THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 25309, 12 June 1935, Page 12

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK (By J. A. McPherson.) The Greenhouse. Cut over chrysanthemums as soon as they finish blooming and stand the plants in the shelter of a high hedge or cool frame. Fibrous-rooted Begonias take a long time to germinate and should be sown towards the end of this month. Cyclamen do best when grown each year from seed. Next season’s plants should be secured by sowing the seeds this week in gentle heat. Soak the seeds before sowing and germination will be hastened by several days. In cool greenhouses a start can be made to sow antirrhinums for next ’season’s budding. Sow in shallow boxes and see that the seed is scattered thinly, otherwise damping off will take place. Once the seedlings have germinated give them as much light as possible. Primula obconica is now coming into bloom and can be assisted with weak applications of liquid manure. This is a splendid Primula for late winter and spring blooming; but should not be handled by persons with tender skins, otherwise a most irritable rash is often caused, both on hands and face. Some gardeners cannot touch the leaves of this plant and avoid it on all occasions. . The Flower Garden. While weather is fine, hurry on the heavy work of trenching and bringirig in all new areas. Hedges can be planted making sure not to place the plants deeper in the soil than they have been used to in the nursery. This remark applies to the planting of all hardy trees and shrubs. A visit to any nursery at the present time is of great assistance to all persons desirous of laying out new areas. The nurseryman is competent to advise on such matters as suitable plants for various types of soils and situations. Then again there are many berrybearing shrubs still in full bearing and a selection can quickly be made. Where new shrub borders have been formed there is plenty of room for under-planting until the shrubs practically cover the whole area. For spring effect in such a position it is not too late to plant sturdy seedlings of Polyanthus, while for mid-summer effect a planting of Sweet William produces a bold display. Established shrub borders should be lightly pointed over, not deep enough to disturb the roots, especially those roots of rhododendrons, heaths and azaleas which keep to the surface. In dry districts a mulch of leaves should be placed round shallow-rooted shrubs as soon as the ground has been pointed over. This is of wonderful benefit during dry summers and often saves many a plant. Hurry on the work of inserting cuttings of hardy trees and shrubs. Hie sooner these are in the ground the better, for it allows the base of each cutting to callus over before the actual roots start to grow in the spring. Plant Lilium regale in well drained positions and at a depth of six inches. The reason for deep planting is that this lily like many others is a stem rooter, producing numerous feeding roots on the stem for fully four inches above the top of the bulb. Shallow planting does not permit these roots to develop properly and the buybs suffer in consequence. Readers having well established wisterias may carry out pruning operations this month. Unless required for further extensions and training over additional space, all long and sappy shoots should be shortened back to four eyes. Laterals or side growths made during this last season should cut back to two eyes. In fact, the pruning of wisteria is like the light pruning given to a vine. The main point to bear in mind is to keep the long main stems well cut back to produce flowering spurs. The Vegetable Garden. A word of warning before sowing seeds of cabbages, cauliflowers ' and other members of the brassica family. Do not keep sowing the seeds on the same seed bed, for this is the surest way to spread club-root through the crops. If there is difficulty in securing soil for the seed bed and there is doubt whether it is diseased, then sterilize the bed with mercuric-chloride at a strength of .01 per cent. It costs about 4d to treat a square yard. As this chemical is a deadly poison, it should be kept well out of. the reach of children. If cabbages are running all to leaf and not hearting up the they should take a sharp pointed knife and make a hole right through each stem below the leaves and push a small splinter of wood through each hole. This will steady up the flow of sap and send the plants into heart Small hearted cabbages can be planted out in mild localities to be ready for cutting when savoys are finished. I doubt very much if the white butterfly pest will ever assume the nature of a plague in Southland, but in the drier districts, such as Canterbury, it will be difficult to keep up supplies of cabbages until the parasite introduced to deal with it has increased. This means that there will possibly be a shortage of supplies in the northern districts of the South Island and an opportunity presents itself for growers to make a fair profiit, especially where savoys and drumhead cabbages are concerned. This season it has been almost impossible to grow these winter green crops in Christchurch on account of the white butterfly and the diamond-backed moth. Ground that has been used for a number of years for the growing of vegetables should be given a trenching or at least double-dug, even if it was originally treated in this manner. Well worked land thoroughly drained is most essential for all crops especially those grown for the early spring market. The Fruit Garden. Hurry on with the work of pruning all small fruits. Treat gooseberries by shortening back the main shoots a little and spurring back the laterals to two eyes. All sappy growth running up through the centre of the bushes should be cut right out from the base. Black currant must have all old wood removed right from the base and the new wood produced last season left severely alone with the exception of cutting off the tips. Red and white currants produce their fruits on both old and young wood and must be treated differently. Cut back the lateral shoots to two eyes and the main shoots to four eyes. Each year a little of the very old wood can be cut right out. Commence to prune apples, pears and plums.

