The Week In The Garden

Southland Times, Issue 23435, 16 February 1938, Page 12

The Week In The Garden

THE GREENHOUSE

(By

J. A. McPHERSON)

Have a look over tubers of cyclamen that have been ripening off in a sunny frame and bring into the greenhouse those that are thoroughly ripened and have all leaves off them. They must not be repotted at this stage but allowed to stand on the benches and gradually watered until the eyes begin to shoot away. This indicates good root action and the tubers can then be tipped out of their pots and repotted into a good turfy potting mixture. Cyclamen are easily grown, requiring very little heat and keep wonderfully free from diseases that attack most plants under glass. Complete the pricking out into boxes of hollyhocks, Bellis daisies and myosotis. As the hollyhocks grow give them a light spraying with Condys crystals to keep off attacks of rust. During showery weather look over all bulbs that have been stored and get them sorted into their sizes as soon as possible. Above all things be careful with the labelling and do not trust to memory even for half an hour. Pot cinerarias into three-inch pots and give them the coolest part of, the house. In fact they would even be setter in a cold frame fitted with a hand will require constant feeding if blooms are to last into late autumn. THE FLOWER GARDEN Remove all dead blooms from roses and continue to feed with liquid manure. As soon as wallflower has a good hold of the soil after lining out go through the rows and keep the soil well cultivated. , ~ Nemesia that has passed blooming, especially if it has been used as a catch crop among other bedding plants, should be removed as soon as possible. Prepare ground for the early sowing down of lawns. This is done by thoroughly cleaning and cultivating the surface soil to a depth of four inches. Provided the ground has been well worked last winter or cropped with potatoes this season, it is not necessary to work the soil deeply. , Where the ground is new, however, it is best to work it to a depth of at least a foot and sow down in springtime instead of me autumn. This gives a chance for the soil to sweeten and also allows for the destruction of many annual weeds.

A COLD PIT In greenhouse work the skilled gardener tries to control the temperatures as far as he can, keeping the house cool in the midday heat by shading and the use of water and at night keeping the temperature up with artificial heat. The majority of the commoner plants grown in the house do not need very warm conditions and they will tolerate quite a fairly low temperature so long as it is well above freezing point. There are also other points to be observed m growing greenhouse plants, such as keeping the air sufficiently moist, and ventilation. Not many amateurs can afford a heated house, but could purchase sufficient glass to provide shelter and moderate warmth. To these I would suggest the use of the stored heat of the earth. It is well known that though the temperature of the air fluctuates violently that of the earth a few feet down is comparatively steady. Dig a pit say’three feet wide and three feet deep and with the earth removed, build walls 18 inches thick and about two feet high. Make rough forms of old boards as for concrete work and ram the soil down tightly between the inner and outer forms. The earth must not be wet, neither must it be too dry. When squeezed in the hand it should just hold together. Build the walls back from the edge of the pit say not less than a foot so as to form a bench on which to rest pots. Build a roof frame over this, protecting the earthen walls by overhanging eaves. If not protected from the weather by eaves the walls will disintegrate. Cover the roof and end walls with glass, or if you cannot afford glass scrim is better than nothing. The floor of the pit will provide shade and a certain amount of moisture, will be cool in the day and warm at night, and the benches on the sides will provide a better position for many plants than is found in a small unheated house. Such a pit is handy for propagating those plants not quiring very much heat, and will be found ideal for numbers of our natives. In the country where turf is easy to procure, the side walls may be built of sods. In some South Island gardens I have seen some excellent fern houses built on similar principles. Fems require moisture, shade and equable temperature.- It is even possible to utilize the earth walls for growing some of the small ferns.

