THE Amateur Gardner

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 253, 28 November 1914, Page 5

THE Amateur Gardner

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SEASONABLE HINTS.

At present there are no major operations of note to discuss in garden work. Routine is the order of the day. The very acceptable showers we have had of late has helped growth considerably, though there has not been sufficient to augment the reserve moisture in the soil. But what little there lias been should be conserved by the free use of the hoe to check rapid evaporation.

UNDER GLASS. The variable weather, "blow hot, blow cold," has made ventilation a tiresome job. It is best to rely mainly on the top ventilators, as the minimum of draught is obtained thereby. -Watering must be carefully attended to; rulc-of-thumb is not good enough. The evaporation has been three or four times as great on some days than others of late. Watering should be adjusted to the evaporation.

SUMMER PRUNING. In the hands of an experienced and careful man, summer prunjng of fruit trees is a very great aid to. keeping the trees in a fruitful condition: This practice has given ground for considerable controversy as to the how and the when this system of pruning should be consummated, and very diverse opinions have been ventilated.

Of one phase of operations there can be no question, that is the elimination of surplus growth while young, and the suppression of strong shoots that will affect the balance of the tree if allowed to growto maturity. This practice should never be neglected and should be carried out at the earliest moment when it is apparent that the growth is superfluous. This is especially necessary with wall or espalier trees. Often strong growth will start from the inner side of the branches. These .should be discarded quite to the base while quite young and soft. Others will grow out quite straight, and if soft and sappy should, generally, be discarded also. 'Should they start from a branch that is bare of fruiting wood at that place, they may be perhaps utilised by pinching at the fourth or sixth joint, the resulting shoots caused by this stopping being again stopped later. This work is rather spring than summer pruning. Good general rules arc not difficult to formulate for wjntcrpriming, but there are so many factors that require consideration before forming a'decision as to the best way to manipulate the summer'growth of fruit trees, so us to retain health, long life, and fruitfillness, that it is necessary that all the conditions of soil, vigour, general productiveness, and variety should be known. This more especially applies to bush trees growing in the open garden. With wall or espalier trees that have limited spaco, summer pinching is a necessity. Peach trees require constant .attention, and the more the space for extension is confined,"and the more vigorous the tree, the greater the amount of supervision that will be required to keep the tree furnished with a sufficiency of young, well-ripened wood, of moderate growth, to replace the exhausted fruit shoots, for the ensuingseason. The apricot does not re-quire-quite so much continuous attention. If. the earlier disbudding and checking of too vigorous shoots has received Yittention, the end of January or during February, according to the variety,

4*h BY "AOTEA"

or when the lower buds or' the young i growth arc getting set and ripo, is a good time to go over the trees, shortening back the breast-wood to about six buds. But as before said, the condition of the tree and variety is a. most important factor. One point may be noted here. That is, do not cut back too much wood at one time. It is much better to spread this pruning over two or three periods, with a few days' interval, commencing with the top branches and finishing with the lower ones. The sap has always a stronger How to the upper buds and growth, so that if the lower shoots are cut away first, it will only throw an excess of sap towards the upper branches of the tree to the detriment of the. lower portion. Some people have an idea that they can keep fruit trees that have been planted in rich fertile soil fruitful and dwarf by summer pruning. This is 5 a fallacy. They can be kept small and as full of young growth as a box hedge, but there will be no fruitfuiness. I saw some young apple trees last season that had been treated oii this plan. The trees were about four years planted, they were making exuberant growth, with large, dark green, healthy leaves, and fine, strong, leading growth Avhen .1 saw them. This growth had been broken half way flown, and the broken portion was hanging at the fracture. This practice had evidently been -performed the preceding season, too, as the tree was a thicket of branches and leaves that would have puzzled a mosquito to penetrate. It was an object lesson of how not to do it.

The aim of summer pruning should be to, keep the fruit-bearing branches and spurs compact and close into the main branches, and to reduce superfluous and unfruitful growth to a minimum. Those varieties that have naturally a close and compact habit require very little attention, while those, that have a loose habit and an inclination to produce fruit buds at the extremity of the young wood will be improved in form and fruitfulness. It has been asserted that sunimerpruniug will keep fruit trees in good form and fruitfulness without any win-ter-pruning, and no doubt, with the assistance of root-pruning, it can be done, but it will be at the expense of considerably more time, labour, and thought than is required for winter-pruning, and is then only possible on a small scale; but, as an accessory, it is of the greatest value.

