THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 21560, 25 November 1931, Page 11

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

(By

J. A. McPherson.)

THE GREENHOUSE. In order to provide bloom during the winter it will be necessary to sow seeds of Primula obconica. I do not know of a more accommodating plant than this for cool greenhouses and the flowers last many weeks. Unfortunately many people cannot handle the plant on account of the voilent skin irritation it sets up. The irritation is sometimes difficult to get rid of and very uncomfortable while it lasts. Some of the best plants from last year’s growing may be split up and repotted; but unless the strain Is exceptionally good it is best to raise new plants from seed each year. As Schizanthus finish blooming put aside a few of the best in order to save seed. Stake out Calceolarias and above all things keep them in a very cool place. Spray for greenfly as soon as it makes an appearance otherwise the plants- will soon be crippled. Fuchsias make excellent greenhouse plants for mid-summer and autumn. To save the plants from making tob much wood pot them very firmly, this will give more even growth and send the plants into flower. They are also hungry plants when doing well and require plenty of feeding with dilute liquid manure as soon as the pots become full of roots. During hot weather do not neglect to shade the greenhouse roof to prevent scorching the plants and damp down all benches and floors morning, noon and night. The Flower Garden. Another week has passed and up to the time of writing only one small shower has been experienced. A good steady rain of several hours’ duration would work wonders in all parts of the garden. Just a word on planting annuals in dry soil. Once the bed has been forked over give it a good tramping with the feet to firm it down again, then proceed with the planting. It is useless to plant in soil that is practically devoid of water and the tramping will assist to bring the water from the sub-soil up to the surface by what is known as capillary attraction. One good watering should last the plants for some time. If, however, dry weather continues, and it becomes necessary to water the whole of the garden see that it is thoroughly done. If only a sprinkling is given each time the plants will make many surface roots instead of delving deeper for moisture with the result that on a very windy and drying day or perhaps when one is on holiday the plants will suffer severely from drought. Personally I never believe in watering unless it is absolutely necessary and then the job must be done thoroughly. Watch Dahlias, they of all plants for summer bloom must not be permitted to suffer from want of water. After watering give the plants mulch of rotted manure or old grass trimmings. Another method is to plant the tubers deeper than was the case last year. Dahlias, even though they are well into growth, may be planted out this week. This is the correct, time to plant out the beautiful herbaceous scarlet Lobelia. Choose a rich moist soil and a reasonablysheltered position. Bed out Paris Daisies, Geraniums, and herbaceous Calceolarias.

When putting in annuals do not neglect to include some Salpiglosis. These plants produce varied colours of purple and bronze shades well marked with distinctive stripes. The colours are such as may not be easilyfound in any other type of annual. If given deep free soil and a sheltered situation they will repay any attention given them.

Remove Narcissi! and Tulips from beds and complete the summer bedding before the second week in December.

Occasionally one is at a loss to know what to grow in a dry corner, something that will bloom during the summer and make a bright display. Try scattering the seeds of the following in drifts for effect; Eschscholtzias, Linum and Virginian Stock All three will do quite well and if the ground is covered with a little scrub to keep off birds till the seeds germinate so much the better.