Vines must be pruned as soon as the leaves have fallen. Cut back the laterals to one eye and thoroughly wash all the vines with Gishurst’s Compound, a reliable insecticide of many years standing. Fruit trees, especially young ones that are making too much "top growth should be lifted and root pruned. It will generally be found that on such trees a tap root has developed and this should be cut right off. .

HOW TO TRANSPLANT SEEDLINGS . One of the most common mistakes made by the amateur is to sow seed too thickly. Spindly and weakly plants are the inevitable result (writes Leonard A. Griffiths, in the Hawkes Bay Tribute.) Should you have erred in this respect you should take immediate measures to remedy matters by carefully thinning out your seedling patch, and thus give the remainder an opportunity to establish themselves, before the pricking out is performed. Spindly plants rarely do any good, in fact we describe them as useless. Select only strong, stubby plants with a well-developed root system. In many cases, particularly with the more-delicate subjects, double handling is a decided advantage—and a necessity. This operation should be performed carefully, and each seedling removed with a small clod of earth so as to guard against any possibility of injury to the roots. Never under any circumstances pull the seedlings from their pots or boxes; take a small, flat stick with the end cut in a V shape, and , after having loosened the earth lift it out carefully into its own position. Have the permanent bed ready for the final transplanting by carefully forking over and breaking up the surface to fine tilth and then levelling off. We presume, of course, that the bed has been previously trenched and well enriched. Before the actual operation of transplanting give the bed a thorough saturation. Select only the strongest and most promising of your seedlings, giving a care to uniformity of size, discarding any weakly or mis-shaped plants. Make your holes with a dibble, place the seedling into position with the. left hand, and water it in with the right, care being taken to see that the roots touch the bottom of the hole. * Over-deep planting is also a mistake. Adopt the happy medium, about the same depth it occupied in the box or bed previous to transplanting. BONE MEAL AS A MANURE Manuring is of such great value in the garden that it is well to keep the subject in the mind of readers (says the Manawatu Daily Times.) As a substitute for farmyard manure and for occasional use as a dressing to a plot of ground where it is not possible to manure each year with the ground crops. When in doubt as to what to use for a particular, plant it will always be safe to apply bonemeal. Pure bonemeal holds up to 50 per cent, of total phosphates, and about 4 per cent, of nitrogen/ It is of the greatest value for digging into the plots in spring, plants responding vigorously to dressings of it. Unlike many of the artificials, which, after an extended use, are liable to leave the soil too acid, the whole of this product appears to be absorbed into the plants, leaving the soil sweet and friable. As a fortnightly dressing to heavy bearing crops such as sweet peas, to, celery ana onions, it is most beneficial and its use about the roots of roses is apparent in quite a short time. In the making of vine borders or other fruit-bearing trees it is very useful, but should not be used too generously or growth will be too vigorous. For all fruit, the use of the coarse bone meal is preferable, as it is more lasting, the fine being the better for top-dressing growing crops and general surface dressings. For forking ar oul }s fruit trees in spring bone meal could scarcely be improved on, the roots of the trees taking hold of it ravenously and proving its value by the improved appearance of their leaves and fruit. Fruit trees also greatly benefit from a dressing of lime in autumn. Its use upon lawns, too, is very noticeable, and a dressing of bone meal applied either in spring or in autumn will do much to improve the colour and strength of the grasses, even upon lawns and other playing grounds which have, been annually dressed with artificials of an acidy nature. For mixing with potting composts bone meal in both forms is in constant use, and where the loam is of a rather poor quality a proportion of it should always be added. Chrysanthemums, carnations, cyclamen, hydrangeas, and a host of other important plants may be vastly improved by its use, either mixed with the soil or as a fortnightly top-dressing, and over beds of close growing lily of the valley, which it is impossible to fork, an occasional dusting of bone meal will prove most beneficial and lasting. ROSE TREES FOR LONDON Ten thousand rose trees, all British, grown, are shortly to be planted in a new and specially designed rose garden, which will be the principal feature of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Regent’s Park when they are reopened to the public early next summer. The trees are the gift of the British Rose Growers’ Association to the London parks, and the details of the scheme have been arranged by the Empire Marketing Board in conjunction with the Office of Works, the British Rose Growers’ Association, and the Horticultural Trades Association. English, Scottish, and Irish rose growers are combining to make the display one of the most comprehensive ever assembled in one garden. It will include almost every known variety of rose, and is designed to show the unrivalled qualities of British-grown roses for the purposes of cultivation in this country. BULBS IN POTS Where there is any intention of growing bulbs in pots, no time should be lost in getting the work under way. Four or five bulbs of narcissi can be placed in a 6in pot. Tulips do very well in the same way, and five or six bulbs can be accommodated in a wn pot. Three bulbs of hyacinths can be placed in a similar size, but the best method with hyacinths is to have one bulb in a sin pot Bulbs succeed vrefi in ordinary medium soil, so long as drainage is good. Plunge the pots in ashes, covering them about 6m deep. This encourages root action, while retarding top growth. When growth has commenced and the shoots are about 2in long, the pots must be taken out of the plunging material and stood m a shady position.