THE GARDEN WORK FOT THR WEEK

Otago Witness, Issue 3972, 29 April 1930, Page 11

THE GARDEN WORK FOT THR WEEK

•THE GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY. It is not safe to leave outside any chrysanthemums which are showing .colour after this; the weather so far has been very favourable and free from frost, but we cannot expect it to continue. As the sunlight is not so strong now, the shading on greenhouses, if not thinned down by the weather, should be washed off, and a little fire heat will be required at night to maintain a growing atmosphere. Continue to put in cuttings pf violas and pansies, and get in the last of the geraniums as soon as possible. THE FLOWER GARDEN. Now that Easter is over, it is not worth while wasting much time on the •flower garden, for the tender plants may be cut off at any time, but the rough of the leaves should be raked up from time to time to prevent them from blowing away. Continue to pick the old flowers from the dahlias and the pods from the sweet - peas. They are both doing well, and may continue for some time. Trench beds and borders, carry out alterations to the rock garden if this is desirable, and topdress the pockets. Get your order for roses away as soon as possible so that you may not be disappointed. There is usually a run on a few of the Joest varieties, and nurserymen are soon sold out.

THE VEGETABLE AND FRUIT GARDEN.

Sow peas to come in next season, plant pabbage, and sow spinach. Start to prune currants and gooseberries, and collect and store away apples and pears as thev become fit.

Black Currants. —Ribes nigrum, is a native of Europe and the British Isles, and is a much esteemed hardy fruit not difficult to accommodate either as regards soil and situation. It likes a good, rich moist loam, and a fairly shady position. Black currants will grow on the shady side of a wall, or fence, but they do not care for the shade or drip from trees. As they fruit on the young wood, it is not possible to have bushes which grow too rapidly, and liberal manuring when preparing the Boil is an advantage with an application applied as a mulch, or lightly forked or dug in after pruning. The young bushes may have from four to six branches, and it does no harm to plant deep enough to bury the lowest in the ground. The distance apart will be from five to six feet each way. To utilise fully the space until the bushes develop, the plants (which are so easy to grow from cuttings) are put in at three feet apart in rows six feet apart for the first two years until the bushes develop, when every second bush can be dug out, leaving them at the correct distance. For the first two years very little pruning will, be necessary except to shorten back the tips of the stems and thin them out if too many appear. Afterwards a few of the old branches are cut right out every year to allow young ones, which spring up from the base of the bushes, room to develop, and the unripened tips are again shortened back. Black currants have really no enemies. There is a grub which enters the stem and eats its way down the pith, but as a rule it does little harm. Varieties to plant are Black Naples, Carters Champion, and Booskop Giant. After pruning gather up all twigs and burn them, give a dressing of farmyard manure if it is available, and dig over the soil leaving the surface rough and open for the winter. GROWING PLANTS FROM HARDWOOD CUTTINGS.

There is a distinct difference between growing plants from soft or herbaceous cuttings, and from hardwood or ripened cuttings. When we put in the former we have to take precautions to prevent wilting through loss of moisture, and they have to form callus and roots in a very short time. With hardwood cuttings there is no such hurry. They are put in in the autumn when growth is completed and ripened. They may callus at once, but they seldom form roots before the spring. It is not unusual for cuttings to remain fresh and green until the following summer and then fail to form roots. This often happens with rose cuttings. Most people like to grow a few fruit bushes, hedge plants or roses from cuttings, either to replace or extend their older plantations or to give away to friends. The process is quite simple, and no great amout of room is required. In the case of fruit bushes, it is a distinct advantage to renew them from time to time, for no-matter how carefully they are pruned and cultivated, they become old stunted and in many cases moss grown, and in addition to the crop dwindling the fruit has not the same flavour. There is more skill and experience required in selecting the right kind of wood than putting in the cuttings. The shoots selected must be of the previous Beason’s growth (young wood). They ' must not be too stout and pithy, or too thin and spindly. A thin, spindly shoot though well ripened has not sufficient plant food stored away to form callus and new roots, and the thick, pithy . shoot, is not usually sufficiently well ripened, and the large surface of pith is difficult to heal dyer. As a rule shoots as thick as a lead pencil are suitable,

D.TANNOCK, F.R.H.S.

