GARDEN NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 115, Issue 19272, 2 June 1934, Page 14 (Supplement)

GARDEN NOTES

SPECIALLY COMPILED 'TO SUIT WAIKATO CONDITIONS,

(By “Nikau.”)

LAWN TROUBLES. Here are a few of the troubles, and some remedies. (1) If the lawn is very 'i mossy, dress it with sand and sulphate of iron; 141 b. of sand and Jib; of the other will be sufficient for a square pole. In a week or two rake out the dead moss with a short-toothed rake or a cane broom. Lime and soot,

separately or together, may also be ; . scattered over the mossy parts of the lawn. If watered in lightly, the soot will not make a mess. (2) If the soil is apparently sour, fresh-slaked lime should be scattered over it, at the rate of nearly one pound to one square yard. A garden-fork should also be driven down every foot or so to the | full depth of the prongs. This helps drainage and also allows air to enter. ; If the prodding is followed by the i application of powdered charcoal, the soil will be greatly sweetened. (3) If the soil is poor, as shown by the weak growth of grass, some enriching must be done. Various chemicals can be scattered over it: basic slag in autumn and superphosphate or blood and bone at various seasons will do very well. So-called “natural manures” may also - be used —well rotted leaf mould and good graden loam, for example. These should not be used to a greater depth of half an inch all over the lawn; if more top-dressing is needed it can be given as a second application when the grass has come properly through the first one. (4) If unlevel, the surface can be top-dressed now and a straight edgetf board can be used to get an even surface. Some parts of the turf may have to be taken up so that soil can be put under them. (5) The question of weeds has often been discussed in this column; sulphate of ammonia and sulphate of iron can be crushed and mixed with sand and applied to the lawn. Suitable proportions are: 161 b. of sand, 2 of sulphate of ammonia, and 1 of sulphate of iron. This should be scattered over the lawn at the rate of three or four ounces to a square yard. DEAD LEAVES.

Every autumn the gardener is faced tvith’ the difficulty of dealing with dead leaves. For the sake of tidiness they have to be gathered up, but they need not be burnt for the same reason, though that is often their fate. Unless the leaves are known to be diseased, they should be dug into the soil as manure. A good way is to make a heap of them in a remote corner of the garden, and to make alternate < layers of soil and leaves. In a few months a fine compost will be formed, suitable for manuring plants of for making up into potting mixtures. The use of this leaf-mould for seed boxes is somewhat discredited of late, as it undoubtedly favours the growth of damping-olf organisims and other fungi. PLANTS. L‘ . r—? —: Two rather sweeping statements may be made with little fear: first, that the genuine gardener is fond of propagating plants (not merely buy- ' ing, growing and showing them); second, that one of the most useful ways of propagating is layering. Often when plants refuse to set seed or to grow from cuttings they yield readily to layering. A layer may be described as a cutting still attached to the present plant, and removed only when roots have been put out. The method is specially suitable for shrubs such as aucuba, 'japonica’ (Pyrus or Cydonia japonica), rhus (sumach), magnolia, rhododendron, azalea, daphne, camellia, andromeda, and for climbers such as clematis, wistaria and bignonia. For layering, it is usual to choose a shoot growing close to the ground, or else a long pliant one which can be easily bent down. For tall ‘leggy’ plants in hot-houses another method is followed: a pot or tub is cut in half and put round the stem so that the latteV can be surrounded with soil or moss. In either case the rooting medium must be kept moist. This system is followed with some Dracaenas and the rubber plant (Ficus elastica). Vistors to the Winter Gardens of Christchurch and Auckland havo probably seen lumps of moss tied round the stems of certain plants for this purpose. The amateur, however, is more concerned with the layering of trees and shrubs in the garden. The work may be described thus: having chosen the tall short which is to be bent down, we make a slanting cut partly through a joint at a place which will be in contact with the soil when the shoot is bent down. The best place is where th 6 new wood of the last summer’s growth springs from the old wood. The second step is to bend the shoot down gently (for fear-of breaking it through) and to cover the slit part with soil. Instead of being slit, the shoot could hove been twisted sharply or nicked at the place to be covered. The best rooting medium is very open soil; for this purpose a good deal of sand should bo added. To prevent the shoot rising up, a forked stick or a strong staple of thick wire may be used to pin it down, but usually the weight of the soil is enough.

