IN THE GARDEN

Taranaki Daily News, 25 July 1931, Page 23 (Supplement)

IN THE GARDEN

WORK FOR THE WEEK. THE FLOWER GARDEN. 'Plant roses. Commence rose pruning. Topdress and dig over the rose beds. Thin out and tie in growths of rambler roses. Weed anemones and ranunculi. Tie up sweet pea growths.. Lift and divide herbaceous plants. Plant trees and shrubs. Cut hedges. Clean put weeds and rubbish -front beneath. •Sow half-hardy annuals under glaiSs. Hold up planting and sowing outside whilst weather is Wet and cold. Overhaul the mowing machine. Repair and make seed boxes. Replace and sharpen labels. Stakes should bo resharpened and painted. • THE VEGETABLE GARDEN. Dig vacant plots. Prepare onion beds. Plant eschallots and potato onions. Plant onions when soil is right. •Plant potatoes. Seed potatoes should be boxed for sprouting. Sow peas. Pi'otect from birds. Topdress the rhubarb bed. Make new plantation of rhubarb. Prepare ground for asparagus bed. Clean off weeds and rubbish and topdress asparagus. Do not sow or plant while ground is Sodden. 'Plant fruit trees except citrus. Prune fruit trees. Clean weeds off and fork close around the stems. Gather and burn all prunings, decaying fruit, and old leaves. Collect strong whips for scions. Tie scions in bundles . and bury where growth will be retarded. Sow tomatoes under glass. A CHARMING ROCK POPPY. How many people know the Iceland poppy, and how few its ally, the Alpine poppy, Papaver alpinum? Yet, it is as lovely, though not so valuable for cutting. seeing that it is smaller and. has shorter stems. It is one of the daintiest of all rock plants and a small colony raised from seeds and grown on a level spot on the rockery, in sandy soil in sun; makes a perfect little picture. The foliage is remarkably pretty, so finely cut and of pleasing tint; the flowers arc exquisite, on slender stems and of the most varying tints—orange, yellow, white, and scarlet. Some are fringed, and a new feature has been added t,o our rockeries by the creation of varieties with double and sejni-doijble flowers. Seeds can be sown thinly whore they are to bloom, or in pots, and the • seedlings transplanted in showery • weather while they are small. WALL-TRAINED TREES. When trees are planted against a wall or fence it is advisable not to nail or tie the branches securely directly after planting. There is sure to be a settling down of the soil; and if the tree is secured the result is that the roots have a tendency to be “hung,’ ’and ,tho result is that the growth is poor and not as vigorous as it should be. if the branches are likely to flap about, just tie them loosely and leave the permanent tieing for a week or so. PEGGING DOWN ROSES. There arc many roses that are often cut back too hard, consequently they do not flower So well as they should. Varieties like J. B. Clarke, Frau Karl Druscliki, and similar strong-growing varieties arc among these. Better results are obtained by pegging down the ends of the strong growths, instead of cutting them back. Such treatment induces them to flower all g-long the stems. Eritirc beds may be planted and treated in this way, and the effect is very fine. The small and weak growths are cut out in the usual way. GLADIOLI.' A first planting of gladioli may now bo made. These hardy plants are unsurpassed for brilliancy and diversity of colour; nearly every colour and shade of colour may now be found in them, aiid by planting them at intervals they may be had in bloom over a long period. For cut flowers they are most valuable and when cut-in a young state tire buds will keep on opening and a spike of bloom ay keep. fresh in water for a fortnight. The soil should be deeply dug, and if at all poor, add some bonedust, slag, or well-rotted cow manure. The bulbs vary a lot in size, but the most of them should be planted about three inches deep. WATERING SWEET PEAS. At the present time it is rhther out of place to talk of watering sweet peas, but the following is a good idea which can be got in readiness at the present so as to be available when required. Get some drain pipes, such as are used in draining land, and put them in an upright position about six feet apart iii the rows. When watering pour the Water into the pipes. The advantage of this method is that the water is carried down into the ground about a foot, and consequently the under strata of the toil is kept damp instead of only the surface. This method may also be used for other plants. In thb case of isolated plants one or two pipes should be inserted about a foot or 18 inches from the stem. If these pipes are filled once or twice during the week it will be found quite equal to a much heavier watering given in the usual way. CYCLAMEN. Many an amateur’s greenhouse will be becoming gay with cyclamen plants, and at this time of the year few flowering plants prove so attractive as these. In order to keep them at their best when they are in full flower, the atmosphere in which they are growing must not be allowed to become damp, and the temperature should be kept as near to 55 degrees as possible. Once the plants are in full flower it is not advisable to give them much manure, as over-stimu-lating food causes the flowers to damp off. The manure must be well diluted before applied. On the other hand, the later batch of plants, which ought to come into flower when the present ones arc over, should have frequent'applications of manure as soon as the flower buds Sre seen, PINCHING SWEET PEAS. The sweet pea plant when a few inches high is usually of a thin, spindly nature. After a period, however, and towards spring the plant throws out shoots from the base which iu every way arc much stronger, and inevitably grow away from the first stem; in other words, the plant Stools out, producing a number of strong growths, the original stem ceasing to be of any \aluc. Pinching or stopping should be

