THE GARDEN

Southland Times, Issue 25362, 14 August 1935, Page 12

THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK

(By

J. A. McPherson.)

The Greenhouse. Spate in the greenhouse is at a premium during this and next month on account of so much raising of seedlings for bedding out in the early summer. There are two ways of increasing the accommodation, firstly by erecting temporary shelves on which to stand boxes and pots and secondly by using the double method when pricking off seedlings. This second method is carried out by pricking off say a hundred seedlings in each plant tray instead of the usual fifty. When the seedlings commence to touch each other, they can be re-pricked off, this time allowing only fifty to the tray. On account of the sturdiness of the seedlings at the repricking off stage there is no necessity to keep them coddled in the greenhouse and they can be removed direct into the shelter of an outside frame. Roots of Cannas can be potted up into tins or tubs for early work. Use a good heavy soil to which has been added some bone meal. A few roots of arum lilies if treated in the same manner will give a good display of bloom in two months from the time of potting up. Dahlias should be looked over and those varieties which are to be increased by cuttings, boxed up and started into growth. When the shoots are two to four inches long, they may be taken off and placed in boxes or pots of sandy soil. Dahlia cuttings are easy to root. Evergreen Shrubs. This is a most suitable time to shift evergreen shrubs. Keep a good ball of soil on the roots and water them thoroughly into position. Old plants of Holly are quite easily shifted and if too large may be cut very hard back into the old wood. This hard cutting back often puts new life into scraggy specimens. Rhododendrons, too, can be cut back to the old main stems if specimens have grown too large for their positions. It must be borne in mind that with such hard treatment the bushes will not flower for at least two seasons. It is a mistake to say that these plants cannot be cut hard back. Heaths can also be shifted at the present time and the correct time to cut them back is immediately the bushes have flowered. Removing all old flowering wood permits of new growth being formed before next flowering season.

Many of our native shrubs, particularly olearias, senecios and veronicas that have become old and scraggy, can be brought back to vigorous growth if they are severely pruned this month. Do not neglect the many types of dwarf conifers, especially when it is intended to form small formal gardens or rock gardens. Then there are the larger conifers with golden and silver variegated foliage such as Cupressus Lawsoniana aurea and lutea. These add colour to the garden during the depth of winter. Variegated and golden upright yews may be used for the same purpose. Garrya elliptica is an evergreen shrub well worth growing. It is in bloom this month and the long drooping racemes of greenish yellow flowers are very attractive. It will glow in dry situations. The calico bush (Kalmia latifolia) and the Lily of the Valley bush (Andromeda japonica) are two really worth while evergreens for planting in all gardens. Give them the same soil requirements as Rhododendrons and plant them this month. The Flower Garden.

Work of pruning roses is now in full swing. Two weeks ago I dealt with the pruning of bush or dwarf growing roses; but omitted both climbing and rambling types. Climbing roses need practically no pruning in the first season. As each season sees them growing taller and stronger they must be taken in hand and all lateral growths pruned back to two oi' three eyes. Very old wood should be removed and the long stems tied securely to pillars or other supports. Rambling roses produce their blooms in large trusses on the young wood and by rights should have been pruned immediately after flowering by cutting out the old flowering wood right from ground level and tying up the vigorous young shoots which spring up from the base. If this work has been overlooked, see to it at once. The Polyantha type of rose is really a dwarf rambler and should have all weak growth cut out and the strong shoots reduced to half their length. Keep a look-out for the young tips of leaves belonging to the autumn Crocus (Colchicum) and give these bulbs a light mulching with decayed leaves.

All lilies should be in the ground by now and making good root growth. Commence to plant the first batch of gladioli. Set the corms on a light bed of coarse sand four inches below the surface soil and space them nine inches apart. Manure must never come in contact with the roots and the type of ground they like is a well-drained area which was manured last season for such a crop as cabbages or potatoes. In this they will find all the plant foods necessary. Summer flowering chrysanthemums can be lifted, divided and replanted. Blood and bone meal is an excellent lasting manure fox- digging into all shrub borders and assisting growth in the herbaceous borders.

Many herbaceous plants are just commencing to push up their new growth and now is the time to plant them. A very neglected group of plants are the astibles or herbaceous spiraeas. Truly magnificent plants fox' moist gardens, they are perfectly hardy and throw up very fine plumes of richly coloured flowers. The new varieties include some which grow to a height of two feet and- the colour ranges from cream through all shades of rose and pink to deep ruby red. They are very fine for cutting and a single flower, spike resembles a richly coloured head of pampas grass. They are ideal for planting near the waterside. The Vegetable Garden. Weather conditions will govern the amount of early sowings. One plant that must have its seeds in early is parsley, for the seeds take two oxeven three weeks to germinate. Two main sowings should be made, the first this month for summer use and the second in January for wintex' use. It is most important to give parsley good soil othex-wise it has a tendency to run to seed. Next it must be properly thinned to nine inches apart in order that each plant may develop properly. Thinning of this useful vegetable is often overlooked with the result that the plants choke each other and fail to produce those large leaves so necessary for garnishing many dishes. Early potatoes may be planted on sunny slopes near the sea-shore and in cold districts a few can be grown in tins under the shelter of a hedge until all frosts have disappeared. Sow short rows of radishes and earlyhorn carrots on ground previously manured for a leafy crop. It is too early to plant asparagus beds, but the ground can be got ready and the plants ordered. Lift and store all roots crops that

