THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3859, 28 February 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

The Greenhouse and Nursery.

The large flowered Japanese chrysanthemums will have set their buds now, and all shoots which arise round and under them have to be removed, and a sharp lookout kept for the little caterpillars which if left undisturbed, soon do considerable damage. Giv e a little weak liquid manure at each watering, and keep the stems securely tied up to the stakes. Cinerarias can now be potted or planted in tins, the old cyclamen corms can be shaken out and repotted, and seedling primulas and calceolarias pricked out as soon as they are large enough to be handled.

Ths Flower Garden. Continue to plant out the spring flowering bulbs, pick off dead flowers and seed pods, and stake and tie up all plants which require support. Continue to collect seeds of annuals and biennials, and cut over old flower stems on the herbace-'-'ous borders.

Tha Vegetable and Fruit Garden. Conditions are now very favourable for planting out leeks, broccoli, and spring cabbage, and for sawing small quantities of turnips, carrots, raddish, onions and lettuce. Spray apples for mildew, and prepare the soil for new plantations of strawberries and bush fruits. Half Hardy Annuals.

Half-hardy annuals occupy a very important and prominent position in the garden at the present season, and many will continue to flower until there is frost. A half-hardy annual is a plant which is raised from seed sown in heat under glass, in early spring, the seedlings being pricked out into boxes, grown on gradually and after being hardened off are planted out as soon as weather conditions are favourable.

Some of ihe plants, such as antirrhinums, which are treated in this way, are not annuals at all, and they are perfectly hardy, but it is convenient to treat them as such to get them to flower early and continue to provide a display right into the winter.

Ten-week stocks are typical examples of half-hardy annuals, and these fragrant and old-fashioned flowers are very useful in the flower garden, for they begin to bloom early in the season and continue for a considerable time until the dahlias and other less hardy plants are ready’ to continue the display There are three kinds of stocks—ten-week an annual, intermediate and winter, and spring flowering. Ten-week stocks should be planted in beds or borders of rich, well-cultivated soil, and, like all members of th e crucifer family, they like a little lime which is better worked into the surface of the soil when preparing it for planting. As they are past their best by early autumn, it is. advisable to plant them along with gladioli, dahlias, or other plants which are at their best when the stocks are past.

To continue the stock display the intermediate or East Lothian kinds are sown at the same time as the ten-week kinds; they begin to flower when the early kinds , are past their best, and continue right on to winter. The intermediate kinds have a more branching habit than the summer flowering kinds, and, therefore, require more room. They are also grown for flowering under glass during the winter or spring, and in warm sheltered gardens they will flower quite well in the open. Brompton or spring flowering kinds are usually sown in the autumn, and planted out on a well drained border, or they are potted up and kept in a cold frame during the winter.

. Seeds of stocks are obtained from the single-flowered varieties, and those with experience have little difficulty in selecting plants which will throw a large percentage of double varieties, but it is very difficult to keep the various colours true. Asters are also well known and popular half-hardy annuals, easily raised from seed sown in the early spring. - They take longer to reach the flowering stage thari stocks, the seedlings are more difficult to bring through the infant stage, and they have also the had habit of wilting and dving off when in full flower To keep them strong and healthy it is best to grow them on a fresh place every year, cultivating tne ground deeply and manuring liberally.

Good asters are often grown from seed sown in the open air, and these are very useful for continuing the display after those which were raised in heat are past There are a greaa many different kindds of asters, but the two most useful for cut flowers as well as garden decoration are the Giant Comet and Ostrich Plume.

The single asters are also very useful for bedding and providing cut flowers, Southcote Beauty being an improved form. Of the other types. Dwarf Chrysanthemums is the most useful for filling small beds and edging large ones. Asters are very useful for associating with tallgrowing dahlias or autumn-flowering chrysanthemums.

I have so frequently mentioned the many advantages of the various kinds of antirrhinums for bedding and grouping in mixed borders, that there is no need to say anything more about them at present.

