IN THE GARDEN

Waikato Independent, Volume XLIV, Issue 1188, 3 October 1945, Page 3

IN THE GARDEN

! WORK FOR THE WEEK I Flower Garden Roses are making good groAVth on iwell-piuned plants. Tavo enemies must be looked for. Mildew shows as a Avhitish deposit on the young foliage Avhen the hot weather appears. For this spray immediately Avith colloidal sulphur. The other pest is greenfly, controllable by nicotine sulphate or other insecticide. Conditions are favourable for planting border flowering plants, both annual and perennial. Concentrate on the hardy ones first, such as lobelia, petunia, antirrhinum, Livingstone daisy, ageratum, Iceland , poppy, nemesia and violas. Gladiolus should be planted, also gerberas and phlox. Azalea mollis, camellias, rhododendrons and hydrangeas can still be planted. Soav. all kinds of hardy flower seeds. The list is controlled only by choice. Asters, zinnits, marigolds, salvia, nasturtiums, verbena, and. portulaca may be mentioned as reminders. Hasten the planting of floAvering shrubs and trees. Prepare for planting chrysanthemums and dahlias. Both need good soil and good positions. t The Vegetable Garden Seed soAA r ing should be attended to, and Avhen germinated, the toavs handweeded. Almost all kinds of \ r egetable crops can be soAvn. Manure for these is best laid two or three inches below the seeds. Peas for succession, French beans, runners, cucumbers, marrows and pumpkins can be sown. Dig compost or cow manure into the site intended for tomato plants. Potatoes shoAying through should be dusted over with super or blood and bone, and earthed up to protect them from frosts. Dress the asparagus bed Avith nitrate of soda, two to three ounces to the square yard. The Fruit Garden Apple trees not in floAver can be sprayed, using red oil at one in 20, which is one pint to 2 i gallons. For walnut disease it is not too late to spray lime sulphur, three tablespoons to the gallon. Defer stpne fruit spraying till after petals fall. Grafting should be completed; make sure of raffia ties and adequate covering to exclude air. Fruit trees neAvly planted should be pruned and firmed in the soil. \ In the Greenhouse If vines are grown, and were let down from the roof in early winter, they should iioav be elevated and secured in position. The rods should-be Avired at about nine inches from the roof. This permits leaves and groAvths now being unduly pressed against the glass. Fork over the burder, adding glood and bone manure, or compost if available.. Failing this, super, four ounces to each square yard, can be applied. It is hopeless growing tomatoes unwer the vines; but some will succeed in tubs or tins Avhere the vine foliage is scanty. Maidenhair ferns should be shaken out and repott'ed, using a fifty-fifty mixture of compost and loose soil. Geraniums, fuchsias and crassula should be cut back and repotted, and similar attention to palms, aspidistras, and other foliage plants may be advisable. Rhododendrons These adaptable shrubs must be classed among the attractive subjects of the garden. They amply repay some care in the selection of the position and soil for planting. Being forest plants, they do not relish hot conditions unless given shade or root coolness, for noAvhere do they do better than in a shaded gully or Avithin range of moisture. They abhor a clay cold soil, therefore should be given as near to bush soil as possible with no lime. The rhododendrons mostly groAvn here are Avhat are known as hybrid varieties, being raised from various species, and are popular because of their hardiness and freedom of floAvering. The Himilayan type as represented by Fragrantissima and Countess of Haddington are very beautiful, but should be given better shelter conditions. In recent years there has been great development in Britain and in the Dominion in the raising of new hybrids from seed, but propagation of them is a sloav business, further rethe Avar. Some day soon it is hoped that that fine hybrid, Pink Perle, will be available. It is a gorgeous rich pink and a good doer. Newer sorts worth having such as Britannia, Ascot Brilliant, Peter Koster, and Marquis of Lothian, Avill supplant the older sorts. Preferred colours are pinks and reds, and by using Arboreum and Aueklandii as parents, notable progress towards size and colouring has been achieved. The Viburnums The lauristinus is still a popular shrub for its decorative value in Avinter. It belongs to the large family of viburnums, coming largely from China, Korea and Japan. FloAvering just now is V. - Carlesi, a deciduous species from Korea, and bearing flat trusses of pinky Avhite scented flowers that are very decorative, reminding one of miniature daphne blooms. The English raised BurkAVOodi is a hybrid from Carlesi Avith larger trusses, flowering a month later. The AvellknoAvn guelder rose V, Opulus will Avill soon be making its snowball effect, and it with the Japanese species, plicatum and japonicum, give good autumn leaf effects Avith plenty of shoAvy berries to enhance the value of the family. '