THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3868, 1 May 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

*rhe Greenhouse and Nursery. Remove the tuberous begonias from the greenhouse, and fill it up with chrysanthemums and the various kinds of primulas. The Flower Garden. The present is a season of waiting. We do not like to throw out the summer bedding plants until they are cut down by the frost, but we ought to have everyTSng ready to put out the spring flowering kinds as soon as the beds and borders are available. The Fruit and Vegetable Garden. Continue to clear out spent crops, to harvest onions and root crops, to prepare for planting fruit trees and bushes, and make a start with the pruning. Autumn Tints and Berries. Though the flowers, with the exception of chrysanthemums, practically disappear from the garden in the late autumn, we have compensations in the bright tints which some leaves take on, and the at tractive berries which many shrubs produce. It is generally supposed that the change of colour from green to red or Drown is due to the desire of the j lant to conserve its heat while the plant food is being withdrawn, to be stored m the stem, for use in the following spring in the development of flowers and young leaves. We generally associate good autumn tints with complete ripening and slight frosts, but we often have more lasting effects in dull, cold autumns. The poplars are among the best of the large trees ior autumn effects, the Lombardy, silver, and aspen being the best. The Lombardy can be planted to provide shelter, the silver in odd corners near ponds or streams where suckers are not troublesome, and the aspen is suitable for the smaller garden, where it can be planted in the shrubbery. Several of the mapies are very good, some turning yellow and others red, the best of trees being Acerrubrum sangumeum and A. saccharura (tne sugar maple), A. japonicum, and the various form of the Japanese maple (A. palmalum). The first two are tall forest frees, suitable for large gardens, and the last two are dwarfs, suitable for the smaller town gardens. The hickories (Carya alva and C. tomentosa) both grow into tab trees in time, and both turn rich yellow in the autumn. L'quidamber (styraciflua) grows into a tall tree and turns purple red. Ginkgo biloba, the maidenhair tree, turns pale gold, and the tulip tree (Lirodendron Tulipifera) turns yellow. The English beech (Fagus sylvatica) turns various shades of brown and yellow, and the silver birch and the larch are also beautiful in the autumn. The Mountain Ash is well known for its beautiful autumn tints, and it is a tree quite suitable for planting in towns and small gardens. In large gardens it should be planted in liberal groups. It is probable that there are no more reliable trees than Quercus coccinea (the Scarlet Oak) and Quercus palustrus (the Pin Oak) for bright autumn tints on a large scale. Both eventually grow into large trees though they are very slow at first. As they stand pruning, they are equally valuable for the large and the small gardens, and should be represented in every collection of trees and shrubs. Taxodium distichium, the Deciduous Cypress is a graceful and beautiful tree for a moist position, and the various kinds of prunus and pvrus are very useful.

Amelanchier canadensis, in its many forms, and A. Florida are among the best of autumn tint shrubs or small trees. They stand cutting, and the leaves last well when used for house decoration or for floral work. Most of the deciduous berberries change to bright red or crimson, the best being Berberis Thunbergii, B. vulgaris, B. Wilsonae. B artistata, B. ynnnanensis, and B. virescens. Most of the berberis have also ornamental berries, which are specially suitable for decorative work. The Dogwoods (Cornus florida and C. sanguines) turn red and crimson, and after the leaves drop the red stems still provide colour in the shrubbery through the dull winter days. They should be pruned hard back every year, and some of this pruning can be done in the autumn when coloured foliage is in demand. A number of the hawthorns turn red and orange in the autumn, Crataegus Crusgali, C. pinnatifida, and C- prunifolia being among the best.

Enkianthus japonicus is a neat little shrub which never fails to turn red and the various kinds of Euonymus (Spindle trees) are very useful for cutting. The Sumach family are all famous for their bright autumn tints, and no matter what the season is like this species changes to orange, claret, and crimson. The following kinds are the best: ■ —Rhus cotinoides, R. glabra. R. Toxicodendron, usually treated as a creeper, but a poisonous plant which should never be planted against or near a house, R. tricocrapa, R. typhina, and R. Vernix. The common yellow flowering currant and several of the shrubbery spiraeas, such as S. prunifolia, S. Thunbergii, and S. Atchisoni, are all suitable for the shrubbery or for odd corners, and the Bacciniums thrive well in peaty and sour land. Tire viburnums are most useful, the common snowball tree, V. Opulus, being specially good for decorative work. In addition to the many beautiful autumn-tinted trees arid shrubs we have a number of vines which are beautiful when grown on buildings (those known as Virginian creepers being the best fori this purpose), or when trained on fences or pergolas,

or allowed to grow up through trees, the latter method being very effective. The following are good kinds:—Vitis amurensis, crimson and purple ; V. armata crimson ; V. Coignetiae, scarlet to blood red; V. inconstans, crimson ; V. quinquifolia, rich crimson ; and V. vitacea, crimson. I .almost forgot to mention the deciduous azaleas, which are among the finest of autumn tinted .shrubs, and are almost, as attractive in the autumn as they are in the spring. They should not be cut, for the flower buds are terminal and we cannot afford to destroy them. Root Pruning.

