the central one (which is fertile in most others) being represented by a shieldlike plate which plays a very important part in securing fertilisation. C'ypripedium iitsigne is the easiest to grow of all, and requires very little artificial brat. Pollings should be done a-s soon as the flowering period is over, and the compost will com sist, of good fibrous loam with all the dust shaken out one part, fern fibre or peat one-part, leafmouk! one-part, with a liberal sprinkling of broken crocks, charcoal, sand, and chopped sphagnum. Crock the pots liberally, but not t-o such an extent as other kinds of orchids; wash away all the old soil, break up the plants carefully, and work the potting material, which is fairly wrought well down in among the roots. Unlike other orchids, the roots •to not need to he elevated up above the rim of the pot, but kept within an inch of the top to secure thorough watering. A few heads of live sphagnum moss should he pricked into the surface. After potting, the house in which they are growing should be kept close, and watering has to be done with great care until the new roots are all through the new potting material, but damping and spraying should be done at least twice a day. After growth is completed the ordinary treatment given to tuberous begonias or geraniums will do, and Kuds will he formed in the autumn and the flowers will begin to open about midwinter. There are other orchids which will grow vvith little or no heat, but evpripedium insigne is the most satisfactory to begin with, and when the details of its cultivation are mastered Odontoglossums and Cymbidiums can be taken up. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Continue to fork and dig the shrubbery l>order3 and biilb-lieds, to prune hardy trees and shrubs, and to trench and dig beds and borders. Ornamental trees and shrubs, hedges, and shelter frees can he planted now and paths repaired. Though we have had very wet winter weather, the spring flowers are coming on quickly, and flowering trees and shrubs promise very well. Plants on the rock garden are coming on rapidly now, and they should be examined from time to time, all dead leaves or other matter which would shelter slugs removed, and the soil stirred up a littlo with a hand-fork. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN AND ORCHARD. Prune and spray fruit trees, dig and manure all vacant land, and make small sowings of early vegetables on a warm, sheltered border.

AH wood ii Pinks.—The Allwoodii pinks were raised by Messrs Allwood Bros., Wivelfield Nurseries, Haywards Ileath, Sussex, by crossing the perpetual flowering carnation with the hardy border pink. It is, therefore, half carnation and half pink and retains the perpetual flowering characteristics of the carnation with the form and perfumo of the garden pink. They commence to flower in early spring, and continue through the summer and autumn. Their cultivation is very simple; they are very hardy and suitable for filling beds in the garden for edging's for borders, carpeting roses, and growing on banks and rockeries. They can bo propagated by moans of cuttings or pipings, or they can be layered like oidinary carnations. At first seedlings threw enormous numbers of variations, and few conformed to the Allwoodii type, and to prevent disappointment the raisers would not send out seed. To use a horticultural term, the varieties were not fixed, and the exhibit. I saw- at the Chelsea Show two years ago, which was set up to show the variations from seed, contained all sorts of undesirable types. It was necessary, therefore, to get named varieties from the raisers, and as these did not carry well, except in cold storage, it was a difficult matter to introduce them. Fortunately the late R. S. Gray was able to bring cut a few varieties with him, and from these we obtained plants last rear. These grew well, flowered, and made good grass, which has bean layered. Allwoodii produces plenty of seed, and though the raisers would not sell seed, other seedsmen wore not so particular, and quantities of indifferent seedling Allwoodii were raised. Last year Messrs AH wood considered they had the lype sufficiently fixed to ensure satisfactory results from seed, and they scut, out small lots. We obtained ICO seeds, and nearly every one germinated, ro we have new a considerable number of plants, anil before long this new flower should be quite plentiful and very popular. Owing to the popularity of Allwoodii other raisers have taken up the cultivation of hardy pinks, and at the last Chelsea Show Mr C. IT. Herbert, of Acocks Green, received a silver floral medal for his hardy pinks called Herbertii. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “Native.”—lt is certainly better to lift gladioli in the autumn alter the flowering season is over and when the foliage ripens off. a tough it is not necessary to wait until it withers away altogether. Spread Lhem out in boxes to ripen off and dry, then cut off the leaves about three inches from the conn and store them away in a cool, airy shed or cellar. Some time in August they can be replanted, the large conns in the flower garden and the spawn or small corms in the reserve garden or nursery, where the;,' will soon grow into flowering size. if the soil is light and well drained they can bo left for one winter, but certainly not longer. Pyrethrums require only good garden soil and a fairly moist position. They don’t like to be disturbed, and cnee established are bettor left alone for several years. Antirrhinums are hardy perennials, but as they come quite true from seed, are better treated as .annuals. Rentste'.nous cannot be relied upon to come true to variety like antirrhinums, and are better left for two years, young plants being raised from cuttings put m ir. the autumn. “Jimmy,” Portobello.—Your Japanese plum may be all right, and I would advise you to leave it until it fruits, which it should do in another year. If it is no good it can bo out down and a good variety budded on to the young shoots. “Kalmia,” Outrani.—The kalrnias arc a small group of evergreen shrubs which belong to the Erica family, and are natives of Eastern North America. Like the heaths and rhododendrons, they like a cool, moist, peaty soil, and conditions which suit the, rhododendrons will also suit the kalmias. Kalmia latifolia. which the Americans call the “Calico Bush,” will grow to a height, of 10ft, and plants are known 15ft through. The flowers are crowded in several flatfish clusters, terminating the growth of the previous .year. The corolla is saucer-shaped, Sin to lin across, varying in colour from white or pale pink to deep rose, with five triangular, blunt lobes. The anthers are held in little cavities in the corolla, and when the pollen is ripe, if they are touched by an insect, they fly up with a jerk and dust the pollen on the stigma or on the insect which set them in motion. Kalmia latifolia is one of the most desirable shrubs I know for a small garden, and fortunately there are a few plants available in Dunedin at the present time. It is usually propagated by layering. Nicholson’s Gardeners’ Dictionary is the most comprehensive work on gardening I know.