Those who wish to root cuttings quickly and especially soft-wood cuttings will find a little heat essential. I have seen a small unheated house provided with a small propagating pit with bottom heat in this way: A box four feet square was built inside the house, with a small door in the front of the box. On top of the box was another box about a foot deep covered with an old window. This top box had about 8 inches of coarse sand in it kept thoroughly moist. The heat was supplied by a storm lantern in the box below. The lantern was turned down very low and burned but a few pence worth of kerosene in a month. Even a candle will supply quite a fair amount of heat when in a confined space. A few holes for ventilating the lower box must be provided and also enough air to keep the lantern alight. In the spring this heated box was used to raise seeds, by putting the seed boxes over the top in place of the propagating box. LOBELIA CARDINALIS Every garden having a damp spot should possess a group of the stately scarlet lobelia. It grows to a height of two feet, with shiny dark red leaves, and carries spikes of large blooms (each six times as large as the little blue lobelia) of a rich velvety scarlet. The plant is hardy, except in very frosty districts, where it needs a little protection during winter, and is easily propagated by seed or division of the root stock. By the water garden and associated with the late blooming primula florindae (lemon yellow flowers) it makes a very striking picture. VIOLETS NEED ATTENTION With many growers, once violets have finished flowering not much attention is given them except a little weeding. This is a great mistake, for with the uncontrolled runners growing all over the place the beds become disorganized, much rubbish collects and masses of young rooted runners use up the nourishment required for the main crowns. A good guide is to treat the plants in a similar manner to strawberries, either in beds or in rows to keep all runners cut off. This builds up very strong healthy crowns. Feed the plants liberally once they have finished blooming, and during the summer months keep red spider in check by repeatedly spraying both sides of the foliage with water, or better still, alternate the sprayings by using clear water one time and liver of sulphur

the next. Use the latter at the rate of one ounce to four gallons of water. PENTSTEMONS Pentstemons are most useful for summer bedding, especially when usea as ground work in front of the shrub border. In fact they should really replace many annuals at present used for this purpose. A great deal can be said in favour of pentstemons, chief of which, however, is that they will flourish equally well in dry soils as in ordinary garden soil, and furthermoie, being perennials they do not require replacing every year. A good bed of these plants will last for three years and be at its best during the second year of bloom. Seedlings may be planted out now or cuttings (tips of the shoots) inserted in a close but cool frame of sandy soil and planted out in early spring. In rooting them from cuttings a great point is to see that young cuttings do not flag, hence the necessity of a close-fitting frame until such time as the roots are able to support the young plants. THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

Lift and store shallots and onions when thoroughly dry. Sow onions for salad purposes ana prepare land for the sowing of a crop to stand over the winter for next season’s planting. Prickly-seeded spinach may still be Sown. Soak the seeds overnight and germination will be hurried a little. When clearing away spent crops of peas and beans, leave the roots in the ground. It is on the roots of these plants that valuable nitrogen-fixmg bacteria live. When land is light and humus is required to give it body, sow a crop of either Cape barley, lupins, rape, or mustard for digging in as green manure.

Keep planting winter green crops and harvest potatoes as the tops die down. Old cabbage and cauliflower stumps should not be left in the ground; they only harbour disease. Sterilized Soils The dream of the plantsman who raises his own seedlings is a soil free from pests (both fungoid and insect) and weeds. Such can be obtained if a little extra care is taken and more labour spent on sterilizing the soil. Though the term “sterilization” is used, in reality it is “partial sterilization” for full sterilization would rid the soil of all living and beneficial matter and leave it an inert mass. However, for the purpose of this article I shall retain the term “sterilized” soil since it is at the moment most commonly used. Fortunately there are several methods of sterilizing soils, and one has a choice when -carrying out the work. , We all know that sterilization by steam is carried out on a large scale by market gardeners, especially tomato growers who force their early crops under glass. Large boilers are used, and the steam is led from the boiler through armoured hose to grids or pans placed on the soil. When the steam is turned on, it penetrates fully 18 inches into the soil and thus kills all seeds, weeds, worms and other insects, besides destroying the spores of fungoid growths and protozoa (those organisms that prey on the beneficial bacteria of the soil). With all this steaming, it does not affect the beneficial bacteria, for in a few days, freed from all their enemies, they multiply most rapidly. Large steam plants are, however, out of the range of the small grower. If he is growing seedlings for market or cut flowers under glass, the soil may sometimes be purchased if a steam plant is operating in the vicinity, or he may eventually instal a miniature plant of his own. This is easily accomplished by purchasing an old, but sound boiler with a pressure of at least 801 b to the square inch. From the boiler is fitted a length of armoured hose on the end of which is a three-pronged pipe arrangement just long enough to fit down into a 40-gallon drum. The three pipes are, of course, perforated at intervals for their full length in order to let the steam escape. Such a boiler will treat a 40-gallon drum of soil in from 10 to 15 minutes. If the pronged piping cannot be made, then lead the steam up through the base of the drum and fit the drum inside with a false perforated bottom (just the height of a brick above the main bottom). This false bottom certainly prevents the soil becoming over-wet where no dry steam dome is attached to the boiler. FOR THE AMATEUR But supposing even the above cannot be afforded, then a few cubic yards of soil can be quite well sterilized by low steam pressure in the following manner: Secure an old 40-gallon drum and set it up on bricks sufficient to build a good fire underneath. Fit the drum with a false perforated bottom of sheet iron and have it resting 12 inches above the bottom by sitting it on a few bricks. Three-quarter fill the base with water (nine inches), place the soil in, cover with a sack aryl then keep a good fire underneath. Once the water is boiling the drum of soil should be sterilized within 20 minutes to half an hour. TRY BAKING THE SOIL Now, the average cottage gardener may require still less in the way of sterilized soil, just a barrowful or two. This can be obtained by baking. That is to say, a barrowful of moderately wet soil is placed on a sheet of iron, covered with a sack and a fire lighted underneath. This operation should take from 20 to 30 minutes for every barrowful. Care should be taken to prevent the burning of the soil round the edge of the heap by continual turning over with a spade, for burnt soil loses all its nitrogen. STERILIZING BY CHEMICALS Though chemicals do not kill the seeds of weeds, they certainly kill most thin-walled spores of fungus (such as club-root, damping off, etc.). A two per cent, solution of formalin may be used, and the heap constantly turned as the mixture is being poured on. Then cover the heap with sacks for a day or two and allow a few days to elapse after removal of the sacks before the soil is used for seed sowing.—By “Chemist” in N.Z. Flower Grower. The Hardy Cyclamen