I ROUND THE GARDEN. J The very acceptable showers we have I had of late, though quite insufficient { for requirements, have freshened up • the garden considerably. | Roses are now coming into their own, I and occupy the premier place.- A very J promising Australian-raised pillar rose, j Miss Marion Manifold, has a flew j flowers " open. The' colour is rich ! bright crimson, and the petals are I large and massive. Ilj is rather loose 'when fully expanded, but as stroug- ! growhig pillar roses of this colour are j not plentiful it should prove an acquisij tion. Climbing Devoniensis has long j held pride of place as the most free j and strongest-growing large-flowered { rose, but it must how take second place ito Climbing White Maman Cochet. I Wherever space can be given or an ex- ! ceptioually strong-growing climbing j variety is wanted, this variety will be

[found quite up to requirements. Like

, nearly all the climbing roses, it will I be apt to get bare near the ground, but ; this can be remedied by training some ,of the growth downward to cover the 'bare part. Another climbing rose of a different class that should always give satisfaction is Alister Stella Gray. It has now been in bloom for some time

nearly to the top of a fair-si/,e spruce fir, and is still going strong. The flowers, when first open, are of a pleasing yellow shade, fading off to white before falling, which they do before get-, ting disreputable looking. For trailing over a fence or on rough supports to form a hedge, some of the VVichuriana hybrids are admirable varieties that have a longer period of (lowering than Dorothy Perkins, and those of that class are best for the purpose. The varieties on view now are Rene -Andre, rose pink; Auguste Barbier, blush Avhite; and Alberic Barbier, white. These four varieties are of very similar habit and form, with glossy dark green foliage that is very nearly ever-green. They are of rapid growth, and require practically no further attention after they have once been trained to cover their supports. Semi-double decorative roses are very much more in vogue now than formerly. One of the most charming is Margaret Molyneux. Sonic very line sprays of this rose were shown at last year's Rose Carnival. The petals are large and firm, the colour being a blending of cream, pink, and buff-yellow—a very pleasing combination. A fine companion for the Austriancopper rose, which is now well known, is the type Rosa lutea, the Austrian Briar. It is. of less robust growth than its variety and the. flowers are not quite so large, but -the colour of the cupped single llowers is of the clearest yellow. It is, apparently, of good persistent growth, but like its variety is most satisfactory on its own roots. Standard Roses as often seen are anything but beautiful, largely because the variety is not suited for the purpose. Lady Waterlow is very satisfactory as grown in standard form, the foliage is beautiful and ample, the growth is free, compact, and floriferous, and the colour an exquisite blending of pink, rose, and creamy-white. It is also a fine plant for a pillar or arch, or a pot for blooming in spring under glass—quite an allround rose.

Two varieties that stand out prominently amongst rhododendrons are the varieties Sir Joseph. Whitworth, the darkest coloured variety of rich crimson with black spots, and The Queen. Avhite with a tinge of pink, and yellow spots on the top petal. They both have large fine flowers and very •' large trusses, and are of good habit and foliage. Both are old varieties, which are often liable to get overlooked, owing to the great influx of newer, though often, inferior varieties. There has been a considerable extension in the range of colour of single pinks. They grow so well and with so little attention that their merits are not as widely made known as they deserve. They are most useful as a cut flower lasting as well, and the colours are not common among other flowers. To speak of bananas suggests the tropics, but there is at least one species, Musa basjoo, that is quite hardy here. Where sheltered from winds so that the large foliage is not split, it forms a very striking plant. of the cabbage trees has been very strong in the garden again this season. It is very unusual to have two such floriferous years in succession.

A rich spot of colour in front of a green background, is a plant of the purple leaved variety of that' classic plant, the Blackthorn. It is very similar in colouring to Prunus pissardii, but the leaves are not so large, and the habit is more twiggy.

FLOWER SHOWS. There was a considei'able falling-off in competition in the floral section of the Banks Peninsula Pastoral Association V Show, held at Little Eiver on the 24th inst. This is, no doubt, accounted for by the very unfavourable season for gardening experienced of late. However, the exhibits that did come forward were of good quality, especially the roses. Notable varieties were: Trail Karl Druschki (premier bloom), Lady Hillingdon (very h'ne in colour), George. Dickson (a very large crimson bloom), Lyon Hose, Kaiser ine Victoria, Souvenir de Stella Gray, and Caroline Testout. The table decoration class was well contested, thine being no less than 10 exhibits, and they were all worthy of high commendation.

An error was made last week as to the date of the Tai Tapu Flower Show in aid of the Britain and .Belgium Relief Funds. It was given as December 7, but should have lieen .January 7, 1915.