Our object in pruning fruit trees is to make them more fruitful and to keep them in a proper shape, but to preserve a proper balance between the top above the ground and the roots below we have sometimes to prune the roots as well. When trees are making too much wood and neglecting to form flower buds it : s necessary to check their vigour to some extent, and this is done by cutting the roots and checking the flow of water and mineral plant food. The buds which would then grow out and form branches are arrested in their development and instead they form spurs which develop flower buds first and fruit afterwards. This operation can be carried out now, and the degree to which it is carried will depend on the amount of check which is necessary. If only a little check in the growth is required it will be enough to dig clown to a depth of about 2ft at a distance of from 2ft to 3ft away from the stem according to the size of the tree, but it is usually necessary to undermine the ball of roots and to cut the strong roots which are going right down into the cold subsoil. It may be better, however, to spread the operation over two years and t dig the trench round half way the first year, undermining it a li; le, and to complete the operation the following year. This would apply to very large old trees, but young ones can be completed at one act, and to make quite sure that all roots are cut it is advisable to turn the tree over on itg. side, to prune off all the broken or bruised parts of the roots with a sharp knife, and then to set the tree upright again. In returning the soil to the trench be sure to ram it firmly, and if it is at all heavy mix in a quantity of lime rubble, or failing the latter give it a dusting of agricultural lime.

AS soon as the leaves, are properly ripe the fruit bushes can be pruned, but as this is the best time to put in cuttings, it may bo better to go round-and select them at once and leave the pruning to later on. Fruit bushes such as gooseberries end currants are so easily propagated by means of cuttings that it is little, use keeping old bushes which have become overgrown and tangled up in the centre, thereby preventing a proper circulation of fresh air and an even distribution of sunlight, which is so essential for the proper ripening of the wood and the fruit. Shoots to be selected should be off the past season’s growth, well ripened and neither too thick and pithy nor too thin 1 and spindly. They should contain sufficient plant food stored up in the wood to heal over the cut end with a layer of corky tissue, and form the first roots. The shoots should be from 9in to 12in in length when made, and they are prepared by cutting the stem straight across immediately below a node or joint, and removing the unripened tip of the shoot. ■With gooseberries it is necessary to have at least a short stem, and to provide this

all the buds and spines should be cut away except three at the top. Suckers springing up in the centres of red currant bushes are objectionable, and they should be treated in the same way. Black currants, however, are different, and trie greater the number of young shoots springing up from the base of the plant the better, for they can be left to take the place of the old stems which have to be cut right out when they become weak and unfruitful.

It is necessary to attach good strong labels to each variety as the cuttings are collected, and if the position which they are to occupy is not quite ready they can be tied up in bundles with the labclr attached and buried in well-drained soil or the leafmould heap. The ground in which they are to be placed to root should be deeply cultivated and well drained, though not necessarily rich. With the spade take out a treuch about 9in to 12in deep, with the side next the line vertical, put in a layer of sand or lime rubble about 3in in depth in the bottom, unless the soil is very light, and then' place the cuttings against the vertical side with their base resting on the b J of sand or lime rubble at a distance of about 3in apart. Put in the soil with the spade and tramp it firmly. The two important points to remember when putting in hardwood cuttings is to bury them at least two-thirds of their length in the ground, and to make the soil very firm about them. They will probably heel over at the cut end in the autumn, and will be ready to make growths in the spring. When the plants are lined out ia nursery rows or planted in their permanent positions the roots are brought up near the surface, so that we may have a clean stem of from Gin to 9in. on the gooseberries and red currants. Black currants can be planted deeper. The three buds will grow up into three stems, which will form the foundation of the bush, and when these are topped and two stems taken up from each, which will be six altogether, there will be plenty of main stems for any ordinary bush. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. “ D.T.,” Wakari.- A privet hedge can be grown from cuttings, but it is better tu put in the cuttings as described for gooseberries and transplant them to a permanent position the following year. Put in cuttings now. “ Sun Dial,” Ashburton. —Gladioli can be lifted when the foliage is quite green, and if lined out in the nursery or merely kept in boxes they will soon ripen, when the stems can be cut. off a few inches from the corms, and these can be stored in a cool, dry shed. “ Tree Fern.” —Tree ferns can be removed from the bush and cultivated in a cool, moist, sheltered place, but the best time for shifting them is in spring, just before they make their new crowns. Lift them with as many roots as possible.

“M.M.,” St. Clair—The plant sent is Vitis hetcrophylla, a very variable vine with blue fruits. I am sorry but I do not know where you could get a plant.