v GARDEN NOTES Some Problems.

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19633, 20 July 1935, Page 18 (Supplement)

v GARDEN NOTES

Some Problems.

(By "Nikau.")

SEASONABLE WORK.

SPECIALLY WRITTEN AND COMPILED TO SUIT WAIKATO CLIMATE

VEGETABLES AND FRUIT. Now that the soil is again ready for working, continue with the Wigging. Turn in lupins and other growth when about eighteen inches blgh; if the ground is not wanted for early crops, the lupins may be allowed to begin to flower before being dug in. ' Plant cabbages and cauliflowers, also shallots, winter rhubarb and (herbs ‘Loosen the soil around young crops, and sprinkle some superphosphate along the rows. . , , • Prune grape-vines while they aro still resting: late pruning leads to “bleeding” (oozing of sap), from every cut surface. 'Plant fruit-trees, except citrus; these had belter wait until the end of August, when frosts will be fewer and less severe. Prune 6 and spray fruit trees now (except citrus). Every tree Should be sprayed with Bordeaux, (lib to 6 gals,, or whh dme-sulphur i(l pint t» 15 Of water). pLOWERS . The ohlef work will be weeding and tidying up the borders after the weeks of wet weather. Much of the green stuff should be dug into thA border 'make the punishment fit the crime, Beffin the rose pruning, and* continue for the next three weeks. Put in cuttings of trees and shrubs, both deciduous and evergreen. Weed carefully around the bulbs that are now ooming th g , sprinklings of superphosphate around; them but not on them will be 3ielPf Set out hard bedding-plants such as pansy, viola, stock, antirrhinum, calendula and primrose.

PRUNING APPLE TREES '' In case readers have not been able to attend the pruning demonstrations In their district, some hints on the subject are given now. It is a matter of some. importance to _ every householder, for the garden which has no apple-tree is a strange one. _ In the first place, it must be pointed out that different systems are advocated by authorities, and that every system must be adapted to the variety of apple-tree and the conditions under which it is to live. For example, some trees are far more vigorous than others, while some aie trained as espaliers or cordons instead of the ordinary tree. The first thing is to make sure that the centre of the tree is fairly open. This end can be attained by the cutting out of all "strong shoots that point to the centre, or that grow in the centre. Sometimes it is necessary to cut out central branches or leaders that have a diameter of as much as two or even three inches. 'An old tree that has been well pruned from the start may be about twelve feet high and have from six to ten strong “leaders” coming upwards and outwards. The inner part will then ibe in the shape of an inverted cone. This method is followed in many of the Sturmer orchards round Christchurch. Having opened up the centre with secateurs and saw, we come to the real pruning. Here is where the chief differences of opinion arise. The old idea was to cut nearly every lateral (side-shoot) back to about one-third its length, but the tendency now amdng the experts is to leave many of these growths alone for one year. In this year (their second) they readily set fruit buds, sometimes throughout their length. All we have to do for several years with these is to shorten them sufficiently to keep them from overcropping. On the other hand, the result of cutting back every little bit of new wood to onethird its length is generally the production of similar shoots next year and not the fruit buds that we really want. Unfortunately the snip-snip method gives so very neat a finish that many people will prefer it to the “long” pruning system.

Trees that have been fruiting heavily for years usually have masses of short, multiple growths called “fruitspurs.” It is advisable to cut off a part of some of these spurs—perhaps two or three of the projecting parts of the multiple “spurs.” Next year some new wood will probably be formed, and the spurs will get a

new lease of life. If this system is not followed, the lower parts of the , tree tend to become bare, and the fruit is borne almost wholly at the top. In that case the fruit is hard to spray, and hard to gather, and it is exposed to the wind. This brings us to the question of ‘ height. The tall tree is in many ways a nuisance; besides those mentioned, there is the difficulty of pruning the tall tree. With skilful pruning, apple-trees may be kept for many years at a height of eight' or nine feet, and in a highly-productive condition. A good plan is to let the leaders make fairly fast growth for the first four or five years, and then to top them at about the desired height. In Opoia Road, Boundary Road, and other parts of Hamilton, readers will see apple-trees which are ten and more years old, and yet not too big for town sections.

Peculiarities,

Most varieties bear nearly all their fruit on spurs, but a few bear a good deal on the tips of the laterals nine to eighteen inches long. Jonathan is an example of this type. During the pruning of this variety, therefore, a good many of the laterals are left unpruned. In a year or two they become covered with fruit-buds, and a good crop is secured. The Irish Peach, is an .apple which can be regarded as an out-and-out tipbearer. It needs either careful pruning or no pruning. In the latter case, the tree becomes a mass of interlacing branches, and thinning out must be practised. The writer was delighted to hear the other day from a local nurseryman that the Irish Peach was still one of the “best-sel-lers.” Perhaps, remembering our youth, we are all sentimentalists (or gourmands), for who can resist a ripe Irish Peach in the hot January days? To revert to our pruning: a good way with the Irish Peach is to do no real pruning, but simply to thin out a few growths each year. Every three or four years the thinning may be a little more drastic than usual.

