THE GARDEN

Otago Witness, Issue 3957, 14 January 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE

- NOTES BY

D. TANNOCK,

F.R.H.S.

THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY.

* Continue to prick out seedlings of cinerarias, primulas, stocks, double wall flowers, and Canterbury bells, and, where ■weather conditions are too dry for transplanting wallflower seedlings direct from the seed beds to the position where they are to be grown on, jt will be an advantage first to prick them out into boxes where they will develop a good root system and stand transplanting better later on. THE FLOWER GARDEN. As soon as the first crop of roses is ©ver the plants should be sprayed for mildew whether it is showing or not. and as the second crcp develops the buds should be thinned out to one on each stem. Tie in the selected young growths of the ramblers as they develop, and keep the surface soil in the beds and borders Stirred up with the scuffle hoe. Sweet william is making a fine bit of colour at the present time, and as it comes in between the spring bedding plants and th? summer ones it is mos- valuable for maintaining an uninterrupted display. Sweetwilliam is a true perennial, but is more satisfactory when treated as a biennial, seedlings being raised every year. The most desirable colours are the dark and light pinks, and it is better to mark a few plants with sticks, so that seed may be collected later on. Seedling? raised this season will now be growing in the boxes, and these are fully exposed to all weather to ensure strong, sturdy plants for putting out later on. THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN. Continue to plant out the late celery aud winter greens as ground becomes available, and make sowings of the quick maturing crops to keep up supplies. W hen fruit trees make too much growth, and this has a tendency to shade the fruit and to prevent the wood from ripening up properly, summer pruning should be carried out. This is mainly to cheek the trees, and encourage the development of fruit buds. Instead of cutting off the shoots with a sharp knife or secateurs they are broken over. The laterals can be shortened back to two or three inches and the loaders to half their length When the young tips of the shoots are attacked by mildew it is better to gather them up and burn them at once. Continue to spray for eodlin moth at inter vals of from 14 to 21 days with a mixture of 141 b of arsenate of lead paste to 50 gallons of water. For leech on pear or cherry trees spray with hellebore—loz in two gallons of water, or dust over with the powder. BUDDING ROSES. Roses are budded on to some kind of strong growing stock, such as the dog rose, hybrid marietta, or Rosa rugosa The operation is not at all difficult? but it must be done neatly and quickly if one hopes to succeed. The stocks may l>e cuttings, put in last autumn, or. better still, plants which were put in as cuttings the previous autumn and lifted and lined out again either in the autumn or winter. They will be preparing to make their second growth, and this is the time at which the cambium is active, and the bark can be separated from the wood with ease. The bud wood is young growths which have just flowered and which have some well developed but not too forward buds. The success of the operation depends on bringing as much of the layer of cambium of the bud into contact with the layer of cambium of the stock as possible, and when we say the sap is rising we really mean that the cambium layer is active and new tissue is being formed. After selecting the bud wood from the variety which is to be propagated, the leaves are cut off, leaving a little bit, about half an inch, of the leaf stalk, and the soft growing point is also removed. The object in removing the leaves and the soft tissue is to re duce the loss of moisture to a minimum and as a further precaution the shoots are wrapped in damp moss or scrim, or stood in water in a can. It is important to label the bud wood as it is taken ofj to avoid mistakes later on. The appa ratus necessary is a pad to kneel on, a sharp budding knife, an oil stone on which to sharpen the knife, some pieces of raffia, and some labels. First of all, clear away some of the soil from round the stock, so that the buds may be put as low down on the stem as possible, then with a rod fasten the branches over to one side, so that they may be out of the way as much as possible. With the knife make a cut about two inches long up the stem, taking care to go through to the wood, then another cut across the top, forming aT. With the thin handle of the budding knife lift up the bark at the corner where the two cuts intersect one another, and run it down each side of the long cut, completely separating the bark from the wood. To remove the bud, hold the shoot in the left hand, and, with the knife in the right, begin to cut into the bark about an inch below the bud and cut right up, coming out again about an inch above the bud. This will give you a piece of bark with a bud and a small piece of wood, which may