It is really remarkable how well roses are doing this year, the tine weather bringing them on very early. An ounce of sulphate of iron stirred into every square yard of soil will assist in giving the blooms depth and purity of colour besides being partial fungicide in the soil. One cannot too strongly recommend that intending growers provide themselves with a note book and pencil and mark down any outstanding varieties so that orders may be placed with the nurserymen as soon as possible after the New Year. For a start beginners would be well advised to commence their list with Shot Silk, Golden Gleam, Betty Uprichard and Mdm. Butterfly, all outstanding bedding varieties and splendid growers in Southland. Further varieties will be discussed as they bloom. Aquilegias or Columbines are now in full flower and provide plenty of cut bloom at a time when flowers are just a little scarce. It is surprising the various new and delicate shades that are to be met with and in a year or two these plants will be in great demand again. Sow seeds of the long spurred varieties now and prick out or transplant into small beds when large enough to handle. In the autumn the plants will be large enough to put out into their permanent positions and no one will regret having put them in. Many readers have inquired if the blue Tibetian Poppy (Meconopsis Baileyii) is difficult to grow. Certainly not, it is quite hardy and in bloom at the present time. It requires a deeply worked soil with plenty of moisture though well drained and sheltered from prevailing winds. The plant is perennial in some situations while in others it seems to bloom itself out in the second year. Sow the seeds in boxes and treat in a manner similiar to Aquilegias. Many of the old type of red Oriental Poppy can be seen in gardens at the present time. Few people have any idea that the pink shades are more effective and not quite so coarse. A packet of seed will provide all shades of pink and .occasionally a few white and cream varieties turn up. Sow the seeds now and treat in a similar manner to Aquilegias. Before passing on do not neglect to collect seeds of good Polyanthus and sow them at once. Vegetables and Fruits. Tomatoes for outside growing must be put into their permanent positions, usually against a south wall, as soon as possible. There is every prospect of a reasonably good crop from outdoor plants this season.' Protect cherries from birds and Gooseberries too, the latter are often attacked in dry spells by blackbirds. A few bird baths about the fruit garden often assist in keeping birds off the ripening fruit. Spray apples for red spider and mildew. Good light bulky soot is an excellent manure for onions and if dusted over the plants will keep onion mildew in check. Except keeping up the supply of salad crops, planting early celery and thinning growing crops, there is little else one can do in the vegetable garden at present until a good heavy shower of rain comes along. When this occurs lose no time in hoeing up potatoes and staking peas and runner beans. Growth should be excellent if the ground receives a good soaking. Answers to Correspondents. “Elm." Horizontal Elms are budded on, to stocks of the ordinary Elm at the desired height from the ground. If you did layer a branch it would only grow along the ground and all to one side. The same , apply to Kilmarnock Willows, _

