THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 22131, 27 September 1933, Page 15

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

(By

James A. McPherson.)

The Greenhouse. ' Harden off all bedding plants as soon as they have a firm grip of the soil in the boxes. Take cuttings of foliage Coleus; these will help to furnish the greenhouse during the late summer. Repot Schizanthus into their final pots. To keep them dwarf they may be pinched again and placed where plenty of light is available.

Cinerarias that have finished flowering should be removed from the house for they only act as hosts for flyBoth tuberous and fibrous-rooted Begonias will have grown sufficiently to be pricked off into very shallow plant trays. Place them fairly thickly and they can be reboxed at a later stage prior to placing in pots towards January. The compost into which the seedlings are placed should consist of half loam and half leafmould with sufficient sand to keep it open.

Sow seeds of Chiiies and Solanum capricastrum if berried plants are required for the winter. It is just a little on the early side to sow seeds of perennials and biennials, wait till the rush of raising bedding plants is over and then commence the work about the beginning of November. In the meantime order such seeds as Wallflowers, Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, Bellis Daisies, Polyanthus, Auriculas and the many hardy herbaceous plants.

The Flower Garden. Before the bedding out of summer plants it is well to look around the garden and see what bulbs can be safely shifted when in full leaf. Provided it is done quickly and no wind or sunshine permitted to play on the bulbs it will not hurt to lift and “heel” in the following types, Narcissii, Crocus, Tulip, Hyacinths. Give them a good watering and when the leaves die off naturally the bulbs may be lifted and stored till next planting season. Wallflower makes the main display in gardens during the next few weeks and will always be regarded as one of the chief spring bedding plants for Southland. The secret of success with these plants is to raise them from seed in November and plant them out the following April. Every branch formed during this growing period will send up a head of bloom.

Tulips are becoming more popular and with a little attention will last for a considerable time in bloom, especially the Darwin type. Readers would do well to note the following varieties, all of which have proved their worth as suitable for Southland conditions: Clara Butt (rosy pink); Margaret (soft flesh pink); La Candeur (creamy white), Blue Bird (smoky blue), Wm. Copeland (rosy lilac), Inglescombe Yellow (yellow), and Yellow Hammer (bright yellow with pointed petals). Southland climate is ideal for raising tulips and if anyone would specialize in growing them for commerce there is a ready market awaiting all that can be grown from garden-lovers further north in New Zealand. One big thing in their favous is that being grown so far south there is less chance of the “breaking” a condition caused by a “virus” disease and spread through the agency of greenfly. Polyanthus may be given applications of liquid manure to increase the length of stem. Auriculas require shade from drying winds and excessive sunshine especially if show blooms are to be obtained.

Anemones are splendid spring flowers; but have you tried those charming species apenning and nemerosa, both of which have underground stems similar to bracken fern and send up delightful masses of sky blue and white flowers respectively? They are splendid for planting under trees in moist places where nothing else will grow. A start can be made with the broadcast sowing of annuals. Sow thinly and rake the seed in. Cover with twigs of manuka or old netting to keep birds away till the seedlings are above ground and when large enough to handle commence to thin them out. All the thinnings can be planted in other spare places and so help to brighten the display throughout the summer. Where excessive growth is showing on rose bushes, especially those set aside to carry the blooms for the show bench, some can be rubbed off before very active growth starts.

The Vegetable Garden. Parsnips require a long season of growth and the main sowing should be made this week and next. The ground should be deeply worked and if heavily manured last season for some other crop, so much the better. Do not add fresh manure as it will tend to make the roots fork badly. Place three seeds in a group, each group being six inches apart, then when all seeds have germinated leave only the healthiest plant in each group. Another sowing can be made of short horn carrots, followed next month by the intermediate type for main crop work.

Hoe up autumn-sown peas and commence to sow more seeds at threeweekly intervals. Kelvedon Wonder is a splendid early variety and this can be followed by Dwarf Defiance and the variety W. F. Massey. Do not sow thickly but make a wide flat bottomed drill in which to space the seeds at regular distances of three inches apart.

