GARDEN & ORCHARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3803, 1 February 1927, Page 11

GARDEN & ORCHARD.

WORK FOR THE WEEK. By D. Taxnock. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY Those who possess a heated greenhouse can grow gloxinias and streptocarpus quite easily for the summer display, but there there are many plants which will flower quite well in the winter and continue the display ana interest until the streptocarpus come on again. Many, no doubt, are fa. .iliar with the bright-leaved coleus, which is always so attractive, but there is one which produces bright blue flowers during the winter. Coleus thyroides is a native of Pritish Central Africa: it has the usual square stems characteristic of the salvias, bright green nettle-like leaves, and racemes of blue flowers not unlike a small delphinium. It is easily raised from cuttings, and if these are put in as soon as available the young plants will be potted up into their flowering pots, which will be of 6in or 7in size. Use a rich, light soil, do not pot too firmly, and stand on a bed of ashes in the warm house. They grow to a height of from 2ft to 3ft, and the flowers last quite a long time. The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is a useful plant, but quite different from the coleus. It is a native of Mexico, and in its native country grows into a shrub, but for greenhouse decoration it is kept low, and young plants are raised from cuttings every year, though the old cutback plants ■will flower quite well. These are usually cut over after flowering, placed in a warm part of the greenhouse, and syringed frequently to encourage the formation of the young shoots. When these are about Sin in length they are taken with a heel, and dipped into powdered charcoal to stop bleeding. They are .then put into small pots filled with Jj- m * x^ure °f sand and leafmould. They are then plunged in bottom heat and kept as fresh as possible by frequent spraying. When rooted they are potted in meh pots, and when the roots have occupied the soil they are potted in sin or 6in pots in which they will flower. Use a rich soil and do not pot too firmly. When almost full grown they are placed out in a copier temperature, and some recommend placing them into frames, but this could be done only in a warm autumn. “It is claimed that by placing them out in a lower temperature for a tim e they are not so liable to drop their leave* when the bracts start to develop. They certainly have to be watered very carefully, and a little liquid manure once a week is an advantage. The flowers are small, inconspicuous things, but the large vermilion bracts are attractive. Euphorbia fulgens is a more slender plant, suitable for growing against a wall or on the roof of the warm house. When three or four cuttings are put into a Sin. pot and, after rooting transferred to a sin or 6in size without disturbing the roots in any way they make good pot plants. The flowers are small, but they are produced in wreaths along the upper sides of the stems. The bracts are bright, orange-scarlet, and very attractive. Both the rex or foliage begonias and the winter flowering variety Gloire de Lorraine are very useful for furnishing the warm house. B. Gloire de Lorraine can be grown in small pots or baskets and when well grown is very attractive. THE FLOWER GARDEN. 'As the flowers, wither on delphiniums, lupins and other of the early herbaceous plants their stems should be cut off, unless they are required for seed. Some’recommend cutting them right down to the ground, with a view to getting an autumn display, but I do not recommend this, for it has a weakening effect on the plants and instead of getting one food display we indifferent oites. Michaelmas daisies, chrysanthemums and other autumn flowering plants will require to be tied to their stakes from tirrtfe to time, and the surface soil should be scuffle-hoed regu-