“E. 8. Riverton. Chinodoxa is larger than Scilla Siberia and has a white centre. Both require a moist situation and when growing well they both, especially the latter, seed freely and the young seedlings quickly appear around the parent plants, bulbs are in too dry a situation and had better be lifted shortly and planted in a moister place. Slips of red Manuka about four inclies long made of ripened young wood can be inserted in pots of sandy soil (pressed very firmly) in March. Cover the pots with a bell jar for a few weeks. It no pots are available choose a shady spot in the garden, mix a little sand through the soil, tramp very firmly, insert the cuttings close together and cover with a large jam jar. Let air in about once a day. “Inquirer” Bluff. Nitrate of Soda is a splendid manure to use in liquid form for lettuce plants and you have used it with excellent results. The safest amount to use is one ounce to four gallons of water. If used in stronger solution it will burn the leaves if the liquid remains on them. Most beginners have a habit of using artificials in too great a strength hence the warning given from time to time through these notes. Try a few crystals on a flat leaf and watch the result. Your mixture has probably run off the leaves immediately it touched them hence no harm done. I congratulate you on the excellent size of your plants. BLOOMS OUT OF SEASON. By controlling the sunlight that reaches certain plants, it has been found possible to force them to bloom out of season, earlier or later than their usual period (says an American writer). Experiments have been made with dahlias, African marigolds, poinsettias, Klondyke cosmos, and the late varieties of chrysanthemums. It now appears that the plants produce flowers in direct relation to the length of the. daylight period. With this to guide them experimenters trick the flowers into blooming at unusual seasons. This can be done by covering the plants or by taking them into the cellar for an hour or two before sunset each day. This produces sunlight conditions approximating autumn, with a shorter period of daylight, and the-plants bloom earlier. Conversely, it has been found that lengthening the short days of autumn and winter with the aid of electric lights of proper intensity prevents these plants from flowering in their normal season. It is even possible to force different parts of some plants in to blossom at different seasons. BEST BUTTONHOLE ROSES. The habit of we -ring a “buttonhole” seems to be largely on the increase, and few flowers lend themselves better for this purpose than the rose. Holders can now be bought cheaply, and are made unobtrusive, and I advise all who are going to "sport” a rose to get one. Without this adjunct the best blooms soon wilt and look miserable. Not every rose, however, may be worn with the best effect. Tire ideal buttonhole rose should be long in the petals, with a high centre, fairly but not too full, and, if possible,' possess fragrance (says a contributor to Popular Gardening), Many of our highly-coloured modem roses are decidedly on 'the thin side, and these should be cut in the bud stage, as they will lengthen and gradually open in water. If cut half open they will “show centre” in an hour or two, especially if the weather Is hot. We might naturally wish to associate the bloom and foliage of the same variety, but in practice it will be found that the thick leathery foliage so much admired in many of the modern roses will soon become limp and wilt, even in water. Again, it is inadvisable to denude dwarf roses of their foliage more than can be helped, as every leaf helps in aiding the building up of a healthy plant and the ripening of the wood. I recommend, therefore, obtaining leaves from some of the strong-growing rambler or climbing roses. For instance, the foliage of American Pillar and Dr Van Fleet will last and look well. For many years I have grown a stronggrowing rambler called Silver Moon, which possesses glossy dark green foliage that lasts a wonderfully long time in water. It bears loose clusters of large, almost single, white blooms with yellow anthers, but it is not very free even if allowed to grow naturally, and so I do not recommend it for its flowers. Plant it in a corner of the garden where you can give it plenty of space, and you can cut hundreds of leaves during the season and scarcely miss them. Tlte following varieties make striking buttonholes if cut young. Angele Pernet, orange flame shaded coppery-apricot; Adele Crofton, cadmium yellow, overlaid orangescarlet; Bernice, yellow, shaded apricot and pink; Betty Uprichard, salmon-pink, reverse of petals carmine; Chas. P. Kilham, orange suffused scarlet; Cuba, orange-scar-let; Demond Johnston, scarlet flushed orange-yellow base; Emma Wright, orange; Eva Eakins, scarlet suffused with orange; Flamingo, rosy-cerise; Florence Izzard, but-tercup-yellow; Hoosier Beauty, crimson with darker shading; Ivy May, -rose-pink amber base; K. of K., scarlet; Lady Love, pink and apricot; Lady Pirie, copperysalnion; Lord Castlereagh, rich dark crimson ; Marion Oran, yellow, flushed cerise and rosy scarlet; Mrs Talbot O'Farrell, yellow flushed crimson; Perfume, rich vel-vety-crimson; Shot Silk, cherry-cerise, overshot salmon-orange; I. Zingari, orange-scar-let. Among those that may be cut at a later stage of development and will usually maintain their form during the day, some of the best are Aspirant, Marcel Rouyer, deep apricot, tinted salmon; Clarice Goodacre, ivory-white; Ethel Somerset, pink; Golden Gleam, buttere.up-yellow, pink suffusion at edges; Golden Emblem, yellow; Gwnyeth Jones, carmine-orange; Hadley, dark crimson ; Independence Day, flame overlaid apricot ; Lady Inchiquin, cerise; Lamia, reddishorange; Los Angeles, flamed pink toned coral; Mme. Abel Chatenay, carmine-rose shaded deep salmon; Mme. Butterfly, flesh shaded rose; McGredy’s Scarlet, Miss C. E. Van Rossem, velvety-crimson; Mrs Beatty, yellow; Mrs H. Morse, bright rose; Ophelia, salmon, flesh, shaded rose; Scarlet Glory; Sir David Davie,, crimson; Sunburst, cad-ium-yellow; Swansdown, white; White Ensign ; Wm. Kordes, ’ carmine and yellow, veined deeper carmine. Practically all possess perfume in varying degrees.