Cosmos are verv useful half-hardy annuals, their flowers being specially suitable for bouse decorations. It is a wise plan to grow the early-flowering kinds, for the late ones are often coming into flower when the first frost cuts them down. Tlie early kinds should flower within 10 weeks of seed sowing and continue right ’on, if treated properly.

The Dianthus (Japan Pink) is a useful half-hardy annual, better for edging large beds and carpeting tall-grow-ing plants than for grouping in the mixed border. There are varieties with fringed and deeply-cut petals, the colours being a nleasing com bination of shades or selfs, and, though their stalks ar e short, they are useful for table decorations. The Mikado, Salmon Queen, and Crimson Queen are three of the best varieties. Dianthus is really a hardy biennial, and if facilities for spring sowing in heat are not available the seed can be sown in an epen, well-drained border in March or April, where the plants will stand the winter and flower the following summer. The seedlings can be pricked out in the autumn or merely thinned.

There are three types of marigolds which have to be treated -as H.H. annuals — the African, French, and the dwarf single Legion of Honour. The . largeflowered African marigolds, orange and lemon, are not much use for cutting, but are satisfactory for filling large 1 eds, grouping iu the shrubbery border, or the mixed or herbaceous borders. The French kind, whether single, double, or striped, are more useful for cutting, and the Legion of Honour is excellent for ribbon borders or edgings large beds. The pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, is quite hardy, and though sometimes raised ii heat, this is not necessary. Phlox Drummond) is a very popular annual suitable for edging beds or carpeting tall plants; the newer types and colour being a great improvement »n the old varieties.

Petunias are specially suitable for growing on warm, dry, sunny borders where they will flower freely throughout the summer. They are not suitable for carpeting beds of other plants, because they require all the sunlight they can get, and they are little or no use for cutting, but are worth growing nevertheless. Nicotina affinis is an exceedingly free and continuous flowering plant, with large white sweetly-scented flowers which open up in the afternoons and give off their perfume most freely at night. There are a number of coloured hybrids which are very suitable for planting on a semi-shaded, moist border. N. Sylvcris is a noble-looking plant, with long tabular white flowers and handsome foliage. It is suitable for growing in sub-tropical beds and in the shrubbery. Salpiglossis, like many of the other annuals, have been greatly improved in recent years, and Messrs .Sutton and Sons exhibited 36 varieties at the last Chelsea show. They are a little tender, and should be planted on a rich, well-sheltered bed or border, where they will flower throughout the summer. The flowers have wonderful colours and markings, and are specially suitable for house decorations. The various forms of the scarlet-flowered salvia usually known under the name of “ Bonfire,” hough very tender, make a wonderful display in beds and sheltered borders in autumn. A mistake is often made in planting them oilt too early, for if once stunted they never make satisfactory plants. The annual scabious (pincushion plant) succeeds well as a biennial, but is usually grown a H.H. annual. There is a large variety of colours and in addition to being a suitable plant for large beds and groups in the borders, the large blooms on long stem.’’ are specially valuable as cut flowers.

Verbenas are specially good plants for bedding, for they begin to flower early in the season, and continue right on to the winter, and fine effects can be obtained

by planting them as carpeting plants for suitable standards and tall plants. Zinnias succeed better in the warmer parts of the Dominion, but if the flants are not raised too soon and planted in a warm, sunny border they will provide a fine display in the autumn. They, too, have been greatly improved in recent years.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ Olearia,” St. Leonards.—The midges have now laid their eggs on the young shoots of the olearias, and if the hedges are slipped now most of them can be removed. The young growth which will appear at once will be quite clean. “ Hawea.”—The plant sent is not a broadleaf, b.ut one of the Coprosma robusta.

“ P.T.,” Clinton.—The blisters on the leaves of your walnut tree are argely due to unfavourable spring weather, and will not do much harm. The apple shoots are covered with mildew, which seems to be very common this year. Spray with ammoniated carbonate of copper, or summer formula of Bordeaux mixture. During the winter pruning, all the diseased twigs should be cut off and burnt. It is now too late to carry out summer pruning, but the cherry plum trees can be thinned out. It would be better to wait until-the fruit is nicked before spraying for wooly aphis.