Whether they be planted under trees or in the rock garden, the hardy cyclamen deserve more attention in New Zealand than what is meted out to them at the present time. It is only in comparatively few gardens that one comes across really fine clumps and rarely, if ever, does one have the experience of coming across a complete collection. Perfectly hardy and living to a great old age, they delight us with their miniature flowers in autumn and spring. It is recorded in England that some of the tubers are over 100 years old and their individual size larger than an ordinary dinner plate.

WHERE AND HOW TO PLANT All the species enumerated in this article can be grown either under trees in the shrub border, or grouped round the base of a specimen tree on the lawn, or planted in pockets on the lock Ayden. They ask for shelter from hot, burning sunshine, and, unlike the y r ~ sian type (greenhouse type), the tubers must be buried at least two inches under the soil. Failure in years past can, in many cases, be attributed to lack of knowledge on this most essential point. Furthermore, they love well-drained soil and soil which contains plenty of lime. Here, then, is instead of saving it all for gentiana an added use for your old mortar rubble acaulis. Periodically the top soil can be carefully removed, say, every ty®* 3 or four years, and fresh, rich soil added. Take the greatest of care when carrying out this work for the hardy cyclamen, unlike their greenhouse cousins, produce their main feeding roots from the top and not the bottom of the tubers. All the species grow well from seed and if it has to be sown outside, place a little chopped-up moss on the surface of the soil to. prevent drying out in the heat of mid-summer. RELIABLE SPECIES C. neapolitanum (syn. C. cyprium) is known where alpine gardens are a feature of the landscape. It comes from Cyprus and S. Europe, and is easily distinguished by its small heart-shaped leaves mottled on top and blue-grey beneath. The flowers are pure white with the restricted mouth of each bloom having a dash of carmine purple. It is a fine sight to see 200 miniature flowers in the autumn rising only six inches high from a single well-established tuber. C. coum is the round-leaved sowbread and blooms in early spring bQfore even the snowdrop makes its appearance. The colour varies with several varieties ranging from white to red and purple. C. Atkinsi, sometimes classed as a species is really a large form of C. coum. C. hederacifolium (ivy-leaved sowbread) comes from S. Europe and the North Coast of Africa. The flowers are produced in autumn before the leaves, and the leaves have on many occasions been used successfully in fjoral work. The flowers are purplish red in the true species, but there is also a white variety. Both are very fragrant. Central Europe is the home of C. europaeum, the leaves of which appear both before and with the blooms. Its flowers, reddish-purple in colour, are the largest of the group and nearly approach in size the original greenhouse species (C. persicum). Unlike the other species with their broad, flat tubers, C. europaeum has a tuber which is elongated and at times most irregular in shape. C. ibericum (Iberian sowbread) is very closely allied to C. coum; it blooms in the spring and the flower colour ranges from deep rose to lilac and even white, but all have a very dark-red mouth to each flower. C. vernum (the spring sowbread); The leaves of this species appear before the flowers and are very fleshy, so much so that shelter is required from cold winds and hail storms. The flowers are always pure white—By “W.K. in N.Z. Flower Grower. Ivy-Leaved Pelargoniums Pelargoniums, or geraniums to give them their popular name, are a family of plants responsible for much that is interesting the year round in garden and greenhouse. When the latter contains a few good plants only, there is scarcely a week in the dead of winter without flowers, and in summer they are ablaze, while in the garden as bedding plants there is nothing much brighter. The ivy-leaved section fulfils all the above qualities as well as the zonal type, with the further addition that, being freer in in growth it may be used for purposes for wnich no other group of the genus could very well be used. For hanging baskets, for covering for greenhouse walls and pillars, and for window boxes, and big pedestal vases, where allowed to droop naturally, they are really pretty, as the flowers are larger and brighter coloured than most things made use of in a similar manner. AS GREENHOUSE PLANTS The finest results are obtained from cuttings rooted in autumn, and failing possession of one’s own stock, a few obtained from a nursery would be a good investment. Where, however, cuttings are available from old plants, they will root quickly if cut off below a joint to leave them about two and a-half inches long, and inserted round the edges of pots filled with sandy soil, and not over watered at the first.