larly. As dahlias will now be about their best the shoots should be thinned out a 'bis and those remaining looped up to the stakes. It is also necessary to keep’ the old. flowers picked off, and frequent applications of liquid manure are an advantage. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDIJX. Continue to plant winter and spring greens whenever there is any vacant ground. It is not too late to plant broccoli, cabbage and leeks. Make sowings of lettuce. spinach, shorthorn carrots, white turnips and radish to maintain supplies. Where transplanted cabbage are not a success at this season it is a good idea to sow a row or two where they are to develop. Draw drills similar to those for turnips, sow the seed thinly, give a dusting of basic phosphate, cover and firm. Cover with pieces of scrub until germination takes place and then stretch strands of black cotton over** them to frighten away the birds. Later on thin out to about nine inches apart, earth them up*, as they grow and by using every second" plant when quite young there will be room for the remainder to form good heads. BUDDING ROSES. The budding of roses on to stocks of the common dog rose or. some other free-root-ing and strong-growing variety is a most interesting operation, and one which the enthusiastice rose-grower should try to master. In a fairly extensive collection there are usually some varieties which deteriorate and are better thrown out to make room for more vigorous or more desirable kinds, and it is a great advantage to have a few. dozen young plants coming on to take their place. The ramblers, climbers, and strong growing varieties can be grown from cuttings with success, but it" is necessary to put the bush kinds on to varieties which are strong free-rooters. It is advisable to put in a few dozen cuttings of dog rose or other suitable stock every autumn, and when these are rooted they can be lined out in the nursery or reserve garden. About this time of the year they are making their second growth, and the cambium layer which is just under the bark is very active. It is then said that the sap is running, and the bark can be separated from the wood with ease. It is also, found that at this season the buds which are formed in the axils erf the leaves on the shoots which have flowered have become fairly prominent. The shoots are then fairly well ripened and the bark firm. If too young the bark will be too tender to withstand the strain of being pushed down under the bark of the stock, and if too old it will not separate readily from the wood. Some bud quite successfully with the wood in, but as the wood cannot unite with the cambium the result is not so satisfactory. When selecting the bud wood cut away the top buds which have pushed, and remove the leaves, leaving about half an inch .of the stalk to serve as a handle when pushing the bud under the bark. Be sure to label each shoot as it is taken off, and to keep them fresh wrap them in a piece of damp cloth, or put them into a watering pot. It is important to bud low, and when rooted cuttings are used as stocks, the soil should be scraped away and the bud inserted below the ground level. When cuttings are lined out the roots are brought up near the surface, and low budding is not essential. Stocks are always a thorny problem, and it is advisable to put a long stick along one side of the row, and to fasten it back at both ends, so that it "will press the heads over out of the way. A proper budding knife has a thin blade and a flat bone handle for pressing the bark away from the wood, but any sharp, thin-bladed knife will do, and. a piece of flat thin hardwood can be used instead of the knife handle for lifting the bark. With the knife make a cut down the stem about an inch and a-half in length, deep enough to reach the wood, and then rm.ke a cut across near the top, forming aT. With the point of the knife lift up the corners of the bark where the two cuts intersect one another, and with the handle or the piece of wood press back the bark down each side of the long cut. Holding the bud wood in the left hand, commence to cut about half an inch below the selected bud and cut upwards, coming to the surface about half an inch above the bud. Holding the bud" by the little piece of leafstalk, insert the point of the knife between the wood and the bark, and with a sharp jerk pull it out, leaving a shield-shaped piece of bark, with the bud intact. It is most important to perform the whole of this operation smartly, for the cambism layer on which the whole of the success of the union depends is very delicate, and it dries up very readily when exposed to the air. Holding the bud, push it down under the bark into the long cut, and if everything is in proper working order it ought to slip in quite easily. If a little bit of the bark is sticking out after the bud has been pushed down as far as possible it can be cut off at the cross cut. With a piece of moist raffia bind it tightly, beginning above the bud. Wind it round the stock, leaving the bud peeping out, and finish off about an inch below it. The cambium layer of the scion or bud comes into contact with the cambium layer of the stock: the two fuse together, and form new tissue common to both. The buds should be examined in a week or so, and if the little bit of leafstalk falls off when touched., it is all right; if it does not it will be better to put another bud on. Some time later the raffia can be cut to allow the stem to expand. In the autumn the stock can be cut over, and in the spring all the energies of the roots will be concentrated into the bud of the rose, which will grow out and form a strong, vigorous shoot. When pushing buds are put on they often grow out and flower in the autumn, but it is preferable for them to remain dormant until the next spring.

Under the amended Sunday trading law, which provides that sold on Sundays must be consumed on the premises, a general round-up of seaside shops has been commenced, with the result that at Auckland, on Wednesday last several shopkeepers were fined for breaches of the law. The shops concerned were chiefly those selling ice-cream, soft drinks, and chocolates, the fines in most cases being 20s and costs.