THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3853, 17 January 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

JBy

D. Tannock.

[The Greenhouse and Nursery. Fire heat in a glass house is a necessary evil, and whenever the night temperature i-i high enough it should be dispenser with. It is most satisfactory to shut up the vinery or the warm plant houses fairly early in the afternoon, and to bottle up sufficient sun heat to maintain a growing temperature through the night. Cool houses should be ventilated free'y both day and night, and damping and watering must be carried out regular iy •Young plants such as cyclamen, cinerarias, and primulas are better out i frames during the summer than in the greenhouse. They do not dry up so quickiy standing on a bed of pshes as on a. sparred bunch, scrim can be put over them during warm, sunny days, dew can fall on them during warm, still nights, .nd when the weather is cold and wet the sashes can be pushed on. Continue to pot up the cinerarias into small pots and the cyclamen can now be potted on to their flowering pots which will be 6in size for the stronger plr> and sin for the smaller ones. Stake out the chrysanthemums and stand them in their summer quarters. To prevent them from blowing over fix a strong stake at each end of the rows, stretch a wire along and tie each plant to the wire. The pelargoniums have lasted longer than usual this season, but they are going past now, and should be removed to make room for the tuberous begonias Stand them out in an open sunny place to ripen the growths properly, with a view to securing good cuttings later.

The Flower Garden. Though there is very little mildew on the roses it is sure to appear shortly, and it is advisable to spray in anticipation. Continue to pick off the lead blooms, thin 'he buds on the new growths, and scuffle-hoe the surface soil in the beds and borders regularly. Stake out the michaelmas daisies, stake dahlias, stocks, antirrhinums and asters, and pull out the nemesia as soon as it is past ’ts best to allow the other plants to come on. Nemesia is an excellent catch-crop and is splendid for brightening up the beds of begonias and dahlias during the early part of the summer. Mow and roll lawns regularly, and give those which were sown down in the spring and those inclined to become poor, a dressing of blood and bone manure.

The Vegetable and Fruit Garden. The later varieties of strawberries re still yielding good crops, but as soon is they are over the nets should be emoved, and all runners not required for forming new plantations should be cut away. Those retained should be pegged down on a piece of turf sunk into the ground or on a pot of good light soil also sunk into the ground. piece of stone on the runner will aiso hold it in . its place and assist rooting. It is most important to have good stron • plants which can be lifted and transplanted with the minimum of damage to their roots, and it is worth while taking a little extra trouble to secure them. Continue to plant out leeks, broccoli, cabbage, and other winter greens. Carnations.

Carnations follow on the roses, and where they are grown among the latter, they maintain the display until the second crop opens. They succeed very well among the newly-planted beds and borders of roses, but by the second or third year there is no room for them to develop properly. Whether planted among the roses, in beds and border by themselves, or in groups in the mixed borders, they are very effective and certainly very useful as cut flowers for house decoration. The garden carnation has been raised from the wild kind—Dianthus caryoplvllus- —a plant found growing in Great Britain, though there seems to be some doubt that it is a true native. There are now four distinct types of carnations: (1) Borders which send up a flower stem from the ground, and round the base of this stem the voung growths called grass arise ; (2) perpetuaF borders, which combine the beautiful form and colouring of the old border type with the continuous flowering of the perpetual flowering kinds, retaining the rich old clove perfume. The growth is short and compact like the old border carnation, but in constitution it is considered much hardier. (3) The perpetual flowering, or tree carnation, which originated in France in the eighteenth century, is readily distinguished from the other types, by its habit of producing side growths from the main stem. The central growth produces flowers as in the border carnations, the side growths in their turn furnishing a succession of blooms. The plants eventually develop into large specimens well described as trees. (4) Malmaison. The Souvenir de la Malmaison carnation has been cultivated for over 70 years, the first variety being raised by M. Laine’, a Frenchman. Malmaison carnations were popular at one time, but they have been completely overshadowed of late by the many new tree kinds, which are ex tensively grown under glass for winter flowering. (5) Marguerite. This type of carnation is treated as an annual, seeds being sown in early spring at . th e same time as the other half-hardy annuals, the plants flowering in the autumn and extending on into the winter. Border carnations are still the most popular and useful for' the garden, and though they have not as long a season as the perpetual border kinds they are more suitable for providing a massed display m the flower garden. When special bloorqg are desired -for show purposes,

