GARDEN MEMORANDA FOR FEBRUARY.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 161, 1 February 1878, Page 2

GARDEN MEMORANDA FOR FEBRUARY.

written expressly for the a-karoa mail. General Remarks. Having last month entered into the subject of propagation, more particularly as applicable to this season of the year, by describing the method by pipings or cuttings, we intend now to make what was then said more complete, by giving the method of propagation by layers. Layering is principally resorted to with subjects that are difficult of propagation by other means, and iss generally used for evergreen shrubs —as bays, Portugal laurels, rhododendrons, and such like things; but there are many flowering plants also that are chiefly propagated by this means. In some instances it is used as in the case of tall growing plants, such as the crj'santhemum, to obtain dwarf bushy heads of flower in pots, by pegging down the tops of the shopts just long enough before the time of, flowering to ensure their being thoroughly rooted. Other purposes might be named, as the pegging down the shoots of roses and other plants in beds, with the' object of securing an even and close surface of flowering shoots all over; but as * our remarks are intended to apply to lay-, ering as a means of increasing our stock of v .flowering plants for next season's display, we shall proceed to give, as shortly as possible, the method of doing so. As the. process is almost identical in every case, and as the ■; .carnation and picotee are amongst the things that require to be dealt with at this season, we will describe the way to layer this class of plants, which will be a sufficient guide for every other. A layer is a branch bent into .the earth and half cut through at the bend, leaving one side of the cut, as it were, hanging to the upper part of the shoot, which is called a tongue. In the case of the carnation, the first thing to do would be to trim up the plant, taking away the short and leaving the long and best placed shoots for pegging down ; then carefully take off all the leaves except a tuft at the top, draw a little of the soil from the plant all round, or as far as you intend to put down the layers; this will form a shallow trough, and should be just where the shoots to be layered would touch when bent down; then, with a sharp, narrow-bladed knife, make the cut on the under side of the shoot, where it comes in contact with the soil when bent, commencing just, below a joint, passing the knife upwards through the middle of the stem for about an inch ; the shoot is now ready for pegging down, in doing which'the tongua should "be kept open, pointing into the ground, but care must be taken not to injure this, as from it the roots are emitted which are to support the future plant; thus proceed with

the other shoots till all on the plant in hand are finished, then fill in the trough by drawing away the soil, keeping the tops of the layers upright in so doing ; if the soil be naturally stiff it will he well to fill in with a mixture of light soil such as recommended last month for cuttings, give a moderate watering, which will require to be continued at intervals should the autumn prove dry, and in ten or twelve "weeks the layers will be rooted sufficiently to take off, or they may remain till August and then be removed. Kitchen Gabden. The crops of onions will require to be lifted as they ripen, and left on the ground for a few days to dry before storing. Fill up any vacant spots with cabbage, brocoh, or cauliflower plants for winter; earth up celery as it advances, always choosing a dry day for doing so, another plantation may also be made ; continue to sow lettuce, rftdish, and other salading ; attend to the keeping down weeds and drawing the soil to the stems of cabbage, cauliflower, and brocoli, as previously recommended ; make a sowing of cabbage for planting out in April and May. and about the end of the month make the last sowing of cauliflower; continue to make sowings of turnips as the potato or other crops are cleared off, as a sufficient breadth should be sown now of this useful vegetable to last through the winter: thin out previously sown crops to about a foot apart every way. Fboit Garden.

Keep strawberries free from runners except where these are wanted to make fresh plantations; the same may be said of the suckess of raspberries, taking care always to leave a few of the strongest near the centre of the plant. Vines will want to be looked after, and the shoots kept pinched back to one or two joints in front of the fruit. This is the proper month for budding fruit trees, and where the stocks are young, this method is often preferable to grafting, but where old, worthless trees are to be cut back to have better sorts put on them, it will be better to wait till spring, and do it by grafting. Flower Garden. Attend to the staking of dahlias and crysanthemums, and any other tall growing plants, and keep the fading blooms of dahlias, roses, and the like constantly picked, as, in addition to it helps greatly to a continuous bloom. The flower garden will still require the same attention as to hoeing, &c, as last month. Plants of Sweet Williams, Canterbury Bells, Foxgloves, Antirrhinums, and all kinds of biennials and perennials, sown in the previous months, should now be planted out where it is intended they should flower. Cuttings of all kinds of bedding plants should be put in this month, and those that are not easily increased by this means should be layered ; of the former class, we may name Geraniums, Fuchsias, Pinks, Calceolarias, Verbenas, Pansies, Heleiotropes, Penstemons, and others; of the latter. Carnations, Picotees, Roses, &c, &c, but whichever method is practiced it should be done without delay, as everything roots more freely while the ground is warm.