No special propagating pit or heat is required to ensure root action. The best results are obtained by standing the pot on an open bench and keeping the soil just moist. To produce big specimens in the shortest time, grow three or four cuttings together, potting them as the roots require more room. With autumn-rooted plants, two will be sufficient to keep together, and these should fill a seven-inch pot and make a bold display if nicely secured to a circle of canes, to permit the growths being twined round. Pelargoniums, including the ivy-leaved, appreciate a good firm rooting medium, made up of a mixture of three parts loam to one of leaf mould and about a quarter of coarse sand. Until they have reached the final pots, it is a mistake to allow them to remain root bound. The main thing is to keep them on the move from the first signs of new growth after the winter or from the time they have got well rooted, as the case may be. Be sparing with water for a fortnight after potting, but after this care should be taken that the roots are never dry, and liberal feeding may be practised when the flowering pots are fairly full of roots. WINTER TREATMENT During the winter the conditions are against the soil drying quickly, so that much less water is required. Growth also will be almost at a standstill until the turn of the year, but the ultimate success of the plants will very largely depend upon careful attention as soon as activity is resumed in spring. Many young plants are partially spoiled by leaving -the pots crowded together on the lower stage of the greenhouse until they have produced thin, elongated growths, with joints several inches apart. Leaves will be small and thin under such conditions, and when eventually the plants are moved, it will be found the growths are so soft and weak that many break right away with their own weight. All this may be avoided by wintering the young shoots on a shelf near the glass, allowing sufficient room for each cutting to secure good daylight. Then, in early spring, when new growth has formed two leaf joints on a stem, its tip may be pinched-out to induce “breaking” from the lower joints. When second growths appear they should be provided with neat stakes before they become long enough to sway about. Never crowd ivy-leaved pelargoniums, but give all the light and air possible. That is the way to produce shortjointed, hardened growth that will flower profusely. AS BASKET PLANTS To make the best display in hanging baskets, vases, or window-boxes, the plants should be well grown in pots before hand, and gradually hardened off if the intention is to use them in the open for the summer. Baskets should be

lined with moss to prevent the soil being washed away, and it should be made as firm as the nature of the receptacle will allow. Sufficient plants to train along the chains, and to droop over the sides should be used, for which purpose spring-rooted specimens out of three-inch pots come in useful. The same applies to boxes and vases, as in both cases they have to be planted near the edge without disturbing too much of the soil. Water, especially for basket plants, is the chief consideration all summer, and there is nothing like an occasional dip in a tank to ensure a thorough soaking throughout. When ivy-leaved geraniums are to be employed as bedding plants, a purpose for which they are well fitted, the soil should not be made rich, in fact, as a rule no manure is needed. The beds which receive most sun are the best, and dry banks make excellent quarters. The plants to be used should be potted singly early in the year, and after planting the growths will be better for being trained in their place with small pegs.