THE GARDEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3899, 4 December 1928, Page 11

THE GARDEN.

WORK FOR THE WEEK.

By

D. Tannock.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. T. C.,” Anderson's Bay.—Watering can be done at any time, but it is more effective when done in the evening. Next day tlie surface soil should be scufflehoed to provide a soil mulch, or a mulching of manure, leaves, or grass mowings can be applied. W. A. 5.,” Dunedin. —Your bulbs from Holland will have started to grow, and it is necessary to plant them at once on a well-drained, sunny border, where they will grow and flower ■ and ripen off in the autumn. If they had been sent out in cold storage they could have been retarded in the cool stores here until the usual planting time. I. G.,” Dunedin.—We grow the French ranunculus in the gardens, and they were obtained from Messrs Vilmorin, Andrieux, and Co., Paris. “ Olearia,” Dunedin.—lt is much better to lift your hyacinths every year. Your sweet peas are badly eaten by siugs. Dust freely with newly slaked lime in the evenings. Too rich soil would cause your delphiniums to become malformed.

“ Daisy” Otekaike. —You could obtain both Ranunculus Lyallii and celmisias from Mr Payne, Dalkeith Rock Garden, North-East Valley, Dunedin. THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. Ihe chrysanthemums should now be established in their pots or tins, and they can be placed right out in the open in their summer quarters, which ■ should be well away from the shade of trees, fully exposed to die sun and sheltered from the south-west winds. They can be placed quite close together on a bed of ashes in the meantime, but later on they can be staked and stood in rows. Tuberous begonias are growing freely now, and, unless early flowering is desired, the first of the buds can be picked off. Do not crowd them too much in the greenhouse, and maintain a moist atmosphere by damping the paths and benches frequently. The seedlings will also be growing rapidly now, and a few of the strongest can be potted up into five or six inch pots, and these come in very useful when the older plants begin to go off. The balance of the seedlings can be planted out in a frame on top of a mild hotbed made up by mixing quantities of leaves and fresh stable manure. They will all flower in the autumn and the finest varieties can be marked out for pot cultivation and the ordinary ones used for bedding out. Seeds of stocks and other biennials germinate very quickly at this season, and as the seedlings soon become drawn if left in the boxes they should be pricked out into other boxes as soon as thev are large enough to handle. - When established they can be placed out in a frame where they can be shaded during hot, sunny days, but fully exposed to all weathers once they are'hardened off. As soon as the old cyclamen have ripened off they can be taken inside and placed on their sides under the greenhouse stage.

THE FLOWER GARDEN. The roses are opening rapidly this season, and their colours arc excellent, and the plants are very clean and healthy. So far there is little or no sign of aphis on the bush plants, and no appearance of cither mildew or black spot. Continue to give them liquid manure until they have had their three applications, and pick off all the dead flowers regularly. Complete the planting out of annuals and all kinds of bedding plants, stake carnations, dahlias, and all kinds of herbaceous perennials, and thin out the hardy annuals. Rhododendrons, heaths, and other sur-face-rooting plants soon suffer during dry, sunny weather, and they should receive n mulch of leaf mould, spent hops, wellrotted stable manure, or some other suitable kind of organic matter which will keep them cool and moist.

THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN.

Most of the vegetable crops will require watering if the dry weather continues, but it is a mistake to splash them frequently overhead with the hose. Much better results will be obtained by giving one good watering with clean water, to be followed by another with liquid manure, and then to mulch with a strawy manure, lawn mowings, or to provide a soil mulch by keeping the surface stirred frequently with the scuffle hoe. Plant out broccoli, celery, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and leeks, and make sowings of peas and French beans to provide a succession. Tomatoes should be growing and fruiting freely under glass, and as it is very important to prevent a stagnant atmosphere, which is favourable for the development of fungoid and insect pests, free ventilation is necessary both day and night, unless the winds are very cold. Should the white fly become troublesome, the house should be fumigated with calcium cyanide (cyanogas), the substance I recommended for killing wire worms. A an aerial fumigant this substance has to-be used with great care, the gas which is liberated being very poisonous. Should fungoid disease appear, spraying with Bordeaux mixture (summer formula), as advised for potatoes, should be carried out. and dusting with dry sulphur is also an

advantage. To allow the ’.ight to get in to ripen the fruit, it is often necessary to remove a portion of tlio lower leaves, and this pruning also assist? the free circulation of fresh air. It is also necessary to remove all the .side growths which arise in the axils of the leaves to prevent overcrowding.