have been held in the ground over the winter and manure the ground ready for leaf and pod crops. Pod crops must have lime. DWARF DELPHINIUMS SOME DELIGHTFUL BUT NEGLECTED FORMS. It is not the fault of the gardening community that they have come to regard the delphinium as a giant among border plants. So continually have these giant specimens been arrayed before our eyes at flower shows that the existence of other types, equally as charming and infinitely more graceful, is all but forgotten (writes “Lorna.” in the Manawatu Daily Times). Our tall border delphiniums of to-day represent the glorifications of only a few types, particularly the Swiss species, and it is not unlikely that in the course of time the fascination of mere size will wane. Some of the Californian species present difficulties in cultivation. Chief among those which may be grown with success are the hybrids of D. belladonna, a native of the Swiss Alps, and glowingly described by Farrer in his ‘English Rock Garden.’ Tire typical habit of this race is dwarf and branching, with florets mostly single in form, usually of pure blue and produced with great freedom over a lengthy period. In culture their demands are not so great as those of their taller cousins. Soil that has been enriched with organic matter is an advantage, but over-feeding should be avoided, it being remembered that grace and daintiness, and not size of spike, are the ideal characteristics of this race. The best example of the Belladonna group are Semiplena, with semidouble florets of azure blue tipped, rosy purple- Isis, with wide-spread, single plants of glistening gentian; Lamartine, deep blue and Mrs Thomson, bright electric blue, are all of dwarf, bushy habit, varying from two to three feet in height and are ideal subjects fox - the front portions of the flower border, blooming as they do over a long period. A new hybrid of unknown origin is an entire break-away in habit. This plant, christened Merlin, reaches a _height of four feet. The small trusses of bloom are as graceful as Belladonna itself, bearing single flowers of rich, glistening, and metallic blue with white corollas. For a mid position in the border it is ideal and most effective, as well as being a delightful cut flower. It branches from the base upwards, like an anchusa. LONGEVITY IN SEEDS One may find an interesting study in the problem of how long the seed of a plant will retain its powers of germination. Every season we are asked this question times out of number, generally because the querist has some portion of his previous season’s purchases still on hand, and dislikes the thought of wasting them.

Although it is perfectly true that seeds like peas and beans, the various members of the cabbage tribe, and those of quite a number of trees, shrubs and flowers have sufficient fleshy matter in their composition to live in a dormant state for three, four, and may be seven or eight years, it is an undoubted fact that, with very few exceptions, new seeds germinate in the shortest time, and with the greatest vigour. One of the most notable exceptions to this rule is the endive. We have known new seed of this salad crop to show indifferent germination in the first year. The same seeds have grown most satisfactorily the second year, and up to four years one may be confident of securing maximum germination. This we believe to be due to the fact that something of an oily nature in the endive seed hinders percolation of water for a considerable time, but, after a year or two of careful storage, the natural drying process renders the outer coating of the seed more porous, and, being better able to absorb moisture from the soil, the seed becomes more active.

In contrast to this we have the great family of primulas, seeds of which, if sown immediately they have ripened, will germinate within 12 to 16 days, and when the same seed is kept fox' a year it may take anything from, one month to three months for the seedlings to appear on the soil surface, and two-year-old seeds have quite a common habit of lying idle in the soil for a space of two or three years before showing signs of life. From the practical gardener’s standpoint, it is sound advice to urge that seeds of all ordinary flowering plants and vegetables should be newly harvested. Surplus from the previous year may well be discarded, because the purchase price of most seed is so low that the amount of money saved by sowing old seeds will be more than lost in the difference between the resulting crops. A great point is that not only will old seed be slower to germinate, but the seedlings will be weak during the early stages of growth, and often the plants will show that disadvantage throughout the season. It is of course a totally different matter when considering the seeds of some rarities of which it would be difficult to obtain fresh supplies. Hybridists who have secured a desired cross, and been fortunate to save a good batch of seed cannot afford to discard the smallest portion of their treasure. It may be beyond possibility to sow all the first season and deal with a great number of young plants. In such cases extra care will be taken of the precious seeds under the conditions that prevent violent fluctuations of temperature and when the seed is sown, patience will be exeided to wait for the belated appearance of a few tardy seedlings. We want to ensure that all the ground devoted to a border of annuals, a row of sweet peas, or a bed of parsnips, beetroot or spinach, shall yield its full returhs, and this can best be facilitated by using new season’s seed every time. Neveidheless it need not follow that all old seed must be entirely wasted. In most cases there is an old patch of garden where a mixture of seeds, indiscriminately sown, may be utilized. This, of course, refers to flower seeds, because it is scarcely practical to sow vegetable seeds in a haphazard fashion. Still, where odd strips exist that would otherwise be wasted, it may be worth while turning them to account by sowing oddments of vegetable and salad seeds. Still another purpose which old seeds may serve is to sow _ plots of ground as they are cleared of crops, allowing the young plants to attain a height of four to six inches, then digging the whole in as a green manure crop.—Amateur Gardening.