New Orchards. The writer was told the other day of an order for 150 fruit-trees. As this is not an isolated instance, a hint or two on new trees may be helpful hero. In the .first place, anyone planting an orchard should write to the Department of Agriculture for its excellent pamphlet on orchard establishment and the treatment of new trees. Aspect, type of soil, drainage, shelter, planting, and first pruning are all explained adequately in this pamphlet. Another point is that an arrangement should be made with an expert —a practical man, such as a nurseryman—to have the trees pruned properly. This is a critical operation in the life of the tree, and goes far to fix the shape of the tree. An arrangement can be made with most nurserymen to prune the trees, before or after the planting.

ANNUAL MEETING.

The annual meeting of the Hamilton Horticultural Society will be held next Tuesday evening in the Wattle Tearooms. All members and intending members of the Society will be welcome. A large attendance will be an encouragement to the officials to make even greater efforts than before.

THE WORLD’S GREATEST SHOW,

We have received various accounts of the recent Chelsea Flower Show, and all agree in proclaiming it a great exhibition and triumph of English horticulture. Our special correspondent reports thus: “There was a magnificent display of clematis; I have never seen such a sight—dozens of different kinds and hundreds of flowers. I am afraid we could compete only with ‘Nellie Moser.’ Sutton’s display was like a fairy garden, almost too good to be true. 1 There was. a mound at the'.back covered with delphiniums, lupins and nicotianas. As you went down the slope there were giant calceolarias, tulips, roses,_ paeonies, lilies, carnations and gloxinias. A river effect was obtained at the foot of the mound with tiny rock plants, and pansies, violas., etc. There was a slight rise on the other side, covered with nemesia, aquilegia, stock and schizanthus. All this occupied a space about twenty feet long. The flowers were so thick that you could not see any ground. “One of the most interesting sight* was the exhibition of rock gardens. Here the firms had gone to great trouble, making streams, -bridges and rocks everywhere. All th,e turf had been dug up and replaced around the rocks and it looked almost natural. The rock gardens were exactly as we hoped ours would be, but never was. Such a blaze of colour!”

“AMATEUR GARDENING’S” ACCOUNT. Part of the account given l.v “Amateur Gardening” runs as follows: “Notable among shrub exhibits was one fiv.n a distinguished amateur, Mr Lionel de Rothschild. This won the coveted Jubilee Cup, and consisted almost entirely of specimen rhododendrons. It was one of the finest of its type that has been staged at this or any other flower show in the British Isles. The exhibit as a whole covered an exceptionally large space, and included a wide range both of hydrid rhododendrons and species. Where so much was of the highest merit, it became extremely difficult to single out any items for special mention, but one could not ignore the exquisite charm of “Bow Bells,” a new R. Williamsianum hybrid, with shapely rose flowers, flushed with the warmer shade, nor the size and splendid freedom of Rhododendron Naomi. An interesting feature was R. Radi* num, a dwarf species, which at first sight suggested a large plant of Daphne cneorum. We have never seen larger or more abundantly-flowered examples of R. Yunnanense at any exhibition.

“Hybrid clematises of astonishing quality were shown by, Messrs Geo. Jackman and .Sons; these were all grown as specimens in fairly large pots, and some of the blooms were of magnificent proportions. Crimson King was outstanding among those of red colouring, while we noted fine plants of the large-flowered white Henryi, and other well-tried favourites, such as Nellie Moser, Lady Northcliffe, and Comtesse de Bouchard.

“From time to time complaints crop up that the cult of size has spoiled the decorative value of some popular garden flowers. That .stage of development has not yet been reached with lilacs, but one could not help feeling that if development continues on these lines, it will not be long before the mark is over-stepped. These massive panicles of blooms individually larger than a sixpennypiece are as unlike the old-fashioned lilac as a modern giant decorative dahlia is unlike the old type. They are undeniably effective, however, and we were particularly impressed by the brilliant reddish-maroon of Mrs E. Harding, and the very double flowers of Kathleen Havemeyer, which is pale reddish-lilac in colour when fully opened, and deeper in the bud. “Here we also noticed some good specimens of 'Sophora tetraptera, a graceful New Zealand tree, with fernlike foliage and very distinctive golden-yellow flowers.” (Readers perhaps need reminding that Sophora, now to be called Edwardsia, is the Kowhai.)

A DANGEROUS SHRUB. Our news-columns last week reported a case of poisoning of cattle by an evergreen shruo named Cestrum aurantiacum. It is very closely related to a shrub named Cestrum elegans, better known to most of our readers as Ilabrothamnus elegans. Both arc slightly frost-tender, have tubular flowers, and bloom for most of the year, but C. aurantiacum has an orange-yellow colour, while C. elegans has red. The latter is useful for garden decoration, but no good when cut, as its flowers drop after a day or so.

In view of the danger of poisoning, there should be no more propagation of these two species in New Zealand. They are members of the great order of plants named Solanaceae, including the night-shades especially, but also the potato, tomato and pe tunia, and our native poro-poro (bullibulli).