Those intended for growing in the open al” can be planted out witn safety now, either in a sunny, sheltered border or in tins, which can be placed in a sheltered position against the house or a fence. Bj planting them in tins they can be brought on to tin flowering stage in a frame or greenhouse, and a crop of at least five bunches on each plant should be expected. In very warm, dry districts tomatoes can be planted on hills and allowed to sprawl ove” the ground, but they arc much mor< satisfactory when provided with a stout stake and confined to one stem. CONTROL OF PESTS. Control of leather jackets, cur worms and other root eating grubs. The method of control for these troublesome pests is poison baits composed of Paris green and brg.n. Thirty pounds of bran is mixed with about two gallons of water and one pound of Paris green added, forming a flaky mash. The mixtureMs spread over the surface of the infested ground in the evenings when these pests come to the surface to feed, and the amount mentioned would be sufficient for an acre. To make the bait more attractive and more readily consumed by the grubs two or three cupfuls of treacle are sometimes added to the water before it is mixed with the bran or the Paris green. As it is necessary to have the mixture fresh, a proportionate amount would be mixed at one time for a smaller garden. BLADDER OR POCKET PLUMS. From specimens forwarded it would appear that the disease which causes deformed or pocket plums is fairly common this season. This destructive disease is closely allied to the peach-curl. It is caused by a minute fungus that lives in the tissue of the young branches. In the spring, just as the trees are beginning to blossom, part of the mycelium of the fungus extends from the interior of the branches and enters the young ovaries of the flowers. It then permeates through the developing fruit and prevents the formation of the stone, and, instead of developing into normal plums, the fruit becomes deformed and hollow. These bladder plums are of variable size and shape, being hard, furrowed, and generally curved and flattened. They finally dry up and fall from the tree. Japanese plums are specially liable to the attacks of this disease. IRIS.

The various types of bearded iris are sometimes called ’ the “ poor man’s orchids,” because their structure and colourings are almost as> wonderful as the orchids. They are absolutely hardy plants and all they require is a deeply cultivated, well drained soil, free from acidity of any kind and occasional topdressings of basic phosphate, basic slag and lime. They are accommodating plants and will continue to exist under the most trying conditions, and because of their good nature they are often planted on dry banks, under trees and among strong growing Shrubs, where they merely exist but never flower properly. To get the best results they must have good treatment, and this consists of lifting and dividing them up as soon as possible after flowering, every three or four years. By lifting and replanting a portion of them every year continuous flowering is assured, and we get strong flower stems from two feet to three feet in height.

Iris are useful for filling in what is usually a dull period in the flower garden, after the spring flowers are over and before the roses come in abundance, and they are very useful for providing cut flowers for house decoration, for though the individual flowers do not last very long the buds continue to open in water. They are excellent for filling large beds and borders, for grouping in the mixed border or filling up the gaps in newly planted shrubberies. There are a great many varieties, many of which are more or less alike, and though the good ordinary kinds can be had at a reasonable price, the new varieties are still expensive. The following are good varieties which could be obtained for a reasonable sum. I should explain that the portions of the flower which stand up are called the standards, and those which droop down are called the falls. Alcazar is a strong growing variety. S, light bluish-violet; F. deep purple with a bronze-veined throat, a magnificent variety growing to a height of from three feet to four feet. Lord of June is an exceedingly handsome variety of noble proportions. S, lavender-blue; F, rich violet-blue. Prosper Laugier is a fine plant with large flowers. S, crimson suffused copper; F, deepest velvety crimson, a very distinct and desirable variety. Iris King, a cross between Pallida Dalmatica and Maori King. S, old gold; F, very broad, rich and bright velvety crimson-maroon, margined with gold. -Queen of May, the most desirable of the pink Pallidas. S, lilac; F, purplish lilac or rose. Pallida Dalmatica has very large pale blue flowers. Stamboul, S, light blue; F, rich violet blue. Prospero, S, pale lavender, flushed with yellow at the base; F, deep red-purple with lighter shading on the margin, grows to a height of four feet. Mrs Cowley, S. coppery buff; F, deep, rich rosy purple. Oriflame is a beautiful variety of French origin; S, light blue; F, dark purple. Eldorado, S, yellowish-

bronze, shaded beautifully with heliotrope; F, bright violet purple touched down the side with bronze-yellow. Princess Victoria bright primrose yellow; F, broad, madder-crimson, margined witli yellow, a most attractive variety. Susan Bliss is a tall growing, variety with flowers which appear to be a uniform shade of rose pink. The above list would provide a very representative selection of good garden types, but by no means exhausts the list of varieties available.

The Spanish and Dutch iris differ from the bearded kinds by having bulbs instead of rhizomes. ’ They are also leiy useful at the present time for providing cut flowers but they are also effective when planted in beds by themselves or grouped in the mixed'border. They arc easily grown in deeply cultivated light soil and if lifted every year the stock soon increases. The iris mentioned are all summer flowering kinds but the beds and borders can be made quite attractive again in the autumn by interplanting them with gladioli. The foliage of the two plants is much alike, they both like the same kind of soil and they get on very well together.