Broad beans may be sown in such a position that they will assist in sheltering smaller growing vegetables. As a catch crop, Radishes may be sown between the rows. Early potatoes should all be in the ground by now and as they appear take care to shelter them from cold winds and late frosts. Second early varieties may be put in the first week in October followed closely by the main crop varieties.

Sow summer spinach on a warm sheltered border where it will receive all the warmth possible. Fowl manure when well mixed with soil and left to mature for several months is splendid for onions. The bed for onions should be fairly firm; but not tightly packed and it will be found that soot is a valuable manure to use once the plants are two inches high. Do not sow the seed very deep, in fact the lighter the covering the better, for deep sowing tends to push the plants all to neck and they will not bulb up properly. Autumn-sown plants are best for bulbing in Southland.

A succession of both lettuce _ and cabbage must be planted at fortnightly intervals to keep up the supply. Sow seeds of the red cabbage, Brussel sprouts and kale on small prepared seed beds. >

It is too early to sow French and Runner Beans and still too early to sow long rooted beet. Keep sowing turniprooted Beetroot and use it as soon as it matures.

Finish planting rhubarb and do not forget to lift; divide and replant forget to lift, divide and replant Chives.

THE REGAL AND OTHER LILIES It was a bright day for gardners when the late Mr E. H. Wilson discovered Lilium regale in Western China and introduced it to England. Rarely has a new introduction achieved such immediate success. It is only about 17 years ago that the first seeds were received in England, yet already the regal lily is one of the most planted of all its kind. The reasons for this popularity are three-fold. First, L. regale is outstandingly beautiful, even for a lily, with widely flaring trumpet blooms that are in the main pure white, but warmed to golden-yellow on the interior, and streaked with brown and pink outside. Secondly, there is no lily more amenable to culture in English gardens than this, and many amateur gardeners have been able to grow this species successfully, even though they have failed with most other varieties. The third reason for its quick rise to fame is the ease with which it can be raised from seed. Here, again, it leaves most other species standing. Seed sown in a warm greenhouse in August or early September will germinate in a few weeks, and progress will be so rapid that most of the seedlings will produce a flower the following season. In two years they will have made good-sized bulbs fit for sale. Lilium regale is one of the few species that do not object to lime. It does best in a deep, loamy soil, containing plenty of humus, and to see its flowers at their fullest development it should not be allowed to go short of water during the growing season. But it is so easy to grow that there is no necessity to make elaborate preparations for it, provided the garden is in ordinarily good condition. Another easily-managed lily from China is Lilium Henryi. This is of totally different character to the lastnamed, as it belongs to that section of the family which produces its blooms in a kind of candelabra one above the other, the individual blooms hanging from the ends of arching footstalks, produced at right angles to the main stem. The petals have a waxy texture, and are a clear orange colour, softening to green at the base, and with a few maroon spots. Like L. regale, L. Henryi is a species of the limestone ranges, and is, therefore, much easier to cultivate in this country than those lilies which are lime-haters, and must be planted in a soil composed almost entirely of peat and leaf mould. It is very hardy and free flowering, and, when well established, one stem will produce as many as 20 flowers.

Yet a third easily-grown lily, and this time one of European origin, is L. testaceum, popularly known, on account of its pale apricot colour, as the Nankeen lily. Its origin is shrouded in mystery, though it is generally supposed to be a hybrid between the popular Madonna lily, L. candidum and L. monadelphum, a species from the Caucasus mountains. For some reason or other, L. testaceum became very scarce in gardens a few years ago, and even at the present time stocks are sufficiently short to warrant comparatively high prices being asked for the bulbs. But this must not be taken as an indication that the Nankeen lily is a capricious variety, or one that is difficult to propagate, for, given suitable conditions, it is as easy to manage as the two already described. It is highly probable that the shortage of stock has been caused by too great a reliance being placed upon foreign importations which lack the constitution of homeraised bulbs. The result has been that large numbers of weakly plants have fallen a prey to lily disease and succumbed. This trouble, and, indeed many of the difficulties experienced with certain other lilies, will be overcome when stocks are raised from seed in this country, and so become acclimatized from the outset.