carried out to encourage this method of growth from the start. Plants that have been pinched or stopped will stand out long before -the flowering season as showing the advantages. Pinching is simply pinching out the point of each young plant, and stopping is to cut back the Weaker portion of the growth to where there are indications of a moresturdy development of the young plant. Either method is good. The effect of such manipulation of the growth is seen in a comparatively short time. New’, sturdy, vigorous shoots will develop in the axils of the leaves that are retained on the original stems of the young plant. MANURING A ROSE BED. If the soil be light and sandy or gravelly, cow manure is much the best, as it tends to keep the soil cool and retains the moisture much better than light manures could possibly do. But care must be taken to place it so low that the roots do not come directly into contact With it. If the ground be too shallow for trenching—perhaj upon a rock bottom—be content with digging as deeply as you can, and be as liberal as possible with the manure. Whether the soil be stiff or light, limo is necessary. No other material acts more energetically in the soil. The action of quicklime on heavy land is to make it more open, more friu-ble, and consequently more easy to work. Un the other hand, with sandy q gravelly soil, lime tends to stiffen j’ and consequently it retains the moisture much longer. But on no account appl lime directly with manure, or the lime will destroy its good effects. Burnt earth or clay, Or any garden rubbish makes excellent material for working in upon the surface. PRUNING APPLE AND PEAR TREES The pruning a tree receives during the first few years of its life often decides its usefulness or otherwise as a fruit tree. While not advocating ruthless cutting, and realising that the saw and knife has accounted for many victims amongst the fruit trees, yet it is realised that pruning is necessary. When cutting away a shoot, cut it away because it is in the way of a bet-ter-placed ehoot, is likely to upset the symmetry of the tree, or is in such a position that propel’ development is impossible. Cut away the shoot so th? bud that is left will be developed in the right direction and produce c fruitful shoot. Shoots that are required to form fruiting spurs should be cut back to two or three buds. The leading shoots that are required to lengthen the stature of the tree should be cut back half-way or more, according to the length required to keep the tree of correct shape. Inside shoots that have no chance to develop should be cut back to two eyes; these will produce spurs and flowering buds. Of course, pruning is one of the jobs of which it can truly be said, “The more a man does, the less he knows about it,” for every variety, and even every tree, has peculiarities that only a general idea can bo given, and those oil the spot must decide tlie smaller details. ROOT PRUNING FRUIT TREES. This work may be carried out at any time now, in fact it is an advantage to get the work done early in the season. The drawback to rank growth in fruit trees is that they do not fruit freely, as strong young wood usually produces 'but few fruit buds. Root pruning corrects this, as it checks over-exuberance of growth, and is a means of causing fruit buds to form the next summer. First of all take out ft trench some little distance from the stem of thfi tree, the distance io be judged by the size of the specimen, but it is advisable not to start too close. The trench must be deep enough and wide enough to enable some of the soil around the tree to he forked into it, so as to uncover the larger roots. It is important to get well under the tree to ascertain if it has a. tap root, or a strong root growing straight down Into the subsoil, which is so often the cause of the trouble. Such a root when it exists must be cut off entirely and removed. The other large roots should be shortened back with a sharp pruning knife, not chopped off with a spado. It is advisable to insert the knife on the underneath side of the roots and cut upwaixls in a slightly slanting direction. This encourages the formation of fibrous roots on the top portion of the larger root, and those are the kind it is essential to encourage, consequently any that are found must be carefully preserved from damage. It sometimes happens that several of the larger roots are found to be growing down deep into the soil, probably from the careless planting in the first place, and when this is the case they should be raised into a horizontal position. It is especially beneficial to place fresh soil around the roots when filling in. Good turf loam well chopped up, with the addition of some old lime nibble is ideal material for this purpose. Keep the roots well towards the surface and tread the soil firmly around them as the work proceeds. It is often necessary to stake trees so treated, as they are liable to be blown about in windy weather. When the soil is dry a thorough watering will be beneficial. It frequently happens that young trees, which have only been planted three or four years need attention, if they have grown vigorously and failed to fruit. As a general rule it is preferable to lift and replant them. Do not shorten the roots too much as the lifting and replanting is quite sufficient to check over-rank growth, and induce fruiting. Trim the ends of the roots with a sharp knife, and spread out the roots horizontally with an upward rather than a downward tendency. MAKING A FRUIT PERGOLA. It is no uncomon thing to see a pergola in cur gardens; usually it is covered with roses and other climbing plants, but how seldom are trained trees of apples or' pears used for the purpose? With all due respect to the rose, the apple and pear when properly trained make a far better pergola and in time will become quite self supporting and the original poles forming the structure can be taken away, leaving a natural arch or pergola of fruit trees. To make such a structure or archway have stout poles nut less than sin. in diameter and Sift. long. Sink in the ground-to the depth of JSin. (ramming them firmly), nt distances apart of 7ft. The poles will then stand 7ft. above the ground. This will be the height of the arch; both sides of the arch will, of course, be served in the same way. The next thing is to fix stout wires along the poles at distances apart of 7in., fixing them securely to the posts with small galvanised iron staples and making the wires rigid and immovable. The top of the arch is formed with poles, wires being fixed in the way already described. If preferred espaliers may be planted eich aide of

the vallr It sometimes happens that the owner wishes to have a boundary fence of some sort to divide the lawn from the kitchen garden. I know nothing which will effect the purpose more expeditiously than, or so well as, a line of cordon apple or pear trees, and they are always pleasant; they are' doubly so when in bloom and trebly co when in fruit. There are few gardens in which objectionable figures are not visible from some point of view or other, not infrequently from the windows of the house. There is no easier or better way of blocking them Out than by cordon apples or pears. Even in winter, w'hen the trees are bare of foliage, the branches are So close together as to form a screen, and they also pay handsomely by the fruit they produce. By introducing cordon-trained fruit trees in small gardens, a large number of trees and heavy crops may be obtained in a minimum space and at a minimum cost of labour. By this system numerous varieties may be planted, that will give fruit almost throughout the year. The necessary pruning should be done chiefly in summer by pinching back the young ehoots. Those who are proposing to plant should ’order their trees without delay.