they should be disbudded to one flower on each stem, but for ordinary garden purposes it is best to let them all come and thus extend the season. Support of some kind has to be provided and there is nothing to equal the spiral wires for efficiency and simplicity. A little liquid manure and a dusting of blood and bone manure will assist the development of the buds, and a little wood ashes or some potash manure will assist the growth of grass and provide suitable shoots for layering. Though border carnations can be raised from cuttings it is far more satisfactory to layer them. Layering is not at all a difficult operation, and as the new plant forms roots before it is severed from the parent it does not receive a check, and is a well-grown, healthy plant by the autumn. Layering Carnations.

The implements required for layering are a sharp, thin-bladed knife similar ro that required for budding, a band fork for stirring up the soil, a number of wire pegs, one leg being 4in long and the other lin, a pad to kneel on, and a quantic of specially prepared soil. lhe soil is composed of one part loam, one part leafmould, one part sharp sand, and half a part of lime rubble. Pass this mixture through a half inch sieve and keep it under cover. First loosen up tne soil round the plants with the hand fork, then select the shoots to be put down, and if they cannot be brougnt down to the soil mound it up a little. Put a layer of the prepared soil about 2in deep round the plants, niakin- it fairly firm. There is usually a bend in the shoots, and at this bend remove the leaves from at least two of the nodes or joints. Hold the shoot in the left hand and with the knife begin to jut into the stem a little below the' low >r joint which has been bared, cutting upwards and inwards until halfway through the stem and up to the second bint "or node. This will form a tongue, which is opened out and kept apart until ‘.he shoot is pressed down into the soil. Secure it firmly with the peg, remove the tips of the leaves to reduce transpiration, and cover with at least an inch of the soil. . Give a good watering and water at intervals should the weather be dry. The layer will continue to draw supplies of water and raw plant food from the parent plant, and this will ne elaborate in the leaves and be sent down the stem to the roots. Half will return to the original roots, the other half will pass down into the tongue, the cut surface will heal up and new roots will be formed on it.

The layers are left attached to the parent plants until the autumn, when they are severed and planted out in their flowering positions if these are ready. If not, they are potted up, or lined out n nurserv rows in a well-drained sheltered position. »

Though it is usual to plant out carnations in the autumn or early sprint they can be planted out at any time. The present month is quite suitable 'rovided well-grown plants are available, and understand that a well-known Dunedin nurseryman has a good stock of plants in small po.'.s. If these are planted out now they will become well-established before the winter, and develop into strong flowering plants by next summer. Six layers are plenty to take off any one plant.

Cuttings are prepared by removing the leaves from the two lower nodes, cutting the stems straight across below the lower node, splitting them up about half an inch,, and then pressing them into box or specially prepared bed of soil similar to that recommended for layering. If kept cool and moist, roots will be formed in time, but it is difficult to get strong, flowering plants from cuttings in one season. °

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

“ Mulberry,” Mornington.—You should cultivate round your mulberry tree and give it a good dressing of bone dust, and, if it is available, a barrow load jf old mortar rubble, dug in round the roots will be an advantage. Cut away all the dead wood and spray the tree with lime sulphur.

*‘ Surprised,” Central Otago.—lt is ouite a usual thing for aspidistras to flower when the plants become pot bound and starved. You should break up and repot your plant and remove all flower buds as soon as they appear. “M. B. A.,” East Taieri—The malfor matron on your plums is due largely ‘o the cold weather which we had in the spring. It would be an advantage to spray your trees with lime sulphur now, and with Bordeaux mixture (winter formula) when the leaves are off.