NO HURRY. In the case of some trees and shrubs layering is a test of patience. One complete year, sometimes two complete years, may elapse before there are

Vegetables and Fruit.—Dig the soil in between rows of growing crops, and also stir the soil in the rows. Make raised beds and plant cabbage and cauliflower. Dig new parts of the garden; follow the system called “bastard trenching,” whereby the good soil is kept on the top, but the subsoil is stirred to a depth of six inches or more. Cut off asparagus tops and remove all seed, vessels from ttie bed,as the resulting seedlings would crowd the established plants. In raised beds sow broad beans. Lift lcumaras if the tops have been cut by frost. Prune gooseberries anil currants. Plant bush fruits, also apples, pears, etc. Begin pruning peach trees. Directions will be given later. Flowers.—Stir the soil round bedding plants, as it has been battered lately by heavy rains. Cut down chrysanthemums, after labelling the clumps properiy. Dahlias should be 'taken up and stored in a frostproof shed. Put in cuttings of hardy plants. Begin planting trees and shrubs. Plant out polyanthus and other primroses. Plant lilies, but first make sure the drainage is good. Top-dress old lawns. Cut hedges of C. Lawsoniana -and other conifers. Now that the ‘planting season has come, alterations may be safely made to beds and borders.

enough roots formed to allow the shoot to be lifted as a separate plant. To find out if the layer is ready for removal, all we have to do is to scrape the soil away and shake the branch gently. Readers who have straggly bushes of daphne or rhododenron should try this method of propagation now, so that there may be new plants for putting out next winter. Layering is employed in the fruit garden too. Thus the loganberry is regularly propagated by layering the tips of the long rods. The .Chinese goosberry is well suited for this treatment, as the plants have male and female flowers on separate vines, and both are needed if the plants are grown for fruit as well as ornament. Grape-vines, too, are easily layered, but they can also be raised from cuttings. Readers who have rare kinds of native shrubs which they wish to propagate may resort to layering. The purple-leaved Lacebark (Hoheria) is an example.

SHRUB CUTTINGS. May is a good time to take cuttings of hard-wood plants, but June will do nearly as well. A long list of such trees and shrubs could be made, including the totara and many other of our .native trees but the following is sufficient for the present purpose, roses of all' kinds; privet (green, golden, small-leaved, large-leaved), barberry (various kinds "of berberis), Lonicera (honeysuckle, including the new hedgeplant, L. nitida), Abelia (popular hedge-plant), flowering currant (Ribes) and flowering gooseberry (also a Ribes), brooms (Jenista), Deutzia, Spiraea, mock orange (Philadelphus), Weigela (or Diervilla), Syringa, Tamarix, (tamarisk), HydrangeA, Cotoneaster, Kerria, Laurel, Fuchsia, box, Ceanothus, Japonica, Escallonia, dogwood (Cornus), Currant, Gooseberry, and Cherry Plum. In the case of most of these the cuttings are made from young shoots. The soft tip should be removed, and cuttings made about ten inches long. With few exceptions, it is advisable to cut the lower end of the shoot across just below a node or joint. If leaves are present those on the bottom four inches are removed, as the cutting is to be planted to that depth. A shallow trench with a vertical back should be made, and lined with sand. Then the cuttings should be set against this vertical back and the soil filled in and rammed tightly against them. The soil should be well drained and yet kept moist for some months. SPECIAL CUTTINGS.

Some cuttings need better treatment. Thus laurel and most kinds of coniferous cuttings should have a “heel” of older wood at the base. For that reason sturdy side-growths are torn off with this little bit of old wood. A further aid is to cover the cuttings with a cold frame, thus protecting them from excessive wet and frost. Thuja,-juniper, retiriosporas and many kinds of cypress can be propagated in this way. Still easier are the totara and the redwood.

MICE IN THE GARDEN. At this time of the year mice become troublesome to the gardener as well as to the housewife. Unless care is taken to keep down mice, or else store seeds away in tins or tinlined boxes, much damage will be done by mice. Not only do the seeds in the packets suffer, but also pumpkin and marrow seeds suffer while still in fruit. Even after sowing many kinds of seeds are eaten._ Thus mice will burrow into the soil in search of the seeds of sweet pea, cucumber, marrow, etc. Seedlings also suffer; often mice do the damage for which slugs, snails and other pests are blamed. It is therefore a wise precaution to keep one or more mousetraps baited and set in frames and green-houses. If this precaution is not taken, mice may clear off a whole box of seedling Schizanthus, etc. In storing seeds in a tin, or other airtight receptacle, we must make sure that they are properly dried first. If this care is not taken, the seeds of beans, peas, marrows and most kinds of flowers will turn musty and rot. THE WINTER SHOW.

An account of the horticultural features of the Winter Show will appealnext week. Readers are reminded that there are many sections of interest to gardeners—nurserymen’s stocks, competitive classes for adults and for children, Department of Agriculture’s stand, and displays on the stands of farm and station agents. TO CORRESPONDENTS.

“C.” —Take ordinary canes or sticks, about 2 feel G inches in length, split them at one end, insert a piece ol’ rock sulphur about I lie size of a walnut in the cleft and place the canes amongst ihe crops it is desired to preserve. This is all that is needed.

SEASONABLE