be removed by putting the point of the knife in between the bark and it, and giving a sharp jerk up. There is a danger of removing the bud along with the wood, and, as a union can take place with the piece of wood in, it is safei for beginners to leave it. Next press the bud down in behind the bark, beginning at the top of the T, and continuing until the top piece of bark is nearly level with the cross cut. If a little projects, it can be cut off. With a piece of raffia bind the bark tightly over the bud, winding it round and round until only the bud and the little piece of leaf stalk is sticking out. In about a fortnight’s time the piece of stalk can be touched, and if it falls off clean the bud has taken, and in a little time the raffia can be cut to allow the stem to increase in thickness. If the stalk will not drop, the bud has failed, and another can be put on. If stocks are scarce and buds plentiful, there is no harm in putting two on each. It will be good practice, and, if they both take, the top one can be cut off later on. SOME INTERESTING SUMMER SHRUBS The shrubbery' is usually a little dull after the big display of bloom in the spring, until the berries and autumn tints provide colour in the autumn, but there are a few shrubs and small trees which come in very useful at the present time. Among the natives there is nothing brighter than the ratas —the I’ohutukawa in the north and the smallleaved rata in the south. The southern rata, Metrosideros iucida, grows into a tall tree in time, but it must take a long time, for all the specimens I know in cultivation have retained the formal (hay stack) shape with branches right down to the ground. It makes a fine lawn specimen, aud, when covered with its bright crimson tassel-like flowers, it is a fine feature. It is one of the native plants which will transplant easily at any time, and anyone spending a holiday in a district where the rata is found will have no difficulty in digging up and transplanting young plants at the present time. M. tomentosa, the pohutukawa, has larger leaves than lucida, and these are covered with white tomentun underneath. It is a more rapid grower than the southern rata, and though it retains its branches for a long time it eventually develops into a tree. With us it flowers more consistently than lucida, and at the present time is covered with buds, which will open out in a few days. M. robusta, the northern rata, and M. villosa, the Kerniadic rata, also thrive with us, and there is a curious one with yellow flowers which is more interesting than beautiful.

Among the exotic shrubs and small trees, Cornus capitata is very attractive at present. This is a deciduous or partly evergreen tree which eventually grows to a height of 30 feet. The flowers are minute and inconspicuous, crowded in a hemispherican mass, but the four or six large sulphur-yellow bracts are very attractive. Later on, the fruit, which is a strawberry-shaped crimson mass one to one and a-half inches across, is ornamental. This plant is hardy, and should be suitable for planting on a dry, sunny bank. Every year I draw attention to the beauty of the snowdrop tree, Styrax japonica, but there is also a smaller species, Styrax Wilsoni, which is more suitable for a small garden. It is a deciduous shrub from six feet to 10 feet with a much-branched twiggy growth. The flowers, which are like small snowdrops and pure, glistening white, are produced in the "leaf axils and at the ends of short lateral twigs. This plant will begin to flower when only a few inches high, and only a few years old, and will continue every year afterwards. Buddleia altrenifolus is a more refined shrub than the common B. variabilis, which is such a strong grower and so very suitable for planting where little else will grow'. B. alternifolia was introduced by the late Mr Reginald Farrer, who found it at Kan Su in 1024. It prefers a steep, dry bank, and an open, sunny position, where it grows like a fine-leaved and very gracious weeping willow, either as a bush or a small trunked tree. Its pendulous branches are wreathed with tight bundles of purple blossom, when the whole shrub is turned into cascades of colour. As the flowers are produced on last season’s wood, it should not be cut back like ordinary buddleias. Most people are anxious to know of spreading shrubs which will thrive on a dry bank, and, while beautifying it, save the trouble of mowing grass or weeding. Another shrub which will thrive in such , a situation is Escallonia langleyensis, a hybrid with cherry-red flowers, borne on the slender, drooping branches in terminal clusters. With Philadelphus virginale, Cistus Silver Pink, Escallonia Zangleyensis, and Buddleia alternifolius a dry bank could be made a thing of beauty at little expense and with little after maintenance.