but in some plants it may be necessary to select something a little thicker. When taking off the shoots which are to be made into cuttings it is an advantage if they can be taken with a heel, which is . piece of the older stem just where one shoot arises from the other. The tissue at the junction is denser than higher up, and more likely to heal over and prevent bacteria, which would cause decay, from getting in. When a shoot with a heel is unobtainable the stem is cut across immediately below a node or joint, which is the most solid part and where the new roots usually arise. There are a few exceptions in which internodal cuttings are the most satisfactory. Taking bush fruits first, black currants ar easily raised from cuttings, and as the fruit is borne on the young wood it is easier to provide plenty of young growth by renewing the bushes from time to time. Well ripened young shoots are selected. These are cut into lengths of about a foot, the young tips where the buds are crowded together are removed, and wherever possible procure a heel. As suckers are no disadvantage in black currants it is not necessary to remove any of the lower buds. In red currants and gooseberries where suckers are a nuisance, and we reqr’rc a short, clean stem, the lower buds are removed, leaving the three top ones to /form the first branches of the new bush. Most of the hedge plants, such as Olearia Forsteri, Olearia Traversii, red and v.hite cscallonia, privet and lonicera, nitida, root quite readily from cuttings, and these are simply young, well-ripened shoots about one foot to 15in in length, cut across immediately below a node, with the young soft growing points which would wilt cut out. It is not easy to get shoots of cither the olearia, lonicera, or privet as thick as a lead pencil, but quite thin shoots will be satisfactory. ’ Deciduous flowering "shrubs such as philadelphus, spiraea, weigelia, deutzia, primus, euonymus, dogwoods, amelanchier all root quite easily when prepared as recommended for the hedge plants. Evergreen natives such as seneeios, olearias, brachyglottis, strong growling veronicas coprosmas, and broadleaf can also je rooted, without removing the tips of the shoots, and only the leaves which would be buried in any case. We all know how easily willows and poplars root. Any piece of young growth put into the ground will grow .nto a young tree the first year. There is jo difficulty ii rooting rambler roses. Pieces of young stems cut into one foot lengths will root and make growths up to 16ft in length the first year.. All the strong growing roses known as climbers and the polyanthus varieties can be grown from, cuttings if care is taken to select well-developed shoots and to take them with a heel vhcrever possible. Some of the dwarf bush varieties can also be rooted, but as a rule they are not very satisfactory on their own roots and are better to be budded. The position for the cutting bed should be open, sunny, and well drained, .ad if the soil is heavy it will be an advantage co dig in a fair quantity of leafmould or compost heap as well as some lime rubble and sand. . With the spade take out a trench 9in deep, and in the bottom put a layer of sand and lime rubble in equal quantities about two or three inches deep. Into this layer press the ends of the cuttings, placing them about two inches apart. Put back the soil ana tramp it as firmly as possible. Two things to remember are to bury the cuttings at least three parts of their length in the soil, and to tramp it in as firmly as possible. Be careful to .abel each kind as it is put m with a good strong wooden label, but do not trouble to water, even if the. soil is dry. The autumn is the best time for putting in hardwood cut tings. The soil is still warm enough to assist the formation of callus, and all growths are now sufficiently ripened to make good cuttings. Many trees and shrubs do not make sufficient strong young wood to provide suitable cuttings a foot in length, but shorter ones can be taken and dibbled into a box of sandy soil or put into a sandy border, and covered with a hand light or bell glass. Another very satisfactory method of rooting small woody cuttings is to make up a bed of pure sand in a frame, dibble in the cuttings an inch apart, water well, and put on the sashes. These are kept on until rooting takes place, no matter how hot or sunny the weather may be, and they have to be watered from time to time. In this way we can root rata, myrtles, cistus cytisus, conifers, and many other evergreens.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. W. N., Tahakopa.—You should spray your cabbage and cauliflower plants with soapy water applied as warm

as you can bear, and with as much force as possible. “ Sweet Pea Inquirer.”—You could bury your sweet pea stems and leaves in . the bottom of the trench which you are preparing for next season. Any kind of garden rubbish can be buried

in the trench. F. M., Waimate.—Wattle seed can be sown at any time, but the sooner-it

is put into the ground after it is ripe the better. When old it is an advantage to partly roast it on a hot shovel or to soak it in hot water for 24 hours. Sow one or more seeds in small pots and plunge then in sand or soil to keep them moist. Wattles do not transplant very well, and it is better to sow in pots and - plant from them to their permanent positions. Seed can be sown now quite well.