The two essentials for growing L. testaceum really well are a deep, rich soil and abundance of moisture during the growing season. Beds or borders in which it is to be planted should always be trenched at least two feet deep, and a ilberal dressing of well-rotted farmyard manure, decayed vegetable matter, or any other decomposing material that will enrich the soil with nitrogen and humus, be worked into the second spit so as to underlie the bulbs.

A situation should be chosen where the roots are not likely to suffer from drought during hot weather, yet the bulbs will not become waterlogged in the winter. Actually a plentiful supply of humus in the soil will automatically solve this problem, as it acts like a sponge, storing supplies of moisture against prolonged dry spells, but allowing surplus to escape freely when the weather is wet.

Lilium monadelphum, already referred to, is a a rather variable but nevertheless desirable species, which should be planted in the form known as szovitzianum. This is earlier than the type flowering in December and early in January, and the blooms are of greater size and clearer colour. Incidentally, the particular shade of this lily is rather unusual, being a citronyellow, tinged at the base of the flower with wine-red, and with a few spots that are so dark as to be almost black. This lily does not establish itself very rapidly, and is rather expensive to buy, but it is very beautiful and not at all difficult to cultivate once it has become established.

There are, of course, many other lilies suitable for garden culture, among which may be named the tiger lily in several forms, the orange lily, the umbellate lily in numerous varieties, the martagon lily and Lilium speciosum in two or three colours, and which is about the last to flower. The auratum lily needs hardly to be mentioned, so well known is it.—A. H., in Amateur Gardening.

HOW TO GROW CACTI Cacti are among the most interesting forms of plant life. They are not as well known in this country as they deserve to be, whereas in Germany nearly every house and cottage has its collection, and other Continental countries, such as Holland and Belgium, also grow them more than we do. in England (says Popular Gardening, London). It is satisfactory, however, to know that the newly-formed Cactus Society already boasts several hundred members. The first cactus was introduced into Europe about 1581, and since then many thousands of new kinds have appeared. Some cactus plants are only an inch high; others grow to over 50ft. Some are shaped like dumplings, some tall and thin, while others appear as flat leaves joined at the edges. When growing they are all possessed of succulent habits, having juicy insides, whatever their external appearance may be. Some of the flowers are remarkable for size and beauty, and the vivid colourings of many kinds are unequalled by those of any other plants. The chief kinds are Phyllococtus,. the easiest to grow for blooming; Echinocactus, echino meaning hedgehog-like; Mammillaria, Opuntia, and Cereus. It is a mistake to think that heat is necessary to grow a collection of cacti; many of them have to stand anything

up to 40deg of frost in the natural habitat. The chief point about their cultivation is that they are well watered in summer and kept nearly dry in winter. It is the damp of this country which causes so many fatalities, but with little care it is possible to raise an interesting collection at small cost.

The propagation of cacti is interesting. After some years small ones appear on the parent plant, and if these are removed and planted in sandy soil they will grow. Cuttings may also be taken, and if allowed to dry for about twelve hours and then planted they will root in a short time, especially in summer. This easy rooting is well illustrated by the fact that the prickly pear cactus, used in other countries for hedges, is very difficult to eliminate, as any small pieces broken off by animals will root so that patches of this cactus appear where they are not wanted. Cacti may also be raised from seed. This is most interesting and easy. The seeds are sown in a mixture of about one-third each of sand, loam, and powdered brick, and. just covered. If mixed seed is used one large pan is sufficient. If several named varieties are being raised the following procedure should be adopted:—Fill thimble pots with the mixture and bury them in peaty soil in a box. The box can then be watered without disturbing the seedlings as they appear. When the seedlings are about a week old, from a fortnight to six months after sowing the seed, they are pricked out, using a matchstick for the purpose. These are transferred to a pot and kept not quite as wet as before. If all the seeds are raised in a small frame and the picked-out seedlings kept in this they will do well. A small box covered with glass will suit admirably. This frame should be kept in a sunny window or on a sunny shelf in the greenhouse. . Soil for cacti should never be rich. In potting the plants the mixture stated above will suffice, and the bottom of the pot should contain sufficient crocks for drainage. If the beginner does not wish to raise seeds, for it certainly takes some years for the plants to attain a fair size, it is possible to obtain collections at small cost.